Artsy Quotes

[Steven Sweeney]

It sounds as though he [John Adams] considers Painting, poetry, et al, as one step above gardening, games, and mere play.

Quite the contrary, on my reading. I believe that he was saying that the appreciation and practice of art forms of the sort that he named was of the highest pursuit to which we could aspire -- indeed, he was, as I read the letter in context, fleshing out what had been meant in the Declaration of Independence by the right of the "pursuit of happiness". I think he was expressing his belief in an obligation of his generation to fight for and ensure a society in which higher levels of human pursuit could be enjoyed in peace by his later generations.

He wrote from Paris, where he had been sent by the Continental Congress to solicit France's assistance in the colonies' battles for independence. He was on a war mission, yet his assignment placed him amidst an art culture the likes of which he'd never seen. Though both he and his wife Abigail were deeply schooled in the classics (including, somewhat ironically, the British classics), as would be their children, nothing of the sort he encountered in France had ever visited the American colonial life. Adams felt deeply the spiritual lacuna of that educational deficit, which is why I read the quotation as looking to the higher calling that attended his "war business" -- which was to try to ensure that future generations, if not his, would live in liberty and the freedom, together with the educational infrastructure, to pursue the higher, loftier -- and Adams might say, the more morally realized -- engagements in arts far more gentle than war.

This is quite a distance from equating art with "mere gardening" -- though Adams reveled in his New England farmer's role, when war and politics allowed.

I think Adams' intent was to pay homage to the contributions of those who, as did our grandfathers, fathers, and brothers within memory, engaged in the kinds of selfless, coarse, and sometimes brutal prerequisites to establishing a free and orderly society in which their children could, in peace, "study paintings, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain," as we do here on this Forum, which we take for granted even though it would certainly be "illegal" in many oppressively governed countries around the world.

I'm not defending all of his sentiments, just trying to understand their very articulate expression in the context in which they were presented.

I can't recommend too highly the McCullough biography of Adams. There are over a thousand letters extant between Adams and Abigail, and every one of them is a gem with its own facets. It's very important, I believe, for artists to undertake as much "non-art" study as easel time, workshops, videos, and the latest issue of your favorite art magazine. The artwork will be all the richer for it.

[Jim Riley]

John Adams

Perhaps I am caught up in the order in which his quote unfolds or an implied need to make these studies separate and distinct. As much as I can agree that the artist benefits by interests and education outside the typical and expected courses of study, it would be equally of great benefit to those who attempt to lead countries and conduct war to study "The Arts".

As has been noted, Mr. Adams had this kind of education but his quote suggests something less than the kind of holistic study that made him so valuable to our country. I also am responding to an almost common notion that those trained and occupied in "creative" activities do not understand matters of business, politics, and war. Adams does not say this and his intentions are most likely as others have said, but the quote implies that the arts are not critical to the economy and political philosophy and are employed mostly during good times.

I also intend to get Mr. McCullough's book.

[Steven Sweeney]

It always seems to me invigorating to wade in the pool of the thoughts and experience of someone engaged in a pursuit or discipline other than the one that is capturing my attention at the time (here, portraiture). That might mean reading a physicist

[Michele Rushworth]

I like that. Thanks for posting it, Steven.

[Michael Fournier]

but the quote implies that the arts are not critical to the economy and political philosophy and are employed mostly during good times.

Of course it does - it is the truth.

How many people do you think care much about the arts when their main concern is to feed their family or to avoid the next attack on their home?

I would bet that the arts is the farthest thing on the minds of most of those in Iraq at the moment. Sure, even during bad times there are brief moments that can offer a escape from the daily struggle, that one may reflect on a song or poem or a image. Many solders even have carried a sketchbook to capture these moments.

But the pursuit of the arts as a study is historically reserved to cultures that have first provided their citizens with peace and prosperity enough to pursue leisure activities.

If you cannot see that, then you are ignoring history. Look at the great cultures of the past that have spawned the milestones of the arts: the Greeks, the Romans, China, the Egyptians and the European Renaissance. All of these cultures first needed to provide for the basic needs of peace and prosperity before the arts could flourish. In China it was the Ming Dynasty that brought peace to most of China; in Egypt it was the reign of the pharaohs and the life-giving water of the Nile to support agriculture. And so on through out history. Only after the basic needs of a culture are provided can the arts flourish. It does not make the arts less important; in fact, the point is the arts are the pinnacle of any great culture. But one must lay a foundation before one can reach the pinnacle.

[Jim Riley]

Whoops! I guess I missed the part where Mr. Adams was struggling for survival when he said he must study politics and war? (To the exclusion of other valuable studies?). As noted he was not denied an education with broader influences and the contributions they may have added to his value as a statesman. My concern is that the arts might be considered an outside extra thing and only be considered a blessing and diversion available in "good times". I especially like Steve's comments in the first paragraph of his post above. He noted a significant benefit to the artist by exposure to the observations of others and I argue only that this same benefit applies to all other professions as well. For the same reasons I would also argue that rulers and politicians would be much stronger if the same kind of questioning were an integral part of their training and understanding. It might do much to prevent them from believing that they are "the chosen keepers of the human experience". I wish I could trust that political conceit does not prevail.

