No nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even if it be only the faintest shadow - and if it does not do so it is bad art and false morals.
Interpretation
Art, particularly nudes, should evoke some level of erotic response in the viewer to be considered impactful.
In this quote, Kenneth Clark argues that the portrayal of nudes in art is fundamentally linked to the viewer's emotional and erotic response. He suggests that if a piece fails to trigger even a minimal sense of eroticism, it is indicative of poor artistic quality and possibly a failure of moral representation, highlighting the intrinsic relationship between art and human feelings.
In practice
A discussion on the role of nudes in art history during an art class.
The recognized achievements of some Negroes, despite rigid racial barriers, indicate that society by its prejudices may be depriving itself of valuable contributions from many others. It is now doubtful whether America can afford the luxury of such a waste of human resources.
Racial prejudices are indication of a disturbed and potentially unstable society.
Joy is the zest that you get out of using your talents, your understanding, the totality of your being, for great aims...That's the kind of feeling that goes with creativity. That's why I say the courage to create. Creation does not come out of simply what you're born with. That must be united with your courage, both of which cause anxiety, but also great joy.
Romantic art deals with the exception and with the individual. Good people, belonging as they do to the normal, and so, commonplace type, are artistically uninteresting.
Artists are taught to be humble about their impact, especially in folk music. It's so ingrained that I have a hard time even thinking I had any impact other than what a normal hit song would have.
You know what I do? I listen to other people, stumbling about with their half thoughts and half sentences and their clumsy feelings that they can't express, and it hurts me. So I go home and burnish it and polish it and weld it to a rhythmic frame, make the dull colors gleam, mute the garish artificiality to pastels, so it doesn't hurt any more: that's my poem. I know what they want to say, and I say it for them.
Lets just say that I think any person who aspires, presumes, or feels the calling to be an artist has a built-in sense of duty.
Many of our greatest musicians abandoned all of their aesthetic objectives to try to become pertinent. And, at the end of the day, they never became pop stars. I counter stated that very strongly, and I continue to do that.
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