Joyce Carol OatesThe ideal art, the noblest of art: working with the complexities of life, refusing to simplify, to "overcome" doubt.
About This Quote
The ideal art, the noblest of art: working with the complexities of life, refusing to simplify, to "overcome" doubt. This quote is by artist Mark Rothko. He said this in his acceptance speech for the National Academy of Design’s gold medal for outstanding achievement in painting. The main idea behind this quote is that art should take full advantage of the complexities of life—the many different colors and shades that make up our world.
Making art that is focused solely on one color or one aspect of life will limit what people can see and experience. Art should be about taking the richness and complexity of the world and making it understandable. Rothko also said that artists should never pretend to "overcome" doubt.
Doubt is part of life—every time we think something is true, it might not be true at all. Instead, artists should embrace uncertainty and work with it, not overcoming it.
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