Cai Guo-Qiang Quotes

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.

There is no such thing as an artist - only the world, lit or unlit, as the world allows.

I'd very much like to create my own style as a photographer, even if it's just for myself.

The whole Modernist lie is that art is about the artist.

I feel like the point of being an artist is to have your own voice: to do it the way you would do it and not the way anyone else would do it. If you're a strong enough writer, then that voice is going to come out all the time, and I can't stop it from coming out, no matter what I do.

So I don't think of myself as just a musician at all, I think of myself as an artist.

I try to make pictures I would want to see.

Whatever is about you that is translated into your art, that's gonna keep you completly original and fresh and I just think that, that's just the best advice I can give, to an artist creatively.

No, I never had any dreams. The process of art is a dream in itself. The artist just doesn't... you work out something. It's yours. You don't have to go to sleep to do that. You do that on the canvas.

An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language.

Most of the time, as an artist, I can be self-indulgent, fulfilling my own impulses, embracing imagery that contains poetry on my own terms, without immediate regard to an audience or the particular placement of my finished work.

For me it's all about personal vision; is there something about a subject that uniquely speaks to me.

The most seductive thing about art is the personality of the artist himself.

The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.

So I try to re-invent my own eye every time I tackle a new subject. But it's hard, because everybody has style. You can't help it.

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

But at a certain point, you have to take your influence and find your own voice if you want to become a relevant artist.

Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.

I don't even think about maintaining a relevance. I just think about what do I want to paint, what am I gonna do now, what am I gonna do later.

I consider myself first of all an artist. My work is about my creativity - why I create and not for whom.

If I had to compare myself to another artist, I wouldn't. I feel like my lyrics are really strong. I'm good at painting pictures and telling picture stories.

My passion for painting is so sacred and personal to me.

I just follow what inspires me as an artist and a storyteller, and stay true to myself in my work.

You make art, you make it from what you know, and that's the best way to make art. You get lost in the details and make something that feels like it's yours.