The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness.

The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness.

Giving jazz the Congressional seal of approval is a little like making Huck Finn an honorary Boy Scout.

Giving jazz the Congressional seal of approval is a little like making Huck Finn an honorary Boy Scout.

Art is permitted to survive only if it renounces the right to be different, and integrates itself into the omnipotent read more

Art is permitted to survive only if it renounces the right to be different, and integrates itself into the omnipotent realm of the profane.

A great artist is always before his time or behind it.

A great artist is always before his time or behind it.

Fine art, that exists for itself alone, is art in a final state of impotence. If nobody, including the artist, read more

Fine art, that exists for itself alone, is art in a final state of impotence. If nobody, including the artist, acknowledges art as a means of knowing the world, then art is relegated to a kind of rumpus room of the mind and the irresponsibility of the artist and the irrelevance of art to actual living becomes part and parcel of the practice of art.

Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.

Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.

Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie.

Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie.

No one should drive a hard bargain with an artist.

No one should drive a hard bargain with an artist.

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from read more

The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers, and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.