I wanted to show the history and strength of all kinds of black women. Working women, country women, urban women, great women in the history of the United States.
Elizabeth CatlettRead
I have always wanted my art to service my people - to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential. We have to create an art for liberation and for life.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the purpose of art as a means of empowerment and awareness for a community.
Elizabeth Catlett's quote expresses the aspiration for art to serve as a mirror for society, reflecting the identity and potential of the people it represents. It underlines the idea that art should not only entertain but also inspire and liberate individuals, urging creators to focus on creating works that foster awareness and improvement of the community's condition.
In practice
In a speech at an art conference about the role of art in society.
I wanted to show the history and strength of all kinds of black women. Working women, country women, urban women, great women in the history of the United States.
On the other hand, what I like my music to do to me is awaken the ghosts inside of me. Not the demons, you understand, but the ghosts.
Female characters in literature are full. They're messy: they've got runny noses and burp and belch. Unfortunately, in film, female characters don't often have that kind of richness.
Speak to me...be eloquent, be brilliant for me. Improvise! Rhapsodize!... I ask for cream and you give me milk and water... Please gather your dreams together into words. - Roxanne, Cyrano de Bergerac
The artist must bow to the monster of his own imagination.
A good film demands its own score, and if you are a musician, your conscience will never allow you to do something mediocre for a good film.
Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.
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