I find in all the artists that I admire most a disturbing element, a distortion, giving evidence of a struggle . . . . In great art, this conflict is hidden, it is unresolved. All that is bursting with energy is disturbing - not perfect.
Interpretation
Great art reflects the inner struggles of the artist, revealing energy and conflict rather than perfection.
Henry Moore's quote highlights the essence of true artistry, suggesting that the most admired artists carry a sense of struggle and distortion within their work. This inherent conflict, often hidden beneath the surface of their creations, adds energy and depth, illustrating that perfection is not the goal but rather the expression of human experience and emotion.
In practice
When discussing the beauty of abstract expressionism at an art gallery.
Recently I have been working in the country, where, carving in the open air, I find sculpture more natural than in a London studio, but it needs bigger dimensions. A large piece of stone or wood placed almost anywhere at random in a field, orchard, or garden, immediately looks right and inspiring.
Between beauty of expression and power of expression there is a difference of function. The first aims at pleasing the senses, the second has a spiritual vitality which for me is more moving and goes deeper than the senses.
A work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the subject it may represent.
I have always liked drawing, when you draw you see things more intensely.
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
All art is an abstraction to some degree.
Originality is not seen in single words or even in sentences. Originality is the sum total of a man's thinking or his writing.
I can't understand these chaps who go round American universities explaining how they write poems: It's like going round explaining how you sleep with your wife.
Film seems to be a medium designed for betrayal and violence.
But it was the singing that pulled me in and split me wide open.
I'm not the expert on the great gameplay. I come in for the character design, monsters, atmosphere. I'm not the technician.
I used to think that animation was about moving stuff. In order to make it really great, you bounce it, squash it, stretch it, make the eyes go big. But, as time went on, I started loving animating a character who had a kind of burning passion in her heart. Suddenly, animation became for me not so much about moving stuff as it was about moving the audience.
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