Artistic Bravery Quotes

When I write, what I long for is not more realism or fiction but more courage. That's what I always find myself short on and what I have to struggle to achieve in order that the work might live.

a poet will even face death when he sees his people oppressed.

Who but a brazen crazy person would go one-on-one with blank paper or canvas armed with nothing but ideas?

I'm always begging people like James Brooks and Cameron Crowe to come to screenings, to see what they make of it, and they're always ridiculously helpful. They also keep me brave enough to commit to what I'm trying to do. They can be great cheerleaders for risk-taking.

I grew up in adoration of writers like Hemingway, George Orwell, Anna Akhmatova, and that has always been my idea about the artist - that you have to be a brave and freedom-loving person.

Even when a film is finished, when I direct a film, sometimes it's a dark profession, but it requires a peculiar form of courage that I admire.

...writing fiction...is no job for intellectual cowards.

As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren't brave, we aren't artists.

An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally.

Spike Lee is one of my biggest influences. What I love about Spike, other than he's just a fun guy to hang around, is that Spike is fearless. As much as people talk about him being politically outspoken, let's not forget that he's one of the best screenwriters, ever, in addition to being a visual master.

The great fear I've had to overcome is the fear of failure. You have to be willing to be afraid, if you're going to be an artist.

I just appreciate what Andre 3000 has done musically - just the bravery. I think Andre 3000 may be one of the bravest artists in rap music.

You need a certain amount of nerve to be a writer, an almost physical nerve, the kind you need to walk a log across a river.

I think I'm inspired mostly by other artists that aren't actors, like writers or singers or artists, for being so brave.

I think there are definite parallels between sport and art. There's a real sense of sacrifice. There's a real sense of dedication that is needed in sport that I think you can attribute to art. I think so much of it is about bravery and courage, being an actor.

As a writer, the best mindset is to be unafraid.

A writer must be fearless. A writer has to be like a clawed animal." -The Carrie Diaries pg. 337

I support the idea that artists have to make a stand. I'm with that - you're putting the discussion on the table and you're letting people know. You're being brave as an artist and responsible to the community.

I want my soldiers - I mean artists - to be young and strong, with tireless energy performing impossible feats of cunning and bravura.

Leigh Bowery created outfits that made him look deformed, which was very brave. I believe this was the main thing that gave Leigh his edge. His designs were often breath-taking, but it was the way he used his body that was so utterly new and refreshing.

While I have not ruled out the possibility of doing music, what I don't want to do is go onstage and perform old songs. I do, all the time, but I don't think it is artistically brave.