I never quite understand the way society decides who is beautiful and who is not. But an open face and a capacity for kindness always feel like reliable signifiers to me.
Tilda SwintonRead
I believe that all great art holds the power to dissolve things: time, distance, difference, injustice, alienation, despair. I believe that all great art holds the power to mend things: join, comfort, inspire hope in fellowship, reconcile us to our selves. Art is good for my soul precisely because it reminds me that we have souls in the first place.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Great art has the ability to heal and unite people, reminding us of our shared humanity.
In this quote, Tilda Swinton emphasizes the transformative power of art, highlighting how it can break down barriers and address deep emotional and social issues. She suggests that through art, we can find comfort, connection, and a sense of hope, ultimately reminding us of our human essence and the collective experiences that bind us together.
Themes
ArtHealingUnityHumanityInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community arts programs, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the importance of art in healing societal divides.
More from Tilda Swinton
All quotes →I don't have a career, I have a life. I don't have an exterior judgment on what would be good or bad for me.
Tilda SwintonRead
For a lot of actors, there's a sort of code of honor around playing something other than yourself, which I just don't have. I love feeling like I'm - I won't even say acting out, but performing in some deep seam of my consciousness or my family's consciousness or my past. That's really amusing to me.
Tilda SwintonRead
If we don't accept loneliness, then capitalism wins hands down. Because capitalism is all about trying to convince people that you can distract yourself, that you can make it better. And it ain't true.
Tilda SwintonRead
Similar quotes
In song and dance, man forgets how to walk and speak and is on the way into flying into the air, dancing... his very gestures express enchantment.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Great art is never produced for its own sake. It is too difficult to be worth the effort.
George Bernard ShawRead
What is Music? How do you define it? Music is a calm moonlit night, the rustle of leaves in Summer. Music is the far off peal of bells at dusk! Music comes straight from the heart and talks only to the heart: it is Love! Music is the Sister of Poetry and her Mother is sorrow!
Sergei RachmaninoffRead
When you write from your gut and let the stuff stay flawed and don't let anybody tell you to make it better, it can end up looking like nothing else.
Louis C. K.Read
Art offers sanctuary to everyone willing to open their Hearts as well as their Eyes.
Nikki GiovanniRead
I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know. Twilight is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border between sea and land. The border is longing: when both have fallen in love but still haven't said anything. The border is to be on the way. It is the way that is the most important thing.
Tove JanssonRead