Artists From The United States

"Weaving has been the thread that has held my life together for more than fifty years. One has to fill the minutes, hours, days and years that are given to you with something, and it seems that weaving chose me. In essence, I see my life as the latest iteration in the long line of weavers that stretch back beyond recorded history. I feel blessed to be in this lineage."

"Although the assassination at Sarajevo was certainly the crucial precedent of the European war that its conspirators had sought, it was not the historical cause. ... The implication is that the war was, if not inevitable, at least impending, so that the assassination acted as a lever, prying the various powers into predictable paths."

"The day I decided to commit to being an artist was one of the best days of my life. I knew what I loved to do and what I now had to do. Although it was a totally frightening career choice, it was also one of the most liberating."

"It’s sort of like building a puzzle. I get an idea and then see how it best fits. If it is an idea for a performance, I start to think, Should it be live? Is it best for video? What time of day? What kind of camera? Where should it be shot? Then I think, How should it be installed? Single-channel or installation? If it is for a live audience, then everything changes; now you are thinking outside the frame and with a 360-degree view. Then the questions start again. All the projects start with an image. If the work is physically challenging, then I work backward to figure out how I can make it. How can I cover myself with bees while doing tai chi? How can I throw myself through sheets of glass? How can I fall through the middle of a frozen lake?"

"I consider all work as studies, just one step on the path from here to there—and who knows where there is going to end up being. However, with time, the nature of weaving itself became more prominent in my work. So you find notations about how they are made, diagrams of weave drafts, and recordings of their materials. This also became helpful in my teaching. Instead of looking for written notes on the work, I could just refer to the work itself."

"You need ‘rough riders’ in your life – the people who will shoot straight with you. They can call bullshit on you, they can tell you how great you are"

"If someone calls me authentic, that’s the biggest compliment they could give to me"

"Hard work, knowing my personal power and working with an extremely talented and dedicated team is a big part of my success…After reinventing myself many times over, it is a great honor to be on the cover of Texas CEO Magazine with the hopes of inspiring other businessmen and -women to take big leaps in their lives and careers"

"I try to find people who shore up my weaknesses"

"We get so stuck on our own viewpoints — we need help to be shown other options"

"Go with your gut but use your brain"

"Leadership does not come from the top down,Gaddis said. It comes from the bottom up"

"If it’s the right thing to do, you push your qualms aside and you do it"

"I’m making artwork for other people to experience, so I work in ways like public street art, public web sites, social media, digital printmaking, artists books and zines, mass media, video and audio files, many different ways that can be easily distributed and reach wide audiences and create and take part in larger conversations."

"I often most often work in ways that are designed to reach as many people as possible. To me that’s sort of a basic question for every artist, “Who are you making artwork for?” If you’re just making it for yourself, that’s cool, no need to show anyone else."

"I love QR codes. They are just an amazingly powerful and also often completely useless system for sharing digital information and artwork, through these weird little abstract, physical black-and-white designs. I also love that most people just have no idea what to do with them."

"And also I love the idea of codes. I love secrets, trading secrets. I love the act of encoding, I love the space where you don’t know what the code means, and I love the act of decoding and the moment of understanding."

"During World War II, Violet Oakley crafted twenty-four portable intended for American battleships, military bases, and airfields. While they seem conventional at first glance, a closer inspection uncovers distinct elements, such as the spirit’s victory over matter, which promises triumph and tranquility. With Oakley, art created by Christian Scientists matured. She demonstrated that illustrating Christian Science books is not essential to conveying the principles and spirit of the religion within the evolving realm of modern art."

"You don’t get to dictate the terms under which the work you put out there is received. “Mlle Bourgeoise Noire” is an extremely directed body of work. This trilogy that I did, [it was all about] what’s wrong with the art world, and what we need to do to remedy it. That work became so popular that it just took over. It’s been a bit of a struggle to get the other work—which is more what I consider the core of what I’m about, the anti-binary argument and all that—that’s a little bit harder to establish, I’ve found. "Lorraine O'Grady Has Always Been a Rebel" The New Yorker (interview by Doreen St. Felix published on September 29, 2022)"

".. the way I work ... I'm really seized by the scruff of the neck each time. ... Something pounces. It's absolutely irresistible and often will pounce at three in the morning ... or at six in the morning ... And I will get up and start writing. ... I really count on novelty and synchronicity and dreams to direct me and to kind of release the energy."

"Why do people need to have control over the lives of others? Why this fear of the other? This fear of difference — the fear of change — why this fear of our own bodies? Why this inability to accept our own death? What are the connections between those things?"

