I don't believe in an afterlife, but I'm taking an extra pair of underwear just in case.
Woody AllenRead
That’s one of the nice things about writing, or any art; if the thing’s real, it just lives. All the attendant hoopla about it, the success over it or the critical rejection—none of that really matters. In the end, the thing will survive or not on its own merits. Not that immortality via art is any big deal. Truffaut died, and we all felt awful about it, and there were the appropriate eulogies, and his wonderful films live on. But it’s not much help to Truffaut.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Art's value lies in its authenticity, regardless of external recognition or success.
In this quote, Woody Allen reflects on the enduring nature of true art, implying that its worth is determined by its authenticity rather than by public acclaim or rejection. He uses the example of filmmaker François Truffaut, whose films outlasted him despite the inevitable sadness of his passing, emphasizing that while art can achieve a form of immortality, it offers little solace to the artist once they are gone.
Themes
ArtAuthenticitySuccessImmortalityCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the value of artistic integrity at a writing seminar.
More from Woody Allen
All quotes →He adored New York City. He idolized it all out of proportion... no, make that: he - he romanticized it all out of proportion. Yes. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin.
Woody AllenRead
There are three rings involved with marriage. The engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering.
Woody AllenRead
I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.
Woody AllenRead
I was in analysis. I was suicidal. As a matter of fact, I would have killed myself, but I was in analysis with a strict Freudian and if you kill yourself they make you pay for the sessions you miss.
Woody AllenRead
Sex without love is an empty experience, but as empty experiences go, it's one of the best.
Woody AllenRead
Similar quotes
The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.
Marcel DuchampRead
Some couture collections have everything including the kitchen sink! Everything gets thrown on to make it look expensive. I find it grotesque when clothes hit you in the face and there's no room for fault. But I don't expect to turn things around all by myself. I'm not a saint.
Alexander McqueenRead
If the imagination is shackled, and nothing is described but what we see, seldom will anything truly great be produced either in Painting or Poetry
Thomas ColeRead
Most architects think in drawings, or did think in drawings; today, they think on the computer monitor. I always tried to think three dimensionally. The interior eye of the brain should be not flat but three dimensional so that everything is an object in space. We are not living in a two-dimensional world.
Frei OttoRead
One doesn't make art for other people, even though I am very concerned with the viewer
Anish KapoorRead
'The Machinist' changed me. I learned that I really enjoy, literally, not saying a damned word for days at a time, except for what was in the scene. Whole days of... nothing. Just... standing still. I know a lot of people found it bizarre, because they'd be standing right next to me thinking, 'Why aren't we talking? What's going on?'
Christian BaleRead