Famous quotes
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“In portraits you need a lot of general, very little of specific. Usually there is too much specificity, always too much.. .For a portrait to really work well for me, I need for it to be hardly a portrait. Almost for it to no longer be a portrait. It is then that it begins working at full capacity. I like things carried to the extreme limits of what is possible.”
Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in a letter to Max Loreau, 29 June, 1963, reprinted in Prospectus II, Jean Dubuffet; Gallimard, Paris, 1967, pp. 374–375
“I have never forgotten how the deprivation of work erodes human beings, those not working and those related to them. And from that time on, I loathed an economic that could put a huge part of its workforce on the streets with no compunction.”
Herbert Schiller (1919–2000) said by 2000 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the absence of truth there is no necessity, and this observation may serve as an index to the position of the modern egotist. Having become incapable of knowing, he becomes incapable of working, in the sense that all work is a bringing of the ideal from potentiality into actuality. … The modern worker does not, save in rare instances, respond to the ideal in the task.”
Richard Weaver (1910–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Someone once asked me what my working timetable was like and when was the last time I went on a holiday. I said about 20 years back. I don’t work anymore, because I get paid to do what I like most. So it’s like a paid holiday.”
Kamal Haasan (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The causes of Jewish renaissance and pluralism inform much of my work. My goal is to build a Jewish future by working to form a knowledgeable, proud and welcoming Jewish community throughout the world.” – Giving Pledge.”
Edgar Bronfman Sr. (1929–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Can’t you approach the young worker and tell him that the way to live is to work for life and not for death? Is it beneath American scholars to try to do that?... Your only salvation is in carrying the idea of socialism to the working class and coming back to storm—to storm, yes, to storm—the bastions of capitalism.”
Isaac Deutscher (1907–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.”
John Gall (1925–2014) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 65, cited in: Grady Booch (1991) Object oriented design with applications. p. 11
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.”
John Gall (1925–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is only through enforced standardization of methods, enforced adoption of the best implements and working conditions, and enforced cooperation that this faster work can be assured. And the duty of enforcing the adoption of standards and enforcing this cooperation rests with management alone.”
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) said by 1915 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every day in our neighborhood there were whole apartments, beds, bureaus, kitchen tables out on the street. We understood that this was because of capitalism, which didn't care that working people had no work and no money for rent.”
Grace Paley (1922–2007) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Injustice" (1995)
“Concentration is really a problem for me. To seize something. But when I really have a story I'm working on, I can work on it sitting in a train, going to Washington, any place, anywhere. It's totally absorbing. (1980)”
Grace Paley (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is a very complex, wondrous business I'm in. My kicks are my work. I'm miserable when I'm not working.”
Dane Clark (1912–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Brother workers! If you wish to stamp out imperialism, you have to exert yourself to work an extra hour. This will undermine the structure of the foreigner and the coloniser. An extra working hour can undermine the structure of the imperialists and threaten their existence.”
Abd al-Karim Qasim (1914–1963) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech delivered in the gardens of the Shaab Hall (May 1, 1959).
“No longer shall the intrigues and mischief-making of the imperialists deceive us. No longer shall our work be interrupted under flimsy pretexts. We are working to attain a bright and better future, ensuring freedom and prosperous living not only to ourselves but to posterity.”
Abd al-Karim Qasim (1914–1963) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech delivered in the gardens of the Shaab Hall (May 1, 1959).
“We may have pledged to support the freedom of the people so that we ourselves may enjoy the results. We are working for the sake of God and for the sake of the people. We do not need to be known, nor do we need propaganda. We work for the sake of God and we know that how long we may live, we will ultimately die and the people will remain. The absolute rule is by the people and not by individuals.”
Abd al-Karim Qasim (1914–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first is that he must be well-ordered from without in all virtues and unhindered within, just as empty of all outward works as though he were not working. For if he is busy within by any work of virtue, then he is assailed by images. As long as that is going on in him, he cannot contemplate.”
John Ruysbroeck (1293–1381) said by 1381 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In my view, there is no justice when low income and working class mothers are forced to separate from their babies one or two weeks after birth and go back to work because they need the money that their jobs provide. Now I know everybody here -- we all are, maybe in different ways, but all of us believe in family values.”
Bernie Sanders (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stick to it, boy, Through the thick and the thin of it! Work for the joy That is born of the din of it. Failures beset you, But don't let them fret you; Dangers are lurking, But just keep on working. If it's worthwhile and you're sure of the right of it, Stick to it, boy, and make a real fight of it!”
