Art Quotes

Beauty, expression, and the human need to create. Artists and thinkers on why art matters.

21093 quotes

A
"Art reflects the soul of a society."
Abhijit Banerjee
J
"Art reflects the human condition better than statistics."
Jean Tirole
I
"Art is the imitation of nature in her manner of operation."
Ibn Sina
I
"Art perfects what nature cannot bring to completion."
Ibn Sina
J
"Art is the response to the demand for entertainment, for the stimulation of our senses and imagination."
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
J
"The greatest thing a human being ever does in this world is to see something, and tell what he saw in plain language."
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
J
"The greatest respect an artist can pay is in using the artist before him not as an influence but as an example."
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
S
"Complexity in systems often harms those with the least resources to navigate it."
Sendhil Mullainathan
I
"The art of living well is the art of knowing what to desire."
Ibn Sina
I
"The artist and the scientist are both seeking truth through different lenses."
Ibn Sina
I
"Art is the expression of the soul made visible."
Ibn Sina
J
"Art and science inform each other profoundly."
James Mirrlees
J
"Artistic expression reveals hidden economic truths."
James Mirrlees
S
"We need more poets and artists in economics, not fewer."
Susan Athey
A
"Art and creativity are not luxuries for the poor; they're as essential as food and water."
Abhijit Banerjee
A
"Art created by poor people often speaks more truth than art created by those with plenty."
Abhijit Banerjee
V
"The beauty of capitalism is that it harnesses self-interest for the common good."
Vernon Smith
V
"Art and science converge in the study of human behavior."
Vernon Smith
V
"Art and economics both seek to understand human expression."
Vernon Smith
A
"Beauty in ideas comes from their simplicity combined with their explanatory power."
Abhijit Banerjee
E
"The best mechanisms are invisible because they work so naturally."
Eric Maskin
E
"Mechanism design is the art of making the rules before the game starts."
Eric Maskin
E
"In design as in life, simplicity is achieved only after mastering complexity."
Eric Maskin
E
"A well-designed system feels like it could have been no other way."
Eric Maskin
S
"Art is the conversation between what we feel and what we can express."
Stefania Albanesi
R
"Good design respects human nature rather than fighting it."
Richard Thaler
E
"The art of mechanism design is knowing what simplifications to make and what to preserve."
Eric Maskin
G
"Stories and narratives shape how people understand economic reality."
George Akerlof
G
"We should celebrate the irrational, emotional, and social aspects of economic life."
George Akerlof
G
"The beauty of economics lies in showing how individual actions aggregate into larger social patterns."
George Akerlof