Elia Kazan Quotes

I don't know what a painting is; who knows what sets off even the desire to paint? It might be things, thoughts, a memory, sensations, which have nothing to do directly with painting itself. They can come from anything and anywhere.

My forms are not abstractions of things in the real world. They're also not symbols. I would say that my job is to invent these forms and to put them together in a way that keeps your interest, to give the forms a quirky identity so you can engage with them, so you realize there's an inner intelligence or logic.

You keep on balancing and balancing and balancing until the picture wins, because then the subject's turned into the picture.

The pictures I make come from every blink of my lashes.

For me, Picasso was the ultimate man. He taught me that photography is all about how you approach an image: what you do and what you don't do. He inspired me to go beyond what you think is in front of you.

I try to construct a picture in which shapes, spaces, colors, form a set of unique relationships, independent of any subject matter. At the same time I try to capture and translate the excitement and emotion aroused in me by the impact with the original idea.

I want to make beautiful paintings. But I don't make beautiful paintings by putting beautiful paint on a canvas with a beautiful motif. It just doesn't work. I expect my paintings to be strong and surprising.

Everything I do, whether it's producing or signing an artist, always starts with the songs. When I'm listening, I'm looking for a balance that you could see in anything. Whether it's a great painting or a building or a sunset.

I'm not particularly interested in painting, per se. I'm interested in a painting that has that mysterious life to it. Anything that doesn't partake of that magic is halfway dead - it returns to its physical elements, it's just paint and canvas.

My inspiration can come from anything - films, the street, paparazzi pictures.

I think the job of an original designer is to inspire.

To me, that is the essence of me as a photographer. It is those ideas, working with them, formulating them and eventually putting them down on paper, photographing them and then going on to the next step.

I do believe every artwork has its own charisma. Sometimes it's different from what I expect. When a work is finished, it exudes its own charisma and lives its life independently.

I admire a lot of photographers, but I feel very disconnected from them at the same time. I don't feel I employ any technique like these people in my work. I guess if there's any influence from any of these photographers, it's this: They were concerned only with beauty. Not with 'cool.' I hope I'm doing the same.

I'm a lover of film and storytelling. I believe that I was put on earth to tell stories, and I'm not interested in telling the same stories over and over and over again.

The camera is a remarkable instrument. Saturate yourself with your subject, and the camera will all but take you by the hand and point the way.

If a man wants to be an artist, he must never look at pictures.

You can't buy vision, and you can't buy aesthetic.

I've done my own videos, I do my own styling, so I feel like I've just always been a visual artist... I was one of those kids who wanted to make my own clothes and take pictures of everything. Everything inspired me, and everything felt like art around me.

It's not about the equipment. Be less concerned about what kind of camera you have and more about what kind of effect you're trying to accomplish. Finding an original take is much more important than what you shoot it with.

My intention was to create something that people loved to look at and they could find inspiration from, and that was it.

I'm inspired by art - in whatever form it takes. I love when I see a painting or a photograph that captures my attention.

Sometimes it's a beautiful face, sometimes it's a place. I am inspired by everything.

You're creating ' it comes from the heart, the spirit, the soul. You're not manufacturing somebody else's plan, somebody else's blueprint, somebody else's idea that's not yours. So when you're creating, that's the beauty side of art, you know? It comes from within you.

If you look at the things I'm drawn to, it's always stuff that's got a lot of imagination and heart.