Michael Kimmelman
Art is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. It's a mirror we hold up that looks different to everyone who sees it, and whose beauty lies as much in us, and our capacity to dream.Collection: Dream
Drawing used to be a civilized thing to do, like reading and writing. It was taught in elementary schools. It was democratic. It was a boon to happiness.Collection: Reading
The consolation of art comes in many forms... For some it is making, for others it is having.Collection: Art
Art provides us with clues about how to live our own lives more fully... art becomes our entree to the sublime.Collection: Art
Everything, even the most ordinary daily affair, is enriched by the lessons that can be gleaned from art.Collection: Education
It's not that there is no such thing as truth. But we come to like and trust a certain story, not because it's necessarily the most absolutely truthful, but because it's a thing that we tell ourselves that makes sense of the world, at least at this moment.Collection: Truth
Art, not unlike raising children... may entail much sacrifice and periods of despair, but, with luck, the effort will produce something that outlives you.Collection: Art
The paradox of the culture wars is that they have made celebrities out of some artists who would otherwise vanish. Censorship has become a growth industry. This may be the best argument, in the end, for unfettered freedom of expression.Collection: Freedom
Out of routine comes inspiration. That's the idea, anyway. To grasp what's exceptional, you first have to know what's routine.Collection: Inspiration
Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its job.Collection: Art
All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.Collection: Narrative