T. C. Boyle Quotes

Every viewer is going to get a different thing. That's the thing about painting, photography, cinema.

If I tell the audience what they should think, then I am robbing them of their own imagination and their own capacity of deciding what's important to them.

To me, art begets art. Painting feeds the eye just as poetry feeds the ear, which is to say that both feed the soul.

Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.

But the greatest thing about music is putting it out there for people to figure out. You want the listener to find the song on their own. If you give too much away, it takes away from the imagination.

Human requirements are the inspiration for art.

The worst sin that can be committed against the artist is to take him at his word, to see in his work a fulfillment instead of an horizon.

Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life.

I think writers like to see how people bring their words to life, and it's always surprising. Always, no matter what, whether it's good or bad, it's always surprising because a whole human being is coming to that piece of writing.

With most of the songs and music that I've composed, irrespective of the myriad videos made, I was always careful not to overly define the experience, leaving room for people to internalize things for themselves, making their experience more integral.

Some movies bring out the creativity in you. Every single audience member can become creative in the face of a particular movie. If you happen to like my films, it's because my films provide a bed for you on which you can find your creativity. The Hollywood movies do not provide that for you.

Different people get different things out of the images. It doesn't matter what it's about, all that matters is how it makes you feel.

There are websites of 'True Detective' artwork out there now, and it's beautiful. And I don't want to take that away from anybody. I know what it means to me. But I don't want to take away anyone's interpretation of the show.

There isn't any art until some creature sees and consumes it. And has a reaction.

I do not literally paint that table, but the emotion it produces upon me.

As a consumer, I don't create art, but I think whatever the message is, art has to touch you.

At its best, film should be like a ski jump. It should give the viewer the option of taking flight, while the act of jumping is left up to him.

The funny thing is musicians often love to go to see visual art because you've got all these pictures to turn into metaphors.

Viewing abstract art requires more imagination. The result is more intense involvement of the viewer—more pleasurable.

When you draw or paint a tree, you do not imitate the tree; you do not copy it exactly as it is, which would be mere photography. To be free to paint a tree or a flower or a sunset, you have to feel what it conveys to you: the significance, the meaning of it.

I follow my inspiration to wherever it goes. I do want the fans to feel the fun and excitement about it, and I like for people to be able to make their own interpretations about my work.

The great thing about a record is it frees your imagination; it gives your eyes a rest and lets your mind wander. There's the special thing that each record can mean a different thing to every person listening to it.

I think that one of the most important things that art can do is give you a reason to look at something, almost give you permission to look at something.

When you walk past a painting in a museum, if it doesn't make you feel something, then it's probably a failure.

I don't think you can approach any piece of art with boundaries or rules. I think respect is a very important thing, but I also think what we discover along the way is really important.