Glenn Ligon Quotes

Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see.

Artwork is a representation of our devotion to life.

Art is the way people see things, and I think it's great when individuals can find in fashion something they truly believe is artistic.

I try to give people a different way of looking at their surroundings. That's art to me.

If art has a purpose, it is to interpret life, reproduce it in fresh visions.

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.

Only by art can we get outside ourselves, instead of seeing only one world, our own, we see it under multiple forms.

A drawing should be a verdict on the model. Don't confuse a drawing with a map.

Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another's view of the universe which is not the same as ours and see landscapes which otherwise would remain unknown to us like the landscapes of the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists.

A painter may be looking at the world in a way which is very different from everyone else. If he's a craftsman, he can get other people to see the world through his eyes, and so he enlarges our vision, perception, and there's great value in that.

I look at everything in an artistic way.

I think art can reflect tragedy.

I'm an artist that's attracted to a specific way of seeing and a way of being.

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

Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.

The mission of art is to represent nature not to imitate her.

Art is the fatal net which catches these strange moments on the wing like mysterious butterflies, fleeing the innocence and distraction of common men.

Any work of art that can be understood is the product of journalism.

You can turn something into art just because of the way you tell people to look at it.

Art is commenting on what's going on around you in your life.

What I wish to show when I paint is the way I see things with my eyes and in my heart.

Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.

I was doing an interview with a curator, and he asked me to sum up art in one word. Before he even finished asking the question, I said, 'Impurity.' Because that's it.

Art is something special because it can come up with a way of approaching the truth that is a little to the side.

That's really the whole point of art - it's to take something commonplace and draw people on a path so that, all of a sudden, they have a new impression of everything around them.