Hannah Arendt Quotes

Art is art. Politics is politics. It's very hard to get them together.

Every artistic expression is either influenced by or adds something to politics.

I think there is a debate in the arts about, you know, whether we must strive for art for art's sake, and you know, kind of try to keep political debate out of our work. And to that I say, I'd like you to show me an example of, you know, this so-called apolitical art. I don't think there's any such thing.

I don't think music should be played anywhere near politics. The two don't go together.

In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art's sake, art that stands above classes or art that is detached from or independent of politics.

All good art should be political, I think, and inevitably it all becomes political really, in one way or another.

Art means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of power which holds it hostage.

It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome and pushes against stuff.

For art to be 'unpolitical' means only to ally itself with the 'ruling' group.

There is no gap between art and politics.

I think, for some artists, the fear of taking on a political identity stems from not wanting to be pigeonholed as political actor or a political musician. It becomes this thing where somehow your art can no longer exist on its own and be multifaceted.

I tell myself I use art to promote dissent, but maybe I am just using dissent to promote my art. I plead not guilty to selling out. But I plead it from a bigger house than I used to live in.

Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is.

I think it's always difficult to reconcile the needs of art and business.

Some of the greatest artists did their best work when they got political.

If art is singular expression, then by nature, the best art is controversial. But when art stirs debate for reasons besides its artistic integrity, that's when things get bent.

Art must not serve might.

There is not a special imposition on writers to be activists. All that does is encourage writers to write propaganda. Propaganda can be written by anybody, including dictators.

Poetry is about the grief. Politics is about the grievance.

I think all art is about control - the encounter between control and the uncontrollable.

A lot of politics in art is just institutional critique, which, in my opinion, is not all that political.

I couldn't imagine doing a show where I'd once again have to answer to corporate interests.

I think the good thing about Macklemore is that he is very precise about what he gets involved in. As you can tell, he's very passionate about what he puts his name on, because he talks about things people don't usually talk about, and his concepts are very, very passionate.

There is an incompatibility between literary creation and political activity.

I don't feel that as an artist my job is to offer PR propaganda, whether for the good or for the bad.