Liz Phair Quotes

To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage.

If you do things, whether it's acting or music or painting, do it without fear - that's my philosophy. Because nobody can arrest you and put you in jail if you paint badly, so there's nothing to lose.

Art requires neither complaisance nor politeness; nothing but faith, faith and freedom.

A lot of people forget how important it is to be creative. We get caught up in getting ahead and in day-to-day minutiae. But creativity is a fundamental mode of expression, as is being tenacious and standing by your own convictions and passions, even if it's not the 'popular' choice.

Precocious and eccentric are okay. But I think that people in the arts represent something integral and kind of secretive in everybody else. So the reason people like some artists is because they're saying or doing something that they would like to do or say, but they don't have the balls or the means. People are really afraid to put their ass on the line. Just to put your face on a poster and put your name in big print and say "Come see me," that takes some cojones, you know? Ambition is nothing to be ashamed of.

I think artists need the freedom to fail and I gave myself that freedom.

I'd love to do films, but I'd feel bad in my gut if I did anything just for the money. I want to wait for something I'm really passionate about, even if I don't work for a year.

I wrote what I felt I had to write, and I'm willing to put my own sanity and my reputation behind it.

Sarah Vaughan is one of my greatest heroes. She personifies what an artist is all about, taking risks, daring to go beyond the boundaries of safety and convention. It takes courage to share your vulnerability.

The reception for 'Enemy?' I don't care. No matter what other people think, it was important for me. I will stand for that movie, even if I stand alone.

In terms of music, I can try anything I want, even something that doesn't work at all, because I'm not putting my career in jeopardy.

Each single gesture of art must be daring. One must not be concerned with the side-effects.

Believing in yourself and what you do is so important. It took me a long time to find that confidence. If you're an artist and you're taking risks, then you're doing something right if some people don't get it.

As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren't brave, we aren't artists.

Art, it seems to me, doesn't need freedom so much as it needs courage and love - some would call it 'soul' or 'Eros.'

I'm American. I'm eclectic. I'm going to follow my musical passions. And if people don't like it, and it hurts my legacy, I'm not going to worry about that.

I am proud being an artist who takes risks, who would walk off a cliff artistically. I won't settle for commercial reasons.

This world is but a canvas to our imagination.

You have to be willing to be afraid if you're going to be an artist.

For years, I was watching other people have so much fun playing out their version of authorship, like Louis C.K. and Larry David. As I watched them do their thing, I began to pine for the days when I had a lot less expected of me and, often, a lot more creative freedom. The courage that those guys have is always captivating to me.

As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all we must dare to fail.

I'm always looking for something that's real and that's got meat on it. I think it's artistic suicide if you're too vain, or if you're afraid to play ugly. I would never fall for that.

I'm going to keep making films I believe in. Whether I am successful or not is besides the point.

The artist is not responsible to any one. His social role is asocial... his only responsibility consists in an attitude to the work he does.

A true artist, in my mind, is willing to fail sometimes, because if you're not brave enough to say yes and follow your gut, it's never going to be good.