The businessman says 'If I don't do it first, somebody else will.' The artist says 'If I don't do it first, nobody else will.'
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
In science, if you don't do it, somebody else will. Whereas in art, if Beethoven didn't compose the 'Ninth Symphony,' no one else before or after is going to compose the 'Ninth Symphony' that he composed; no one else is going to paint 'Starry Night' by van Gogh.
If you do not love me I shall not be loved If I do not love you I shall not love.
One day, a musician asked me what I did. When I told him I was to be a businessman, he laughed and said, 'You are not a businessman.' Sometimes all it takes is one person to put an important thought in your head, and he did.
No one should drive a hard bargain with an artist.
An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.
I believe the artist has an obligation to society.
When someone tells me not to do something, I'll do it more.
Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.
When I read about young designers selling 51 percent of their company to someone else, I cringe. I want to say, 'Don't do it - call me first.'
The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself.