Pablo Picasso Quotes

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.

Art is nowhere near as dangerous as it should be.

In the court of the movie Owner, none criticized, none doubted. And none dared speak of art. In the Owner's mind art was a synonym for bankruptcy. The movie Owners are the only troupe in the history of entertainment that has never been seduced by the adventure of the entertainment world.

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

An artist in my view is always afraid of extremists; he is always afraid of those who claim to have found the ultimate solution to any question.

There are so many things in the world - in the cities - so much to see. Does art need to represent this variety and contribute to its proliferation? Can art be that free? The difficulties begin when you understand what it is that the soul will not permit the hand to make.

Don't be dismayed by the opinions of editors, or critics. They are only the traffic cops of the arts.

We might adapt for the artist the joke about there being nothing more dangerous than instruments of war in the hands of generals. In the same way, there is nothing more dangerous than justice in the hands of judges, and a paint brush in the hands of a painter! Just think of the danger to society! But today we haven't the heart to expel the painters and poets because we no longer admit to ourselves that there is any danger in keeping them in our midst.

Every major work of art is a transgression, but the artist is not necessarily, by nature, a transgressor.

I am for an art of things lost or thrown away. . . I am for an art that one smokes like a cigarette. . . I am for an art that flutters like a flag.

Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is.

I like people that challenge their art, not only in the purist way, but also in terms of how they could provoke and make something different.

That's the joy of art - it should be dangerous and challenging but it's just art - it's safe.

The first mistake of art is to assume that it's serious.

Throughout history, self-styled arbiters have taken it upon themselves to decide the question of what can or cannot be the legitimate purview of art.

I can only hope that the American people who have often shown their liking for my work as a painter, realizing that their access to it is hindered by institutional and governmental control, will understand the compelling motives for my gift.

I think that art has the ability to capture people's imaginations and make them think that more is possible.

There's nothing more superficial to do than to paint a beautiful woman. The most beautiful portraits in art were of ugly women. If you paint Brigitte Bardot, it's a disaster. Sunsets, you have to stay away from sunsets. You paint a sunset, you are in great danger.

For me, art doesn't stop at the gallery space.

Art is not a democracy, in fact art is the enemy of democracy

The art world is the biggest joke going. It's a rest home for the overprivileged, the pretentious, and the weak. And modern art is a disgrace - never have so many people used so much stuff and taken so long to say so little.

But it's hard to talk about art. Maybe there should be a law against it, some First Amendment gag order like crying fire in a crowded theater.

If I've made it a little easier for artists to work in violence, great! I've accomplished something.

To think about love and passion and political correctness all together, it doesn't work. Art has to go way past the political to be effective.

I would advise puppeteering for any artist. It's a way to break down pretensions. It's a sculpture that can talk. It's a painting that can talk. And it's pure play. I think every artist needs to stay in touch with the idea of playing. The artist should always be playing, always. All art is performance.