Quotes About Art

Most museums in Moscow, like Tretyakov, were established by philanthropists, whose passion for art allowed the development of culture on many levels.

On the personal side, family is really important to me. I have a big family - five kids and 12 grandkids - so keeping that going is wonderful. And I do a lot of philanthropy. I'm chairman of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

I'm an artist, not a philosopher.

It's very strange: if you're a philosopher or musician or an artist, people automatically believe you can see the future. Even if they don't like you, they accept your vision as an individual.

My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes.

I love to learn, and at some level, there's something to learn from my books. And I love art and philosophy, so there's something philosophical about my fiction.

Everything we do is art, philosophy, mysticism, cultural commentary.

The war was the end of an era, in art as well. And we were trying to create a new philosophy.

It's really only all about music. It's not like a big rocket scientist kind of philosophy or anything.

We once believed we were auteurs, but we weren't. We had no idea, really. Film is over. It's sad nobody is really exploring it. But what to do? And anyway, with mobile phones and everything, everyone is now an auteur.

I am not fond of lengthy descriptions of phony artworks.

A long, long time ago, I was in front of the 'Mona Lisa' and I heard someone saying, 'Ugh! Take your photo and go!' And it bummed me out. Shouldn't there be more of a reverent experience?

A photo is a creation.

Capturing a beautiful moment in a photo is something I'm very passionate about.

People think photo shoots are easy but they're actually very, very hard, you're not only holding your body position but you're thinking about not looking cold in freezing water, your body looking good, my face and everything - it's tough but I love it.

My blog is actually all self-photography unless it's a photo shoot.

I've never liked the word 'celebrity.' I like to photograph people who are good at what they do.

You open a section of 'The New York Times,' and there's a review or a story on a choreographer or a dancer, and there's an informative, clear image of a dancer. This is, in my view, not an interesting photograph.

If I didn't have to earn a living somehow, I would never have taken a fashion photograph in my life.

I crave to be able to photograph the way a painter paints - in a loose, expressive way.

To photograph reality is to photograph nothing.

The Carrie Mae Weems photograph 'Blue Black Boy,' I thought, was fantastic.

Everything I choose to photograph, I think is beautiful.

You want to make the photograph work in every way possible. Doesn't matter where it is in the world.