Robert Crumb Quotes

What an artist learns matters little. What he himself discovers has a real worth for him, and gives him the necessary incitement to work.

I've managed to dodge the curse. Not all my family have. Of course, music helped me - music is all about civilization, about something worthwhile. It's all about ideas.

Everything I make starts very personally.

We all do 'do, re, mi,' but you have got to find the other notes yourself.

To create something you must be something.

Lyrically I like to use themes that make the listener use his or her imagination, and to give a little of the lessons I've learned in my own life.

You can't write about stuff you don't know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

Every time I write a song I feel really lucky and kind of surprised. Not surprised that I wrote it, but just surprised that things exist that you don't know about.

I can't help seeing 'Waste Land' as the third in a triptych with my earlier films 'Devil's Playground' and 'Blindsight,' and not least in the awe and gratitude I feel for the group of people who were courageous enough to share their stories with us - and to live lives so rich in inspiration for us all.

I found that dance, music, and literature is how I made sense of the world... it pushed me to think of things bigger than life's daily routines... to think beyond what is immediate or convenient.

Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother's womb.

When I finish a painting, it usually looks as surprising to me as to anyone else.

The story of 'Lasers' is my story. I didn't have to look too far to get subject matter for this record; it was stuff that was happening to me.

I always say that I'm at my best when there's no example of what the character is supposed to be. I thrive when there's not much and I have to create it.

What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go to the place in your own gut where everything is nothing. That's a very Zen thing to say, but that place of nothing is where real creativity comes out of.

The dream is to keep surprising yourself, never mind the audience.

Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.

I take a lot from everywhere. I take from music, architecture, novels, and plays. Anywhere that hits you.

If you have something you do that's unique, you just end up in situations. Your art can take you to places without you working too hard to force something to happen.

Art is one of the prime ways we have of opening ourselves and going beyond ourselves. That's what art is: it's the product of the human being in the world and imagination, all coming together.

The new idea for me now is creativity. I like to express myself.

It's funny when you follow your own sort of bliss, then other people tend to respond in kind, meaning audiences. It's really weird how that works, but it does seem to apply to 'Nancy & Beth' especially.

I care about being creative and expressing myself.

The part of the process that's exciting to me is feeling like I'm in a place I've never been before, in every way. Without that, I don't know if I'd be a writer.

Really, creation and innovation are part of the French DNA.