A work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the subject it may represent.
Interpretation
Art can possess its own vitality and energy, irrespective of its subject matter.
Henry Moore suggests that a piece of art can embody a dynamic and vibrant essence that transcends its initial subject. This implies that the emotional and imaginative impact of a work of art is profound, allowing it to resonate with viewers in ways that go beyond mere representation.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the transformative power of art in a gallery opening.
Recently I have been working in the country, where, carving in the open air, I find sculpture more natural than in a London studio, but it needs bigger dimensions. A large piece of stone or wood placed almost anywhere at random in a field, orchard, or garden, immediately looks right and inspiring.
I find in all the artists that I admire most a disturbing element, a distortion, giving evidence of a struggle . . . . In great art, this conflict is hidden, it is unresolved. All that is bursting with energy is disturbing - not perfect.
Between beauty of expression and power of expression there is a difference of function. The first aims at pleasing the senses, the second has a spiritual vitality which for me is more moving and goes deeper than the senses.
I have always liked drawing, when you draw you see things more intensely.
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
All art is an abstraction to some degree.
Hard to believe lightning can strike twice, but it surely did. The moment Caitriona Balfe came on screen, I sat up straight and said, βThere she is!β She and Sam Heughan absolutely lit up the screen with fireworks.
I think the way to be a writer is to experience things, certainly, and be open to things, but at some point to become dedicated to the craft of writing and to create a stable environment for that writing to occur in.
I always joked with my parents. I told them, 'If I don't make it as an actor, my fallback is musician.'
When everything goes right a mobile is a piece of poetry that dances with the joy of life and surprise!
O why do I ever let anyone read what I write! Every time I have to go through a breakfast with a letter of criticism I swear I will write for my own praise or blame in future. It is a misery.
For two extraordinary years I have been working on it - learning to write - but mostly learning how to tell the truth. At first it is quite impossible. You make yourself better than anybody, then worse than anybody, and when you finally come to see you are "like" everybody - that is the bitterest blow of all to the ego. But in the end it is only the truth, no matter how ugly or shameful, that is right, that fits together, that makes real people, and strangely enough - beauty.
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