Quote

I had to take this class in college called, Readings 400, where the first half of the semester we discussed Plato and Aristotle's views on art and poetry and the second half was spent reading what artists had to say about art. I thought it was going to be a really boring class but I actually ended up enjoying it a lot. I made a journal of all my favorite quotes and the quotes I had to memorize for the class. Last night I got out the journal and read through it and came across one of my absolute favorites, so I thought I would share it.

Everyone wants to understand art. Why not try to understand the song of a bird? Why does one love the night, flowers, everything around one, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting people have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works of necessity, that he himself is only a trifling bit of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things which please us in the world, though we can't explain them. People who try to explain pictures are usually barking up the wrong tree. -Picasso

I love this quote mainly because it is so true. I have had many people tell me that they would like art more if they understood it better...why do you have to understand it? Then there are people like me that try to understand it too much at times and I really have no idea what I am talking about! I love art. I love learning about all kinds of art but I love learning about the artists themselves the most. I guess it helps me understand their art more. :)