Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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“Mathematics, like music and poetry, is a creation of the mind; … the primary task of the mathematician, like that of any other artist, is to extend man's mental horizon by representation and interpretation.”
Graham Sutton (1903–1977) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mathematics in Action (1954) page 1
“A con artist is about to take over the Republican party and the conservative movement and we have to put a stop to it.”
Marco Rubio (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Until such time as logic and objective research concerning the relative efficiency of the various possibilities is undertaken, the cartographer can but rely on the experience and direction of the artist.”
Arthur H. Robinson (1915–2004) said by 2004 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It seemed that he gazed down on me from the height of his divinity with the aloof though passionate attention of an artist judging his finished work; calmly rejoicing in his achievement, but recognizing at last the irrevocable flaws in his initial conception, and already lusting for fresh creation.”
Olaf Stapledon (1886–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am not an artist just someone who paints.”
L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) said by 1976 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mayor Helen Zille has shrugged off the news that her portrait has been painted by an 'artist' who uses his penis as a brush, saying it is his constitutional right to exercise his freedom of expression 'in this unusual way'.”
“The famous nude artist, Pricasso, who uses his member to paint, was kept busy swishing his "brush" over the canvas. He was quite a drawcard - and many a male observer whipped out his cellphone to take a picture.”
“When drag queen Carlotta agreed to compere and sit for a portrait at an R-rated charity fundraiser in March, she was not prepared for the tool of trade of the artist. The painter was Pricasso, who releases his artistic side by using a particular extremity. Not to put too fine a point on it (and Pricasso couldnt), Carlotta hovered between humour and horror as her portrait came to life.”
“Now men and their . . . um . . . equipment can sometimes falter under pressure so imagine the stress that artist Pricasso and his 'man thing' brush were under, when he came on stage to paint the one and only Carlotta.”
“Fox Business bigwigs are said to be perturbed by a very special guest on the fledgling biz channel the other night - Pricasso, the world's greatest penile artist. That's right, he paints portraits with his private parts.”
“While his brushstrokes are rudimentary, bystanders appreciated the artist's unorthodox style.”
“The moral hero, guided as he or she is by the ethical experience, who carves out an adventurous path is akin to the discoverer who brings order into the scattered elements of a science or the artist who composes a piece of music or designs buildings.”
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wish I had the talent to paint the way I feel about you, for my words always feel inadequate. I imagine using red for your passion and pale blue for your kindness; forest green to reflect the depth of your empathy and bright yellow for your unflagging optimism. And still I wonder: can even an artist's palette capture the full range of what you mean to me?”
Nicholas Sparks (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every winter I am here sometimes for two or four months. These are my roots, this is where I feel I must come to grow and learn as an artist. I must always come back to the guru to learn and grow more as a musician. There is no question of going anywhere and forgetting where I came from because that would be like losing my identity.”
Zakir Hussain (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I've never met Ai Weiwei but he's a colleague, an artist. In a very simple way he is heroically recording human existence. All he's done is to record death by administration, death by corruption, inefficiency. I don't even think he's pointing that sharp a finger, frankly.”
Anish Kapoor (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everyone sees for himself, the artist also sees for himself. Others see where ideas coincide, or whether they agree or disagree. There is no binding, no forcing of things. It has to be a free association of ideas.”
S. H. Raza (1922–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Indian contemporary artists have not come to this standard. So I feel happy that I could present something to them. My work has a different meaning and something like this has never been done by any other Indian artist.”
S. H. Raza (1922–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An inferior artist's only chance of giving pleasure.”
John Conington (1825–1869) first seen 1863 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On rhyme. Preface to The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace (1863), p. xi.
“It was a great experience. Unfortunately those days are over. Nowadays, you seldom see an artist listening to another artiste. Also, the sangeet jalsas, would go on for hours. I remember the tickets were priced at 50 paise for sitting on the ground and a rupee for a chair! All this may sound quaint today.”
Gangubai Hangal (1913–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wish it to be thoroughly under stood that it is Mr. Seurat, an artist of great worth, who has been the first to conceive the idea of applying the scientific theory after making a profound study of it. I have only followed, like my confreres, the example set by Seurat.”
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) first seen 1886 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: autograph letter 6 Nov. 1886, to Mr. Durand; as quoted in Brush and Pencil, Vol. XIII, no. 6 , article: 'Camille Pissarro' Impressionist'; by Henry G Stephens, March, 1904, pp. 412-13
“Sisley, I hear, is seriously ill. He is a great and beautiful artist, in my opinion he is a master equal to the greatest. I have seen works of his of rare amplitude and beauty, among others an 'Inundation' [in the Camondo collection], which is a masterpiece.”
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903) first seen 1899 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter to his son Lucien, 22th January 1899.
“I'm looking for what the artist is trying to say and what he or she is actually saying, what the work reveals about society and the timeless conditions of being alive.”
Jerry Saltz (born 1951) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 2008. p. 174–75 : Saltz on his approach to criticism
“On the other hand, the artist has much to do in the realm of color construction, which is so little explored and so obscure, and hardly dates back any farther than to the beginning of Impressionism.”
Robert Delaunay (1885–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Herschel Browning Chipp Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics, University of California Press, 1968, p. 318
“I can see the black spots of the sun [remark to Sonia Delaunay, his wife and female artist].”
Robert Delaunay (1885–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nous irons jusqu'au soleil, Delaunay; as cited in: 'Futurism', ed. By Didier Ottinger; Centre Pompidou / 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2008, p. 214
“I thank heaven that I was born in the same century as this remarkable artist [= Daubigny ].”
