Art Quotes

"A truly national culture must emerge from and serve the needs of the people."

"Culture is the terrain where the struggle for hegemony is won or lost."

"Art is the most effective instrument of propaganda."

"Art without propaganda is propaganda for the status quo."

"Artists must be willing to sacrifice everything for their vision."

"The artist who compromises their vision for commercial success has already failed."

"What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is only related to objects and not to individuals."

"There is no culture or civilization without transgression."

"Art reflects the economic conditions of its era."

"Art that serves only the powerful serves no genuine human purpose."

"The muses have always been assigned a station among the fine arts."

"Art is always and everywhere the secret confession, and at the same time the immortal movement of its time."

"Culture is determined by economic base and power relations."

"Art reflects the economic conditions and contradictions of its time."

"Cultural movements must be rooted in the real economic conditions of people's lives."

"Culture is not a fixed entity but a contested terrain where meanings are struggled over."

"Art reflects the economic base of society, revealing the true interests of those in power."

"Art is the shadow of humanity."

"Culture is not something that can be imposed; it must be created."

"Art and literature reflect the material conditions of society."

"Quantity of pleasure being equal, pushpin is as good as poetry."

"Art can never be the expression of the ruling class."

"The work of art is without beauty or ugliness until the viewer perceives it."

"Every interpretation is an act of violence, a way of imposing meaning where none naturally exists."

"Every act of interpretation rewrites the past in the interest of the present, and this violence cannot be avoided."

"Where can we find greater structural clarity than in the wooden buildings of the old emperors of Japan?"

"Where can we find greater structural clarity than the buildings of London?"

"Art is the effort of man to express his feelings."

"Art is man's nature; nature is God's art."

"Poetry is the art of substantiating shadows, and of lending pronunciation to the spirit."