Maya Lin Quotes

Personally, I feel that in my own work I wanted to look programmed or impersonal but I don't really believe I am being impersonal when I do it. And I don't think you could do this.

It's really tough to make a name for yourself without compromising and without fitting yourself into a real specific mold. When I made the choice that I would be involved in every aspect of music and not necessarily make music for radio or MTV, I was saying, 'OK, this is me. You decide who it is.'

I guess I created LeRoy Neiman. Nobody else told me how to do it. Well, I'm a believer in the theory that the artist is as important as his work.

I suppose I'm trying to build an architecture that's as timeless as possible, although we're all creatures of our age.

I really don't think of my work in terms of a genre. I think of it in terms of what I want to say, what I think is cool, and what I'm good at.

The way I look at a solo project is, I create what I want with whoever I want.

I think this, I think basically I'm not interested in people following my work or making work like my work.

Janelle Monae, she has her own style, and it's specifically hers.

I love being able to work with other artists I admire, but I have a lot to do on my own before I am willing to make it all about embracing other people.

I don't usually collab with producers, because I don't need to. I never have, because I don't want to break my style of how I do things.

I am not really interested in only showcasing my life or work but plan to produce, write and create work that is solely my vision.

When I can make music and don't have to think about anyone else's ideas or voice - when I'm making something that only I can make - it feels good. It's nice when you can find a sound that only you can make. No one else can make 'Cosmogramma.' No one else can make 'Until the Quiet Comes.'

I want to be my own artist and reflect my creativity.. I don't want to be turned into a pop princess; that's not who I am.

I'm very rarely interested in genres. As long as I feel I can put my DNA out there in the ideology, it works for me.

You have to understand that your music isn't for everybody; your job isn't to please everybody.

Maybe many directors are trying to create their own style of filmmaking, or to respond to audiences that come expect a certain style from them. But I don't care about that - I don't intend to have a 'Miike' style. I just pour myself into each film, enjoy it, and then what comes out just seems to have a 'Miike' style.

I am going to make singles with other artists and put those out there - I'd love to work with Bruno Mars, Drake, Kendrick Lamar. But when somebody buys a Tee Grizzley album, all they're going to hear is Tee Grizzley.

When you make music on your own for so long, you get used to just doing whatever you want.

As an artist, I really feel I need an outlet to exhibit all of my skills.

The way I work is not the way that you work, and the whole point of any creative act is that. What I have to offer is me, what you have to offer is you, and if you offer yourself with authenticity and generosity I will be moved.

The artist and the multitude are natural enemies. They always will be, both ways. The artist is an enemy of the multitude, and the multitude is the enemy of the artist. And when the disguise comes off and they're both standing facing one another, they're just there at odds end.

I grew up with synthesizers and weird, spacey music-hip-hop, R&B, modern rock-that I heard on the radio. That's influenced the way I play music. It's natural for me to go with what I feel. If I didn't let that other stuff out and stuck to a certain format, I would feel like I was missing out on something. I'm just enjoying my ride and being who I am.

You're the artist - you make the music that you want to make.

Max Kozloff said to me one day, ‘You’re not really a photographer. You do photography, but you do it for your own purposes – your purposes are not the same as others’. I’m not quite sure what he meant, but I like that. I like the way he put it.

There are obviously so many artists that are very inspiring, but I can't say that they like - that I have someone in mind that is like a creative direction of where I want to go as an artist. I think I'm just doing my own thing.