Artistic Power Quotes

Never can the innate power of a work be hidden or locked away. A work of art can be forgotten by time; it can be forbidden and rejected but the elemental will always prevail over the ephemeral.

The most potent elements in a work of art are, often, its silences.

Art is nowhere near as dangerous as it should be.

I get to say 'no' to a lot of things. That, for an artist, is crazy.

I'm really interested in social justice, and if an artist has a certain power of being heard and voicing something important, it's right to do it. It could still be done in such a way that it's not aggressive or overly didactic. I'm trying to find that form.

Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint.

Truth and reality in art do not arise until you no longer understand what you are doing and are capable of but nevertheless sense a power that grows in proportion to your resistance.

That's the real power of art, I think. Not to chide but to provoke challenge. Otherwise why bother?

I looked at my right hand, the hand with which I painted. There was power in that hand. Power to create and destroy. Power to bring pleasure and pain. Power to amuse and horrify. There was in that hand the demonic and the divine at one and the same time. The demonic and the divine were two aspects of the same force. Creation was demonic and divine. Creativity was demonic and divine. I was demonic and divine.

If at noon you sit down and there's just silence or blank tape, in an hour if you have a song, that didn't exist an hour ago. Now it exists and it might exist for a long time. There's something empowering about that.

Wouldn't it be grand if we thought that theater could have that impact on the political life of a country?

Art is not chaste. Those ill prepared should be allowed no contact with art. Art is dangerous. If it is chaste, it is not art.

I only feel, but want the power to paint.

"The work of art must seize upon you...carry you away."

For me, 'Rent' was all about coming out of myself, finding out who I was, learning the power I could have as a performer.

Great art has dreadful manners. The greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your reality.

Art ... is a force which blows the roof off the cave where we crouch imprisoned.

Music can change the world because it can change people.

The work of art is to dominate the spectator: the spectator is not to dominate the work of art.

I truly find such a sense of peace and calm when I'm working, and it's an inner peace that I've never been ever to achieve, doing anything else. It's where I feel most myself. I can access my power and strength, as an artist, and I can't imagine not doing it. I love it!

The truth of art lies in its power to break the monopoly of established reality to define what is real.

I feel that all good art is powerful and simple.

I didn't start off with the responsibility because I didn't think anybody would care. But as you do meet these people influenced by your music, then you start to understand you have a responsibility. I don't think you initially know it until you feel the power of what you're really doing.

Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.

The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.