Victor Hugo Quotes

The real artist, who knew what he was imitating, would be interested in realities and not in imitations; and would desire to leave as memorials of himself works many and fair; and, instead of being the author of encomiums, he would prefer to be the theme of them.

You can't trust an artist that just makes good records.

I think carrying moral baggage is very dangerous for an artist. If you have a duty, it's to be true and not cover up the cracks.

You can tell an honest artist from one who's just given all their songs.

If you stay true to your ideas, film-making becomes an inside-out, honest kind of process.

There's a great difference between being popular and being an artist.

Great pictures can't be entirely fictitious.

I know a lot of artists say this, but it's hard to put myself in a box. I just write songs that I strongly believe in and that are coming form a special place. There's no tricks.

I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.

I've got a long list of things I consider to be selling out. But amongst that list, one of them is when you make art without putting your guard down.

The audience will find the artist who matches their interests. If you're not being true to yourself, your audience can't find you, because there's a wall up between who you are and who they're seeing.

Always focus on the music first. That's the big thing. Staying true to making good music and not sacrificing that for anything.

I wouldn't disrespect myself or my art with any imitations.

I think I've always been aware of it with my music. I think growing up basically and having a lot to deal with and just slowing down and having something to say and something to retract from, I think I just knew that what I was doing was extremely honest.

What made Strapping Young Lad important, at least to me, was I was being honest about whatever was important to me at that time. In many ways, that musical process is there to resolve those issues, if you will.

You have to be honest about what kind of films you want to make.

I don't think I can create anything of lasting value unless it comes from the heart.

Rozay is an artist himself so he understands the importance of being true to your work.

Artists make art for themselves. Art is an honest expression. Artists who pander to their fans by trying to make music "for" their fans make empty, transparent art. The true fan does not want you to make music for them, they want you to make music for you, because that's the whole reason they fell in love with you in the first place.

I tend to get very suspicious of anything that thinks it's art while it's being created.

Most artists I know consider themselves to be phonies, along with the feeling that there's something that you're doing is essential, essential to communicate, and deeply, deeply real.

I don't need to edit names out of songs and I don't need to edit details out of my songs because I've always been able to be honest with my music. That's the one place where I'm never ever going to change how I do things.

The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.

I'm a big advocate of music being an honest representation of who you are as a person and your perspective.

From the writer's point of view, critics should be ignored, although it's hard not to do what they suggest. I think it's unfortunate to have critics for friends. Suppose you write something that stinks, what are they going to say in a review? Say it stinks? So if they're honest, they do, and if you were friends you're still friends, but the knowledge of your lousy writing and their articulate admission of it will be always something between the two of you, like the knowledge between a man and his wife of some shady adultery.