Traditionally art is to create and not to revive. To revive: leave that to the historians, who are looking backward.
Interpretation
Art should focus on creation rather than attempting to recreate or revive past works.
In this quote, Josef Albers emphasizes the importance of originality in art. He suggests that true artistic expression lies in the act of creation, while historians play a vital role in preserving and reflecting on the past. By urging artists to look forward rather than backward, Albers champions innovation and the continual evolution of artistic expression.
In practice
During a lecture on modern art, you can use this quote to highlight the importance of artistic creativity.
Simultaneous contrast is not just a curious optical phenomenon β it is the very heart of painting. Repeated experiments with adjacent colors will show that any ground subtracts its own hue from the colors which it carries and therefore influences.
Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique for me is a big word, I never have taught how to paint. All my doing was to make people to see.
When we are honest - that's my saying - if we are honest then we will reveal ourselves. But we do not have to make an effort to be individualistic, different from others.
Ah, the creative process is the same secret in science as it is in art. They are all the same absolutely.
In order to use color effectively it is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually.
The aim of our studies is to prove that color is the most relative means of artistic expression, that we never really perceive what color is physically.
We are the sons of Sorrow; we are the poets and the prophets and the musicians.
Yes, actually ever since I saw his films and tried to write about them, Sirk's been in everything I've done. Not Sirk himself, but what I've learned from his work.
The drama's altar isn't on the stage: it is candle-sticked and flowered in the box office. There is the gold, though there be no frankincense or myrrh; and the gospel for the day always The Play will Run for a Year. The Dove of Inspiration, of the desire for inspiration, has flown away from it; and on it's roof, now, the commonplace crow caws candidly.
You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
Squeeze your eyes closed, as tight as you can, and think of all your favorite autumns, crisp and perfect, all bound up together like a stack of cards. That is what it is like, the awful, wonderful brightness of Fairy colors. Try to smell the hard, pale wood sending up sharp, green smoke into the afternoon. To feel the mellow, golden sun on your skin, more gentle and cozier and more golden than even the light of your favorite reading nook at the close of the day.
With age, art and life become one.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.