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796–1875) first seen 1865 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: a remark c. 1865; as quoted in Corot, Gary Tinterow, Michael Pantazzi, Vincent Pomarède - Galeries nationales du Grand Palais (France), National Gallery of Canada, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), 1996, p. 2…
“In most countries in the world, your fate and your identity are handed to you; in America, you determine them for yourself. America is a country where you get to write the script of your own life. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist.”
Dinesh D'Souza (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They are more complex to begin with, but their organization, the way they end up being put together, isn't that different. You can't shake your own sensibility. No matter what the concept is; the artist's eye decides when it's right ... which is a notion of sensibility.”
Frank Stella (1936–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What do I really want to do, and what will help me continue to be creative, and what will lead me towards being the artist that I want to be in the end.”
Hilary Hahn (born 1979) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In a time when so many artists have learned to confabulate with extremes of horror and alienation, the most daring thing an artist can do is to fill a book, a gallery, or a theater with joy, hope, and beauty.”
Theodore Roszak (scholar) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: with Betty Roszak, "Deep Form in Art and Nature" Alexandria 4, Vol.4 The Order of Beauty and Nature (1997) ed. David Fideler
“The bond of sympathy, like the artist's eye for beauty, may stretch across many divisions.”
Theodore Roszak (scholar) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To be intelligent without ideas is the privilege of the artist.”
Nicolás Gómez Dávila (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The modernist thirst for originality makes the mediocre artist believe that the secret of originality consists simply in being different.”
Nicolás Gómez Dávila (1913–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I make no difference between the Plane of the , and any other Plane whatsoever; for since Planes, as Planes, are alike in Geometry, it is most proper to consider them as so, and to explain their Properties in general, leaving the Artist himself to apply them in particular Cases, as Occasion requires.”
Brook Taylor (1685–1732) said by 1732 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It depends on the artist. I think some artists are meant to stay and some will disappear. It always happens. It's natural selection of the species. But I don't think of it as a boom in Latin music. I think the world is in a different place. Social media means it's not only the radio that decides what'll be a hit. It's the people.”
Shakira (born 1977) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On whether Latin music is experiencing a resurgence in the 2010s in “Shakira on her vocal problems: 'I doubted I'd ever sing again'” in BBC News (2018 Jun 10)
“The function of the modern artist was not to convey beauty, but to convey new truths.”
Eric Kandel (born 1929) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even though Kurt died in the most horrific way possible, there is this mythology and romanticism that surrounds him, because he's 27 forever. The shelf life of an artist or musician isn't particularly long. Kurt has gotten to icon status because he will never age. He will always be that relevant in that time and always be beautiful.”
Frances Bean Cobain (born 1992) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is, with any great artist, a little manic-ness and insanity.”
Frances Bean Cobain (born 1992) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Donald [Trump] has been branded by one of his competitors as a con artist and, in a sense, he is. But so was Steve Jobs.”
Rob Enderle (born 1954) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Donald Trump vs. Steve Jobs: The tale of two con artists in CIO (4 March 2016)
“1. The artist may construct the piece.”
Lawrence Weiner (1942–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I try to be a truthful artist and I try to show a level of courage. I enjoy that. I’m a messenger.”
Jeff Koons (born 1955) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jeff Koons in: Ottman, K. (1988) "Jeff Koons," Journal of Contemporary Art–Online 1(1): 18–23; cited in: Galman, Sally AC. "The truthful messenger: visual methods and representation in qualitative research in education.…
“Copy nature and you infringe on the work of our Lord. Interpret nature and you are an artist.”
Jacques Lipchitz (1891–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jacques Lipchitz cited in: Bernard S. Raskas (1976). Living thoughts: inspiration, insight, and wisdom from sources throughout the ages. p. 22; Quoted in: William Safire, Leonard Safir (1990). Words of Wisdom. p. 34
“The artist's business requires his involvement in practically everything. He works in reference, not to a section of the world, but to the whole world.”
Hans Haacke (born 1936) first seen 1969 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: Arts/Canada, Vol. 26, (1969), p. 75
“When I started in video I was one of two or three dozen video artists in 1970. And now, to paraphrase Andy Warhol, everyone's a video artist. Video, through your cellphone and camcorder, has become a form of speech, and speech is not James Joyce. It's great, and to be celebrated, but it has to find its own level.”
Bill Viola (1951–2024) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Bill Viola, in: Leo Benedictus. "Tomorrow's world," in; The Guardian, Wednesday 12 July 2006.
“As a design-scientist the artist discovers and perfects language that corresponds more directly to experience; he develops hardware that embodies its own software as a conceptual tool for coping with reality.”
Gene Youngblood (1942–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For me, the nude body is like a raw material.. another artist might use oil or clay. I love the fact that, en masse, it can be turned into an infinite number of shapes or abstractions, while the setting I choose.. rural, urban, indoors or out.. is like a canvas.”
Spencer Tunick (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Facing up to the Nazis and the powers of the Nazi state coloured my life as an artist.”
Gustav Metzger (1926–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have the utmost respect for her because, even as an established actress, she still comes to class. She still works on developing herself as an artist.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Laura Dern; as heard in the Laura Dern episode of Intimate Portrait; broadcast February 16, 1999
“Laura is a free spirit. She's also a great student and a dedicated artist – and there aren't very many people I call artists. But the entire cast of this film, they're all true artists, dedicated to their own inner truth, and they have the courage to share that. You don't find that very often.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Laura Dern: a Hollywood old-timer at 37" by John Anderson, in The Baltimore Sun (August 23, 2004)
“I believe that the artist is a wounded healer, that they are healing wounds of their own, and when they do that truthfully, they heal the audience.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The Role of Their Dreams" by Sarah Kershaw, in The New York Times (May 6, 2009)
“Any artist worth his salt thinks music far more than he practices. Practice divides the mind between music and the mechanics of managing hands and feet. Inward hearing has its roots in musical thought.”
Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890–1963) said by 1963 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source