JANE ALEXANDER

There are two parts to the creative endeavor: making something, then disseminating it.

Part of the reason I make things realistic is, I don’t really want to have to explain my work. What I wish to communicate is done so people can make their own interpretation, and if it’s different to my idea it doesn't matter.

Now, I cannot approve anything the council has rejected, but I can reject anything the council has approved.

It would be difficult, in this day and age, to fund art that made racial slurs.

What we do is look for high standards of excellence in the arts.

The reason the National Endowment needs to exist is simply that the not-for-profit sector cannot make it on its own.

All I want to do is make sure that art is available to all Americans in a participatory way, whether you engage in the art process yourself or you're an audience member.

Senator Helms might very well do that. I would point out to him that we in the art world are not necessarily in the business of making controversial art.

This thing called love was a total mystery to me, but the vagaries of passion and despair that accompanied each devotion kept my life in high drama.

I don't know how one actually would define obscenity. I'm sure the definition is different according to the age one is living in.

All I want to do is make sure that art is available to all Americans in a participatory way, whether you engage in the art process yourself or you're an audience member.

What we do is look for high standards of excellence in the arts.

No one's conception of art is going to be acceptable to everybody.

Senator Helms might very well do that. I would point out to him that we in the art world are not necessarily in the business of making controversial art.

Now, I cannot approve anything the council has rejected, but I can reject anything the council has approved.

I don't know how one actually would define obscenity. I'm sure the definition is different according to the age one is living in.

I began to think, The endowment has had a bad reputation in the last few years, and that's unfair.

Most of our funding goes to organizations and is then used to leverage the private sector.

The reason the National Endowment needs to exist is simply that the not-for-profit sector cannot make it on its own.

It would be difficult, in this day and age, to fund art that made racial slurs.

Part of the reason I make things realistic is, I don’t really want to have to explain my work. What I wish to communicate is done so people can make their own interpretation, and if it’s different to my idea it doesn't matter.

There are two parts to the creative endeavor: making something, then disseminating it.

When we teach a child to sing or play the flute, we teach her how to listen. When we teach her to draw, we teach her to see. When we teach a child to dance, we teach him about his body and about space, and when he acts on a stage, he learns about character and motivation. When we teach a child design, we reveal the geometry of the world. When we teach children about the folk and traditional arts and the great masterpieces of the world, we teach them to celebrate their roots and find their own place in history.

This thing called love was a total mystery to me, but the vagaries of passion and despair that accompanied each devotion kept my life in high drama.