Edgar Guest (1881–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This reconnection...has given me great satisfaction. I realise I have inadvertently become a source of inspiration and hope for people in India simply by the fact that I grew up there, went to my local university, but could go on to do well internationally. The Nobel, he says, is not just an affirmation of his past work; it’s an encouragement to keep working on interesting problems.”
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I feel basic science is getting its due now. I used to say earlier that Dr Homi Bhabha should get this honour and also some other eminent researchers. Scientists work very, very had but rarely get recognition. I have been working for 62 years. I was 17 when I started my research. I am going to be 80 soon.”
C. N. Ramachandra Rao (born 1934) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Work is a wonderful regulator of mind and body. I forget all sorrow, grief, bitterness, and I even ignore them altogether in the joy of working.”
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) said by 1903 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter to his son, Lucien; as quoted in: Brother Thomas (O.S.B.), Rosemary Williams (1999) Creation Out of Clay: The Ceramic Art and Writings of Brother Thomas. p. 45
“'Dear Long-wayaway-one,' very antisocial I am when I don't booze. And no fun when you're not around... Do you love me? Do you want to be a lazy Jane and never work again? Once I stopped boozing I have enjoyed not working. But we can't do it though.”
Richard Burton (1925–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Working with no other orchestra gave me as much satisfaction as my work, as soloist and conductor, with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra.”
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Yehudi Menuhin, O orkiestrze Sinfonia Varsovia [About Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra], 29 August 1991, "Studio" 1992, vol. 1, p. 8.
“It [Nobel Peace Prize] is a great recognition and honour for millions of children in the world. I hope many more people will join the fight against child slavery. This isn't just about India. It's a global phenomenon. We'll work for this globally. I've been working in 147 countries and my responsibility is with all the world's children.”
Kailash Satyarthi (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I never realized what it was really like to work for an idiot until I started working for myself.”
John Hoover (consultant) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m basically the idea person. I’m not physically involved in the production. I don’t have the neces-sary abilities, so I go to the top people, whether I’m working with my foundry — Tallix — or in physics. I’m always trying to maintain the integrity of the work.”
Jeff Koons (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Look, I'm working with Meg Ryan. I've never done this before, but she's doing amazing work. You should audition her.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interceding on behalf of her persistently typecast student, as quoted by director Jane Campion in "Cut to Darkness: Meg Ryan, survivor, pushes beyond "America's sweetheart" in a raw new film" by Fred Schruers, in The Lo…
“I make the most outrageous demands on my imagination and leave aside everything else, theory and nature study, as other people understand them. This is the only way I can work, drawing on nothing but my own faculty of imagination with I feed without stint – except in working hours.”
Franz Marc (1880–1916) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in Marc's letter to August Macke, 1910; as cited by , in Expressionism; Praeger Publishers, New York, 1973, pp. 127-28
“Because I'm a person who always has to do something. If I cannot do anything, I'm in a very bad way. But really I'm always working on something. And I always want to work, too. Well, the few artists I know really well, they are all so.. .It's a really bad block when you think, right, now I've got to do art. It really is very important to learn that that is not the most important thing.”
Isa Genzken (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In some of the earlier work, I liked to keep readers guessing: one story asked a question, and another resolved it. For the stories I’m working on now—both the new ones and the older ones I’m revisiting—I want to wring everything out. That way, I don’t have to write separate stories for every character who surprises me.”
Edwidge Danticat (born 1969) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On how her short story writing style has evolved in “An Interview | Edwidge Danticat” in The Brooklyn Review (Fall 2018)
“Unless you work in a cave as a solitary hermit, your entire working life will involve connecting with various people...Do not wait until you have a particular issue or problem before re-connecting with someone.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best method of ensuring that you will leave a great legacy behind is to plan and to work on your legacy while you are still working and the”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The majority of people I coach are unhappy or dissatisfied with their working lives. They describe their work in so many depressing ways – as ‘boring’, ‘tedious’, ‘mind-numbing’, ‘stressful’, ‘painful’ or even ‘scary’. I hear similar opinions as I travel the world from all types of people no matter what their background, education or choice of career.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If his people who are called by His name will humble themselves and pray, He will do as He has done for generations and heal His people and He will heal this land, I leave here today confident that God is at work. Even though it may not seem that way God is working. Even when things don’t seem like they’re going the way we expected, they’re going the way God expected.”
Mike Pence (born 1959) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Prayer is needed now more than ever, Vice President Pence tells First Baptist Dallas (June 28 2020)
“The efficiency of a group working together is directly related to the homogeneity of the work they are performing.”
