Rollo May Quotes

Art is longer than life.

Creativity is a yearning for immortality

Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back legs together. My message to the world is 'Let's swing, sing, shout, make noise! Let's not mimic death before our time comes! Let's be wet and noisy!'

The hand of bone and sinew and flesh achieves its immortality in taking up a pen. The hand on a page wields a greater power than the fleshly hand ever could in life.

Death will destroy my body, but my creatures will keep on living ever after, in the years to come.

Art is the result of a creative impulse derived out of a consciousness of life.

There is something wonderful about singing and writing music, I think there is something special about creativity and the ability humans have in that area.

Art gives man a reminder that he is not just a consumer but a creator as well. It awakens in him the urge to struggle and perform great deeds; it fills him with the craving to pass on the Promethean fire to generations to come.

An artist is the magician put among men to gratify - capriciously - their urge for immortality.

We, by our arts may be called the grandsons of God.

Encouraged, we recognise the importance of living artistically, aesthetically and creatively as creative creatures of the creator.

Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me.

I would like to live forever in people's hearts and minds; that would be fun. I'll leave the world my art.

I think an artist's true worth comes through an inter-generational thing - when you go beyond your own time, and start influencing people in a greater way than just what surrounds you.

The early Bob Dylan was compulsively drawn to the conflict between stability and the search for immortality.

When I'm dead, I wanna leave a body of work, like authors or great painters do. I don't wanna get ideas above my station, but why shouldn't this be comparable? Pop music was supposed to be a flash in the pan, but here we are 50 years later, and it means something to us, and it always will do. It's incredibly important.

I want the power that comes from expressing myself creatively and putting something back into the world. Being someone's muse would be flattering, but it could get old fast.

The one artist who actually had influence over me was Bo Bartlett.

When I see a beautiful piece of art, it inspires me to be creative.

If I don't stay creative and if I don't stay in the studio and keep writing and recording, I get kind of depressed. I can't quite remember what I'm supposed to be doing with myself.

Our internal artist is always our creative child.

The noblest works and foundations have proceeded from childless men, which have sought to express the images of their minds where those of their bodies have failed.

I don't understand how people live without creating.

There are so many selves in everybody, and just to explore and exploit one is wrong, dead wrong, for the creative person.