Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don't believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art's sake.

E.m. Forster
About This Quote

The quote above is often attributed to Marcel Proust, but the original source of this quote is his friend and fellow novelist, Robert de Montesquiou. "Art for Art's sake" is a phrase coined by poet and critic Lionel Trilling in the 1950s. Trilling was interested in the difference between art and craftsmanship, and he argued that art was not only a result of the artist's purpose or intention but also a self-contained phenomenon: "art is like a work of art... it is what it is and we know what it is and we don't need help from outside to know what it is." In this sense, art must be studied, appreciated, experienced by its own terms. True appreciation should never be reduced to an objective judgment. Another aspect of this quote that I find interesting comes from the way that it connects with other phrases that have been important in my life.

In particular, I have been interested in questions of social justice since I was a teenager. For me, art represents a way to explore these questions outside of actually living them out. Art offers a context for me to explore what it means to live well within society while also being aware of society's limitations on individual action.

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  2. It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done. - Vincent Van Gogh
  3. Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep. - Clive Barker
  4. Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you. - Chuck Klosterman
  5. There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. - Vincent Van Gogh
More Quotes By E.m. Forster
  1. It isn't possible to love and part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know by experience that the poets are right: love is eternal.
  2. This desire to govern a woman -- it lies very deep, and men and women must fight it together.... But I do love you surely in a better way then he does." He thought. "Yes -- really in a better way. I want you to...
  3. We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things; because the shadow always follows. Choose a place where you won't do harm - yes, choose a place where you won't do very...
  4. The main facts in human life are five: birth, food, sleep, love and death.
  5. Life' wrote a friend of mine, 'is a public performance on the violin, in which you must learn the instrument as you go along.
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