I'd rather have two good friends, than 500,000 admirers.
E. E. CummingsRead
The symbol of all art is the Prism. The goal is unrealism. The method is destructive. To break up the white light of objective realism, into the secret glories which it contains.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art seeks to transform reality into something more profound and beautiful through abstraction.
In this quote, E. E. Cummings suggests that art is like a prism that breaks down the ordinary and realistic into a myriad of hidden meanings and expressions, encouraging artists to move beyond mere representation. The process of creating art involves a destruction of the conventional understanding of reality to uncover deeper truths and experiences that transcend everyday perception.
Themes
ArtPrismRealismBeautyExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern art's significance, one might say, 'As E. E. Cummings stated, the symbol of all art is the Prism, revealing the deeper beauty within our reality.'
More from E. E. Cummings
All quotes →I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.
E. E. CummingsRead
It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.
E. E. CummingsRead
When god decided to invent everything he took one reath bigger than a circustent and everything began
E. E. CummingsRead
The Artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know himself.
E. E. CummingsRead
Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else.
E. E. CummingsRead
Similar quotes
I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.
Roland BarthesRead
It is wonderful to be in on the creation of something, see it used, and then walk away and smile at it.
Lady Bird JohnsonRead
I leave you free to imagine any dialogue you please. Choose whatever may charm you. Have it, if you like, that they hear the voice of the blood, or that they fall in love at first sight... Conceive the wildest improbabilities. Have it that the depths of their beings are thrilled at accosting each other in slang. Tangle them suddenly in a swift embrace or a brotherly kiss. Do whatever you like.
Jean GenetRead
Like every art form, there are jealousies and angers and competitiveness in magic. But there's camaraderie among magicians, whether you perform it for a living or you're an enthusiast.
Ricky JayRead
I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art.
Madonna CicconeRead
I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.
James A. MichenerRead