Agnes Martin Quotes

The primary distinction of the artist is that he must actively cultivate that state which most men, necessarily, must avoid; the state of being alone.

I have never belonged wholeheartedly to country or State, to my circle of friends or even to my own family... Such isolation is sometimes bitter, but I do not regret being cut off from the understanding and sympathy of other men. I lose something by it,to be sure, but I am compensated for it in being rendered independent of the customs, opinions and prejudices of others, and am not tempted to rest my peace of mind upon such shifting foundations.

I think, at the end of the day, I have an outsider's heart.

The task of the solitary man is to be even more solitary.

Creating is a lonely thing in a lot of ways.

I'm in nobody's circle, I've always been an outsider.

The rare few, who, early in life have rid themselves of the friendship of the many.

All good writing comes out of aloneness.

The difference of human being behind the guy on the page is in writing, I'm no longer conscious of personal repercussions because for that moment they don't exist. At times, I tell myself, Well, I can always go back and change that or take it out, and I find out that I rarely do. Couple little things here and there: Do unto others. Be a good scout. With all the ironies that entails, I go by that. That's a good way to live.

A lone walker is both present and detached, more than an audience but less than a participant. Walking assuages or legitimizes this alienation.

I'm a loner clear down deep to my guts.

If there is one thing that, as a director, you don't want to be a part of, it's a group. It's the same thing with music. I don't want to be a part of a scene. Just leave me alone. It's just my nature, and it's nothing against the people that are in that group, but I just like to be left alone.

I am ready to be alone.

She's alone, they kept telling themselves, and surely she danced in no one's arms, yet somehow that seemed to matter less and less. As the night went on, and clarinet and coyote call mingled beyond the lantern light, the magic of their own powder-blue jackets and orchids seemed to fade, and it came to them in small sensations that they were more alone than she was.

The price for independence is often isolation and solitude.

As from a star I saw, coldly and soberly, the separateness of everything. I felt the wall of my skin; I am I. That stone is a stone. My beautiful fusion with the things of this world was over.

How in the world was I alone? Because I wanted to be. That's all I can say. It's all that makes sense to me.

The detachment of the artist is kind of creepy. It's kind of rude, and yet really it's where art comes from. It's not the same as courage. It's closer to bad manners than to courage. If you're going to be a writer, you basically have to say, 'this is just who I am'. There's a certain indefensibility about it. It's not about loving your community and taking care of it — you're not attached to the chamber of commerce. It's a little unsafe. You have to be willing to have only four friends, not 11.

In what concerns you much, do not think that you have companions: know that you are alone in the world.

I had no place in any coterie, or in any reciprocal self-advertising. I stood alone. I stood outside. I wanted only to learn. I wanted only to write better.

Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know what lonely means either. Bears are made to be solitary.

Once you're alienated, you're on your own. That takes you to the world of the existential, where things just kind of float.

Writing a book is incredibly pleasurable, but very solitary. You have total control, but sometimes that can drive you insane.

Personally I kept my feelings out of it and created a fantasy. That's the process of going through this world being beautiful.

To be an honest writer, you have to be away from home, and totally alone in life.