David Shields Quotes

Art has to change things, and if it was immediately acceptable it would not be doing the job.

I like the idea of subversively communicating with people... so that you make people see things in different ways.

People might say I'm difficult, but did you ever hear anyone describe a label as 'difficult'? By nature, artists should challenge. When they call you difficult, it is a reflection of the imbalance of power.

It is our job to ask the questions that make everybody uncomfortable.

Poetry and art are key influences in changing how we look at taboos.

When you start a conversation about something that is under-discussed and you use art to convey it, I think that is incredibly powerful but is always going to create waves.

I am probably an outsider because I challenge conventional narratives about who should have a seat at the table.

Art is nowhere near as dangerous as it should be.

Real art has the capacity to make us nervous.

Being called a 'bad citizen' is a compliment to a novelist, at least to my mind. That's exactly what we ought to do.

Originality is dangerous. It challenges, questions, overturns assumptions, unsettles moral codes.

That's the job of art: to undo the logic of the world.

I'm a provocateur.

I'm a provocateur.

I stand up for what is right even if it puts me in a political conundrum. Supporting Senator Sanders was one of those moments when the status quo said 'Uh uh, bad girl.'

I think there's very little interesting in art that is not transgressive in some way. And I don't think that's a very revolutionary thing to say.

I think at some point there may be artists who will get fed up, and they deliberately want to use their art as a means to rock the waves a little bit. And instead of doing the status quo, they'll deliberately go out to really make a change. I think Kendrick Lamar is an example of that.

I love the fact we do break taboos.

What I'm trying to do with my work is to break open things that are sealed, that are under siege.

Wow, a left-wing leader getting a good reception at a rock festival. What kind of crazy world is it we live in that that kind of thing happens?

In my village, people believed that women should stay in their homes. However, I followed my heart and showed them that I'll not succumb to their regressive ideals.

It would, of course, be wrong to say that the arts have no social value. They have tremendous power and can often, indirectly, make our world a better place to live in.

Young girls in Haryana should speak their mind and not be afraid to challenge the system.

If people say, 'You can't do that,' you can be sure I will do my utmost to do it.

I was 7 years old, and I challenged everything. I never accepted answers on face value.