Bruce Nauman Quotes

We have the script, we have the actors, and we're trying to figure out what this is, and you don't know what it is. You have to be open to what it's going to become rather than have this thing that you're trying to get to, which is boring.

So much of making movies is about discovery on the day, what you're figuring out. If you know everything going in, then it's not worth doing - it's already done.

My idea of artistry has always been 'try everything until you find out what works.'

The only phrase I've ever disliked is, 'Why, we've always done it that way.' I always tell young people, 'Go ahead and do it. You can always apologize later.'

When you work with an actor and then you discover new things that are better, I think you gotta be free to be able to go with the new things that you're finding. I think that's very important. I have a strong idea when I go to shoot a movie but I also love to discover things when I'm on set as well.

Perhaps the most important thing I can tell you about equipment is to experiment and keep an open mind.

You know what your trouble is? You're the kind who always reads the handbook. Anything people build, any kind of technology, it's going to have some specific purpose. It's for doing something that somebody already understands. But if it's new technology, it'll open areas nobody's ever thought of before. You read the manual, man, and you won't play around with it, not the same way. And you get all funny when somebody else uses it to do something you never thought of.

We have a process that continually looks back to him for guidance, but it also combines that with a tremendous amount of discovery and invention, as well, because of the demands of the medium and the opportunities of the medium.

All day long, I'm creative, and the second I get a little tired of any given medium, I just shut that area down and go to the next room. I just go do something else.

There's been a lot of role reversal going on in the band. The roles people have been playing for a long time will always be there, but everybody's willing to try on different outfits.

When I do a take, I very often try things that I haven't planned to try to see if I can pull it off.

I'm not a creature of habit. I like to find things from unexpected sources.

I'm attracted to seeing how different I can be, pushing the boat out.

Customers want new things, and the way that they get them isn't written in stone.

The essence of play is that the sequence of actions is fluid and scattered.

I love what I do and being in front of the camera. But I never want to limit myself to just one thing and just venture out into new things.

Anything goes. You always find interesting things that way.

I like to do new things, so I always take on roles that I feel will keep me on my toes. I never want to pigeon myself, so I always like to surprise myself. I believe in versatility and so I would play anything as long as it was a challenge.

Producing a series is like being Lewis and Clark: You know where you're going, you just don't know how you're going to get there. When people say, 'You should create a bible for your show,' I say, 'You don't want a bible. It'll prevent you from making discoveries along the way.' And that's what happened on 'The X-Files.'

To be honest, I think we should find first the possibility to make it. Research is first - if you're not interested, you never can find something. Many things happen from forgotten machines - ones that are no longer used.

I don't want to limit myself as a writer. Tastes change, and I want to keep my eye on the future.

I have always been more interested in experiment, than in accomplishment.

I like to reinvent with each project, in any which way possible.

With any new medium, the full power is only unearthed with experimentation.

My style evolves day by day; I love change.