Ali Smith Quotes

Hip-hop can be limiting and I refuse to accept limits.

I wanted to make my sophomore film as different as possible. I didn't want to be pigeonholed. I didn't want to be identifiable.

As a film-maker, I certainly don't want to be put into some box.

I don't want to do music in a box, like everybody say what I can't do, 'he can't say this.'

Being an artist means ceasing to take seriously that very serious person we are when we are not an artist.

In school, I learned about artists and how they were free to express themselves. I was allergic to conformity, and the lifestyle attracted me. I wanted to express myself in a way that slammed people up against the wall.

Everything about my life was culturally rich, and all the people I met sort of reinforced the wackiness that was normally inside of me. No one said, 'You can't do that,' until I got to real record companies, that is.

It's just someone has labelled us as having a different label to do what you do. I find that labels are the worst thing in the world for artistic expression.

All I really want to do is things I haven't done. 'I'm gonna put a paper bag on my head and be on the cover of 'Billboard,' see what I can get away with - if they'll let me.' And they let me. And I am literally giggling inside for, like, a month that I got away with it.

They're never gonna not put you in a box. It's something that they have to do, because nine times out of 10 people don't understand creativity.

I guess, just being in a group, I had never thought to question my individual artistry.

I know that whatever I put out, whether people think it's pop or noise or whatever, it's always going to be some kind of a freak or mutation. It's not going to be anything pure that a lot of people will relate to. And that's fine.

I don't like being pigeonholed. Why would you want to limit yourself to one style or one genre? Labels are something I want to avoid. I've had it my whole life, being pushed into a place, a circumstance or situation I didn't want to be in. My motivation has always been to get away from it.

I'm an artist. I'm a musician. I'm not someone you can put in a box.

You can't put me in a box, because then it's just like, you're not gonna get anything.

I think people have come to know that I am not comfortable in a box, you know, and that I love music.

One of the things with the second record, a word I held close to my chest was 'brave.' To take chances to go outside the box and explore. To continue to toss off any expectation that our fans or anyone else might have of us, to just tap into who I am as a writer and artist and really just operate within that freedom of creation.

I remember when I was in art classes, I hated following the assignments. And I would get in trouble for doing something totally different or taking it in a weird direction.

I think I'm always conscious of not letting things fit into a specific box. Being a filmmaker and trying to chart a career, you never want anyone to be able to pigeonhole you into one specific thing.

It's like, you can't have any fun, and if you do have fun, if you do your own thing, you're considered crazy and should be in a mental institution. Now, that's what I find creepy. I'm eccentric. I am not messed up.

It has bothered me all my life that I do not paint like everybody else.

It does not matter how badly you paint so long as you don't paint badly like other people.

I hate the idea that I have to represent any particular section of society; I just write good telly, that's all.

I don't think of myself as Scottish or lesbian when I sit down and write. I am glad I have broken out of that limited audience.

I'm going to try to not let anyone put me in a box, and that certainly applies to the things I do outside of acting.