Junot Diaz Quotes

Art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.

Art is moral passion married to entertainment. Moral passion without entertainment is propaganda, and entertainment without moral passion is television.

I believe that true art is universal in its appeal.

I think there is a debate in the arts about, you know, whether we must strive for art for art's sake, and you know, kind of try to keep political debate out of our work. And to that I say, I'd like you to show me an example of, you know, this so-called apolitical art. I don't think there's any such thing.

I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.

The role of art in society differs for every artist.

Art is truth.

I don't think we should be deceived that art is such a moral thing.

We want people to experience art and think about it. The art reflects our time, it is about our culture.

I believe in broken, fractured, complicated narratives, but I believe in narratives as a vehicle for truth, not simply as a form of entertainment, though I love entertainment, but also a way of conveying what needs to be conveyed about the works that I care about.

Putting out commercial pieces and promoting them and trying to sell them to people is not necessarily what it means to be an artist.

Art should be life. It's an imitation of life. It should have some humanity in it.

Art is a tool by which society extends its perception.

Artwork operates on two different levels: On one level, there's artwork as a mode of expressivity, and then there's the other side, where the image is a construction that is meant to engage in a discursive field in order to perform a particular function.

I think art can reflect tragedy.

The essential function of art is moral. But a passionate, implicit morality, not didactic. A morality which changes the blood, rather than the mind.

Art is not meant to change the world.

My theory is this; I'm not a political songwriter. I'm an honest songwriter.

I think every artist should follow their vision; their hearts is what they need to reveal, not something that society is looking out for. That said though, I think also artists have, continuously good artists, have been good for their times.

What motivates me in art is the ugly and beautiful nature of the truth. It has to be truthful and honest, even if it is ugly and grotesque.

The greater the conceptual significance of a literary product, the more it should be assumed that it is based on an idea that determines the whole, and that the deeper consciousness of the time to which it belongs is reflected in it.

I don't believe that art is just for entertainment. I want to create art that is meaningful in some way.

Of what use were the arts if they were only the reproduction and the imitation of life?

We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand.

What is art? Art talks about life; it's subversive.