"... it's not an accident that the creative imagination is the first thing that's punished when tyrannies take over …"

"Sound is just ripples in the air. Musicians are like shamans; they learn how to manipulate people’s brain functioning through those ripples in the air. I have an important responsibility to capture those vibrations and transmit them, to spread those vibrations around the world."

"Ultimately, terrazzo is a floor material, which is meant to be walked on."

"To come is easy and takes hours; to go is different—and may take centuries."

"The ambition of Caesar and of Napoleon pales before that which could not rest until it had seized the minds of men and controlled even their unborn thoughts."

"I pray God will curse the writer, as the writer has cursed the world with its beautiful stupendous creation, terrible in its simplicity, irresistible in its truth—a world which now trembles before the King In Yellow."

"Come and see my rose-coloured bath full of death!"

"Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies, But stranger still is Lost . ...Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa."

"It is well to avoid actually recognized myths such as vampirism, reincarnation, etc., and invent one’s own obscure violations of cosmic law. What common myth, for example, does Blackwood use in "The Willows"? Or Chambers in "The Yellow Sign" ? Or Hodgson in The House on the Borderland? These writers create a sort of distinctive awe of their own and manage to say something fresh despite all that has been said before."

"I've always been obsessed with creating stuff, I spent my spare time doodling, making music, writing... basically all the different aspects of making a game. I just didn't know at the time that I would find a way to combine all those things to bring a cohesive vision to life."

"It does help if you can absolutely convince yourself that you're destined for greatness. It's not even an ego thing--it's just a way to prevent doubt and insecurity from hindering you."

"If you’re creating music from the heart, you're basically tapping into this supernatural power."

"Music is somehow pure, you don’t think of it in terms of symbols. It just exists, it’s like magic. It feels like a way you can almost directly interface with the transcendental or divine."

"It all goes back to human nature and what we're meant to do as humans."

"My whole goal as a game creator is to create these moments where I want people to feel something, like actually feel this connection to something deeper than you would normally feel like in a video game. I want to go deeper, and connect with people in a real way that’s memorable, that they’ll take with them for the rest of their life. I think music is integral to that."

"Making art, making video games, is my way of sharing who I am with the world. My goal, deep down, is that I want to connect with the rest of humanity, and maybe have them connect with me in some way."

"I’m just making music, I’m not even thinking about what it’s for, and it gives me ideas for the game. It will make me think of a particular scenario or environment, and then I really envision it through the music and put that into the game. That’s my favourite way to develop, actually."

"What really makes me feel good, makes me feel like my life has been totally worthwhile, is the fact that Stardew Valley has brought such joy and happiness to people. People describe it as a therapeutic game. Because I know that this little game brings so much positivity to the world... that really feels good."

"I think it's a lot easier to stay driven when you're doing your own project, knowing that there are no limits to how far you can go."

"My strategy with the community is simple: no strategy at all. I think that, as an indie developer, you should just be yourself and be a real human. I try to act online like I do in real life: treat everyone with respect, and be as honest and straightforward as possible."

"I just persevered and forced myself to learn. You realize the thing that you thought was good actually isn’t. You realize why and you improve on it. And that’s just an endless cycle."

"There’s a balance you have to have between being very critical of yourself and your work while also maintaining a strong faith in your own ability. Your unique voice and perspective matter and if you can find a way to bring that out then you will create something special."

"You should be free to work yourself to the bone, but not to force someone else to do that for you."

"There is no "secret" to being successful, you just need to have great dedication and perseverance and adopt a "can do" attitude."

"It’s very important to me that I make good on my promises."

"It feels like my life has been worthwhile because of Stardew Valley, even if I were to die tomorrow. It feels good to see it manifest in new ways, and see people appreciate it."

"I want to create a collection of games during my career, so that when I’m on my deathbed I can look back and see that I created all these wonderful things that brought people joy."

"What is patriotism other than mysticism? The sadness and the danger, of course, is that we have become totally dependent on mass society for life itself. It’s not as if we have much choice. What can we do? These concepts are unutterable. They’re now beyond the pale of language. This is partly why I have used Hopi, a non-literate language, to name my films."

"The normality of the world we live in is completely insane. Okay? Now, what are you going to do? All of you have to make a living, so you have to get a job. I would say you don't have to do that. You can do whatever you want. You don't have to get a job. You don't have to earn that money. You can do something else -- if you wish. If you're willing not to have security. If you're willing to work with other people. If you're willing to take that beautiful Zen statement: leap and your net will appear."