Luther H. Gulick (1892–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is little difference between sacrifice and work. They are also both uniquely human. Sometimes, animals act as if they are working, but they are really only following the dictates of their nature. Beavers build dams. They do so because they are beavers, and beavers build dams. They don't think, "Yeah, but I'd rather be on a beach in Mexico with my girlfriend," while they're doing it.”
Jordan Peterson (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They're taking shortcuts to get a big laugh instead of working for their audience. They can finish a show, hang up their tux and shirt, and put it up for next time. With mine, you have to wring out the sweat and send it to the cleaners. You gotta go out and work for your audience.”
Red Skelton (1913–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think we have a really good work ethic, and we’re committed to not only being professional on set but also working hard to do what it takes to get the job. But I also think having an Aussie accent is a bit of a drawcard! It’s something different and people seem to like it—let’s just go with that!”
Claire Holt (born 1988) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mathematicians are coming up with s that they use in their actual mathematical research. And these, like , I think is the name of one of them ... these are actually like s that have been engineered in a way that they can actually be used by working mathematicians to check the work they're doing.”
Gregory Chaitin (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Rudy gets horribly excited when I say this, but I do declare that if they keep him from working two years more, then I will work and support us both. There are many things that I can do. I can dance. I can go back to my designing, but I don't care what it is if it only brings in enough money for him to be able to go on fighting for decent treatment and good material.”
Natacha Rambova (1897–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’ve seen my characters morphed into PC cyphers. But the thing is once I’m done working on them, it’s like watching your kids go off with another guy. The new daddy is here, I just don’t pay attention to it otherwise I’d be crying myself to sleep every night, so I just walk away from it and go on to new work, move forward.”
Chuck Dixon (born 1954) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chuck Dixon On The Milo Show: ‘My Characters Have Been Morphed Into PC Cyphers’ (August 24, 2016)
“Look, working nine, ten years old at the farm, I was not harmed at all. When a nine-year-old, ten-year-old goes to work somewhere, it's full of people there. Now, when I'm smoking a crack pipe, nobody says anything. [...] But I want to say that I, my older brother, a sister of mine, a little younger, at that age, eight, nine, ten, twelve years, worked on the farm.”
Jair Bolsonaro (born 1955) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a live social media broadcast on 4 July 2019, defending child labor. Bolsonaro Defends Child Labor. Folha de S.Paulo (5 July 2019).
“There is nothing glamorous in what I do. I'm a working man. Perhaps I'm luckier than most in that I receive considerable satisfaction from doing useful work which I, and sometimes others, think is good.”
Saul Bass (1920–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Art Directors Club biography & images of work". adcglobal.org. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
“It is a terrible, but also tremendous time. Personally I find it moreover so important for my art to live now.. .These times force you to think over a lot and work very hard, in Nature now a strong creative force is working. (translation from German, Fons Heijnsbroek, 2018)”
Jacoba van Heemskerck (1876–1923) first seen 1914 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter of Jacoba, late 1914; as cited by A. Behne, in 'der Krieg und die künstlerische Produktion', in 'Die Umschau', Jan / März 1915
“They protect us within karmic law. They can go so far and no further, of course. But for the work of the initiates and the disciples in the world, giving them the karmic right to 'interfere', they could do little. With the Christ and the Senior members of our Hierarchy working outwardly in the world, however, a much closer and more open liaison with the Space Brothers becomes possible.”
Benjamin Creme (1922–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Following this preamble, these shall be the principles of social justice towards the realization of which we must strive:… I believe that every citizen willing to work and capable of working shall receive a just, living, annual wage which will enable him both to maintain and educate his family according to the standards of American decency.”
Charles Coughlin (1891–1979) first seen 1934 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Broadcast speech (November 11, 1934)
“A lot of people commenting don’t know how Congressional salaries work. Each member is given a set amount that they disburse. GOP has refused to increase budgets in years to give hard-working staff a raise, which means people helping to run the country are getting paid $30k/year.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born 1989) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Twitter post, (23 February 2019)
“When I was in high school, I started working with Ralph Nader and worked for him for about six years. And after that I planned to go down to Puerto Rico and do some work there. My mother is from there. And I found that about ten percent of the land there was U.S. military bases... Then I went to Guatemala in 1980.”
Allan Nairn (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My work became a bridge that had to be crossed by young feminists working with their bodies.”
Carolee Schneemann (1939–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My parents, uncles, aunts, they always talked about what they were doing, where they were working, what happened that day. Sooner or later, they’d be telling a story from the old days,” he recalls. “We were very poor, but proud of the hard work that provided what we had.”
Rudolfo Anaya (1937–2020) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On his family in “THE GODFATHER” in New Mexico Magazine (2017)