The power of both myth and art is this magical ability to open doors, to make connections - not only between us and the natural world, but between us and the rest of humanity. Myths show us what we have in common with every other human being, no matter what culture we come from, no matter what century we live in. . .and at the same time, mythic stories and art celebrate our essential differences.
Interpretation
Myth and art connect humanity by highlighting both our shared experiences and our unique differences.
Alan Lee's quote suggests that myths and art hold a unique power to bridge gaps between individuals and cultures. They facilitate understanding and connection among people, illustrating the universal experiences of humanity while also celebrating the diverse qualities that make each culture distinct. This duality enriches our connections to both the natural world and each other, fostering a deeper appreciation of our shared existence.
In practice
This quote can inspire a speech at an art exhibition focusing on cultural diversity.
To draw a tree, to pay such close attention to every aspect of a tree, is an act of reverence not only toward the tree, and toward the earth itself, but also our human connection to it. This is one of the magical things about drawing - it gives us almost visionary moments of connectedness.
To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself.
I started under my master, Etienne Decroux, who taught me a new grammar for mime he called statuary mime. This grammar brings style creations. Without it, no art survives.
Some song ideas absolutely require a kind of rigid discipline, and others require absolute chaotic abandon. The form is only valid if you know how to un-form it. I don't mean to sound like an intellectual here!
Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry.
In some century to come, when the school children will whistle popular tunes in quarter-tones--when the diatonic scale will be as obsolete as the pentatonic is now--perhaps then these borderland experiences may be both easily expressed and readily recognized. But maybe music was not intended to satisfy the curious definiteness of man. Maybe it is better to hope that music may always be transcendental language in the most extravagant sense
An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.
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