Chinua Achebe Quotes

My position is that serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict. I don't see how art can be called art if its purpose is to frustrate humanity.

Serious and good art has always existed to help, to serve, humanity. Not to indict.

Art is about trying to find the good in people, and making the world a more compassionate place.

Leo Tolstoy said the purpose of art is to teach you to love life. And that's what I want.

What I am really concerned about is what art is supposed to be - and can become.

Real art is one of the most powerful forces in the rise of mankind, and he who renders it accessible to as many people as possible is a benefactor of humanity.

I believe all painting and art should be uplifting for the viewer.

The purpose of art is the lifelong construction of a state of wonder.

Sometimes art is just about getting a reaction, that's really the end-all be-all.

My words, my writing, my actions—these have never been for myself alone, either directly or indirectly. There is no such thing as an artist who creates art only for himself. That is masturbation.

The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.

The artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows it to realize its supreme purpose through him.

There is no art without intention.

If art is not to be life-enhancing, what is it to be?

The true test of all the arts is not solely whether the production is a true copy of nature, but whether it answers the end of art, which is to produce a pleasing effect upon the mind.

Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes art mean the things he does.

What we also need to have a discussion on the philosophy of art: so we must ask what is it that we want in the first place? Is it just about saying and doing whatever you want, or is it about something more? We should let the artist be free, but we must also question how exactly he deals with freedom. Is it arts for elevation or arts for destruction? Is there dignity in the process?

There are things going on in galleries recently that have shocked me. What I'm going to say is really controversial, but what I find the most provocative is the commerciality of art in general. And the fact that a lot of people have forgotten what the meaning of art is and what the intention behind it is.

There are those who think that Zeffirelli's Hamlet is the way to treat Shakespeare. I think that cinema can handle much more. We somehow expect cinema to provide us with meaning, to console us. But that's not the purpose of art.

The purpose of art ... is not to reflect life but to organize it, to build it.

Art should be on the side of humanity.

Art's purpose is to sober and quiet the mind so that it is in accord with what happens.

No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art.

Our jobs as artists is to make sure our art tells a real story and let people see themselves in these characters. It's about having a conversation about being better people.

Art is the perpetual motion of illusion. The highest purpose of art is to inspire. What else can you do? What else can you do for any one but inspire them?