Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
The work of art assumes the existence of the perfect spectator, and is indifferent to the fact that no such person exists.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that art is created with an ideal audience in mind, regardless of the real audience's imperfections.
E. M. Forster's quote highlights the notion that art is often conceived with an ideal viewer or critic in mind, who perceives the work completely and perfectly. However, it also points out the disconnect between this ideal and reality, as no true spectator can embody perfection. This reveals a deep understanding of the subjective nature of art appreciation and the challenge artists face in connecting with their audience.
In practice
This quote would be perfect for a discussion on the role of the audience in art classes.
Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
A poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
The negative is comparable to the composer's score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways.
I think 2-D animation disappeared from Disney because they made so many uninteresting films. They became very conservative in the way they created them. It's too bad. I thought 2-D and 3-D could coexist happily.
If only someone else could paint what I see, it would be marvellous, because then I wouldnt have to paint at all.
For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew.
Music is one of the noblest callings I can think of. It's the highest of all the art forms to me. For example, if my kid said to me, 'I want to give it all up,' whatever it is that they're doing, 'and I want to take my saxophone and go out,' I would say, 'May God go with you. This is a great and noble thing that you're doing.'
I knew exactly how I wanted it to play, but you are never sure until you watch the projected images reflect off the screen. That's when you know it worked.
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