The task of the artist at any time is uncompromisingly simple to discover what has not yet been done, and to do it.
Richard Avedon is a true genius of photography and one of the greatest artists of our time.
The Civil Rights for Musicians Act is about economic justice for African American artists. It's about what's right. And it's about time.
By the time I was 9, I had the conviction that everybody in the world was an artist except plumbers or people who delivered groceries.
Gay people are the sweetest, kindest, most artistic, warmest and most thoughtful people in the world. And since the beginning of time all they've ever been is kicked.
A lot of very popular mainstream artists are products of record companies and marketing companies, and any time anyone can stand outside of that, that's interesting.
At the time, the only options were playing the local county fair. Now with American Idol and younger recording artists that have come out, there is more of an opportunity.
I passionately hate the idea of being with it; I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.
The truth is, we haven't really figured out yet how artists are going to thrive in modern mass societies. We're all experiments.
Some artists are nervous - most of them are, to tell you the truth, and they have different ways of exhibiting that. Some of them are boisterous, some are really quiet.
Some artists are working to buy the mansion or whatever the element of fame must bear, but I spend all my money on my show.
I think most artists create out of despair. The very nature of creation is not a performing glory on the outside, it's a painful, difficult search within.
With the pride of the artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists the small trumpet of your defiance.
Too many younger artists, critics, and curators are fetishizing the sixties, transforming the period into a deformed cult, a fantasy religion, a hip brand, and a crippling disease.
The man of science, the artist, the philosopher are attached to their nations as much as the day-laborer and the merchant.
I realize I have strength as an artist and professional by embracing my difference instead of what makes me the same.
Success gave me confidence as an artist. And now I'm able to do what I want without anybody thinking it's dumb.
I'm always looking for something that tells me a little bit about what it means to be human. That's how I measure the success of any artistic endeavor.
The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind.
People will always blame the poets for society's ills. But these are the true artists.
There's nothing wrong with technology. It's when technology is the story and not the artist, that's the problem.