I don't think of art so much as a way to "escape" and by no means think it should be defined or limited to the decorative arts. As Robert Henri said about the artist (whatever his profession): "When the Artist is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring self-expressing creature. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and he opens ways for a better understanding. Where those who are not artists are trying to close the book, he opens it, shows there are still more pages possible". And: "Art tends towards balance, order, judgment of relative values, the laws of growth, the economy of living--"

A pretty lofty opinion of the contribution of the arts but I care to think of our role as far more than that of decorators. I find as much and sometimes more enrichment and communication with the artists of primitive societies than what is produced for so many today that has little more to be said for it than its lavish expense.

I agree that survival is often a preoccupation but creation is a characteristic that differs us from all other living things and does not depend on good times to manifest itself. Why not think of the role of the artist/arts as part of the formation and building blocks of a society and not merely evidence of wealth and sophistication?

[Patricia Joyce]

From my favorite "Letter to Artists" May 6, 1999

"All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardor of the creative moment: What they manage to express in their painting, their sculpture, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendor which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit." - Pope John Paul II

Haven't many of us here spoken of the "zone" we find ourselves in when we are deeply creating, and it is really happening? My last portrait drawing was of my boyfriend's deceased father, with only a 1930's high school picture as reference. I had never met Charlie. In the middle of the night, when I was fairly finished, but terribly unsatisfied, I sat back and blurred my eyes and "got into Charlie Deegan". The portrait placed him a good ten years older than I knew him to be in the photo. What was I not seeing? Then I had that moment, the "dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardor of the creative moment". The poor quality photo, faded and fuzzy, breathed for a minute second and I saw the 18 year old. With tremendous ease I was able to adjust the portrait and finish, satisfied with the likeness. On Christmas day Charlie's family gasped at the portrait, I watched in awe as tears welled up in children and grandchildren's eyes. They each discussed what features were passed to which sibling, grandchild. It was the most satisfying experience I have had relative to my artistic endeavors.

"...and here we touch on an essential point. Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation, feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole" - Pope John Paul II

[Ngaire Winwood]

I though this thread uplifting to say the least, here are my favourites:

The wise man sees himself in all beings and all being in himself. Therefore he never feels hostility toward anyone.
THE ISHA UPANISHAD SCRIPTURE

. . . if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.Henry Thoreau 1841

Yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.KAHLIL GIBRAN

The soul is dyed the colour of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your priciples and can bear the light of day. Dad by day, what you do is who you become.HERACLITUS 450BC

To laugh often and much;To win the respect of intelligent people;To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To know one life has breathed easier because you have lived; This is to have succeeded.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON 1803-82

When we pay attention to nature's music,we find that everything on the earth contributes to its harmony.HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN

[Jim Riley]

Ngaire, I liked your quotes and especially this one:

. . . if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. Henry Thoreau 1841

I don't know that it is in keeping with the theme of this thread but the above reminded me of an experience I had many years ago. Not wishing to brag and wanting to be sensitive to old high school friends at a class reunion I underplayed my job title at a major company and the fact that I was doing lot of travel in North America and Europe to satisfy design, color and marketing needs for our manufacturing operations outside the USA. Some in my Cleveland schoolmates had become professionals but I was well aware that a good many had not ventured far from the neighborhood. When conversation invariably led to the question of "what do you do?" I modestly stated that I was an "artist". Had I announced that I was president of IBM I could not have experienced a better response. The very fact that Jim Riley, the guy who liked art class more than anything else, was employed doing what he enjoyed most drew response that I had not anticipated. I realized then how big my decision to pursue an art career was and, at the same time, noted that many people never have this same experience and do whatever they do simply because "they have to".

Going to art school was an easy choice. I had no genuine enthusiasm for other areas of study or career objectives but found my specialty less restricting than I could have imagined and can honestly say that the special insights and skills that I developed as an artist allowed me to hold my own and make substantial contribution in corporations heavily staffed and operated by research, engineering and marketing groups. It also had something to do with the fact that a good part of our success depended on our ability to satisfy design and color needs in a changing marketplace.

When friends ask me to see the work of their youngster and discuss schooling and careers I can be frank and encouraging. I am not afraid to give them the brutal facts of life in regard to an art career but given evidence of skill and a strong desire to study art I can confidently say that any good effort will not be a waste. The skills and insights gained will carry with them adding a very special value to whatever new route they take.

[Tom Edgerton]

"I hope with all my heart that there will be painting in heaven."

--Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot 1796-1875
(reputedly his dying words)


"Me too."

--Tom Edgerton