I've written some great things. That's a gift, but there's consequences. Yeah, you get this great work, but you suffer. You really, really suffer.
Interpretation
Creating art can lead to both great achievements and deep personal struggles.
In this quote, Frank Ocean reflects on the dual nature of artistic expression, highlighting that while creating impactful works can be considered a gift, it often comes with significant emotional and psychological costs. The act of sharing one's creativity can elicit both joy and pain, underscoring the sacrifices artists endure in pursuit of their craft.
In practice
In a speech about the challenges of artistic expression, one could mention this quote as a reminder of the personal sacrifices artists make.
Whenever I think about movies, I always look at that art process as having the best of a lot of worlds. Because if you watch a great film, you have a musical element to it, not just on the scoring, but in the way that the shots are edited - that has music and rhythm and time.
It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.
I think we all change each other's paths. I don't know which law idea that is in physics, but I don't think any of us can live without affecting one another.
Work hard in silence, let success be your noise.
We were poor. But my mom never accepted that. She worked hard to become a residential contractor - got her master's with honors at the University of New Orleans. I used to go to every class with her. Her father was my paternal figure.
Some people focus more on sonics. Some people focus more on story. I focus on both sonics and story, but music sometimes, just music itself, can turn into more of a maths problem. I guess everything in life is a math problem, but it can be more about an empirical route to getting the symmetry that you want, and this vibe, sonically.
It is only the untalented director who imagines him or herself in every part, wants his or her own thoughts and emotions portrayed; it is only the untalented who make their own limitations those of the actors as well.
It's still magic even if you know how it's done.
My method of getting a play across the footlights is like a revolver shooting: every line has a bullet in it and comes with an explosion.
He was very much a man of moods, possibly owing to what is styled the artistic temperment. I have never seen, myself, why the possession of artistic ability should be supposed to excuse a man from a decent exercise of self-control.
The artists we love, they put their fingerprint on your imagination, and on your heart and your soul.
[W]hat counts is that one perceives excellence and dares to give it expression, which sounds little but is in fact a great deal.
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