THE ARTISTIC IMAGE IS ALWAYS A METONYM, WHERE ONE THING IS SUBSTITUTED FOR ANOTHER, THE SMALLER FOR THE GREATER. TO TELL OF WHAT IS LIVING, THE ARTIST USES SOMETHING DEAD; TO SPEAK OF THE INFINITE, HE SHOWS THE FINITE.
Interpretation
Art often uses symbols to represent larger concepts, demonstrating the relationship between the finite and the infinite.
In this quote, Andrei Tarkovsky explores the idea that artistic expression often hinges on the use of metonymy, where a part signifies the whole or something else entirely. By suggesting that artists use tangible, finite objects to convey deeper, infinite ideas, Tarkovsky highlights the power of art to transcend reality and communicate complex emotions and concepts that might otherwise remain unexpressed.
In practice
In a presentation about the significance of art in society, one could use this quote to explain how artists convey complex themes.
AN ARTISTIC DISCOVERY OCCURS EACH TIME AS A NEW AND UNIQUE IMAGE OF THE WORLD, A HIEROGLYPHIC OF ABSOLUTE TRUTH. IT APPEARS AS A REVELATION, AS A MOMENTARY, PASSIONATE WISH TO GRASP INTUITIVELY AND AT A STROKE ALL THE LAWS OF THIS WORLD-ITS BEAUTY AND UGLINESS, ITS COMPASSION AND CRUELTY, ITS INFINITY AND ITS LIMITATIONS.
When I speak of poetry I am not thinking of it as a genre. Poetry is an awareness of the world, a particular way of relating to reality. So poetry becomes a philosophy to guide a man throughout his life.
Art would be useless if the world were perfect.
Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create is evidence that we ourselves were created in the image and likeness of God?
Above all, I feel that the sounds of this world are so beautiful in themselves that if only we could listen to them properly, cinema would have no need for music at all.
The only condition of fighting for the right to create is faith in your own vocation, readiness to serve, and refusal to compromise.
After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as life's redemption.
I’ve learned what ‘classical’ means. It means something that sings and dances through sheer joy of existence.
I want to know one thing, what is color?
You live the life of a dancer. It is not your job, it is your life, and you have to love it so much to be able to take it every day for six days a week, sometimes seven.
Folklore is the perfect second skin. From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world.
The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
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