For me, it's about making art that's not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn't want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn't think, 'I wonder what the industry is gonna think about 'Purple Rain.'' It's just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of creating art that is genuine and impactful rather than conforming to industry standards.
Lena Waithe's quote reflects a commitment to authenticity in the arts, stressing that true art should evoke genuine emotion and honesty. By referencing the works of James Baldwin and Prince, she illustrates that great artists often disregard outside opinions and focus on their personal truth and the emotional connection their work brings. The idea is that once you've created something that resonates deeply, any external validation becomes secondary.
In practice
In a motivational speech on creativity, one could say, 'As Lena Waithe quoted, it's about making art that's honest and real.'
As a black woman in the industry, you really do have to hold your head higher, stick your chest out, be kind and polite and generous even when you don't want to be sometimes. I learned that and, also, just to never take no for an answer.
Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'
It's weird because I see black gay characters on television all the time, but do I relate to them? Not always, because they're set pieces.
The cool thing about dope black style becoming in style is that the industry has no choice but to try and reduplicate that.
Being born gay, black, and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay black female is.
I don't want to be white. I don't want to be straight. I don't want to blend in.
There's that old cliche that art is never finished, only abandoned. That's the nice thing about comics. It forces you to abandon it long before maybe you're ready to let it go.
I wish I could write. I get these ideas but I never seem to be able to put them in words.
Photography helps people to see.
...and the lamp having at last resigned itself to death. There was nothing now but firelight in the room, And every time a flame uttered a gasp for breath It flushed her amber skin with the blood of its bloom.
I enjoy the challenge of trying to say things beautifully. The message is secondary in that sense. Obviously, I have something that I want to say that's very, very important to me - but the process of actually crafting it is essential.
The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective realism, into the secret glories which it contains.
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