Most of these quotes of the famous artists illustrate and clarify very well the artist’s personal efforts to create modern art. Consequently, the artist quotes – including biography facts – give us an unique insight in the process of the creation of modern art itself. Moreover we learn about the many connections between the artists which supported them to survive and to learn their path of creation.

Every artist forms is drifting in the huge historical wave of modern art. Some artists move in -others outside the many groups, styles and art movements! This very individual and necessary process of each artist we can follow by reading their statements and quotes. They reveal their personal hesitations, spontaneous ideas, struggled experiences, inspirations, and all kind of artistic ideas they produced around their art.

In the artist quotes & stories we read many personal life memories and experiences. They illustrate the artist’s characteristic connection between personal life and art. I am convinced that this very private and intimate connection represents an substantial part of modern Art History itself! To me this was a very convincing reason to do my job: to collect, edit and share these artist quotes with sources.

WHY
READING
ARTIST STORIES?

The ideas, experiences and thoughts of one particular artist give us a lot of information about his or her characteristic approach to create NEW visual forms. We are focusing now on the time of modern art, starting with Impressionism / Realism in the mid-19th century. In that period, in my view – the essence of modern art started: the transformation of mental ideas and presumtions into NEW visual reality. This results in new Art object we have to see and to interpret in a new way!

It is by our very senses that an object of art starts to come in our daily world. Then it is interesting to know, what were the covering thoughts and ideas of this particular artist? What were the private and approaches in his or her head? The ideas which helped to materialize the still invisible imagination into real new forms and things: Paintings, sculptures, movies, graphic art, installations, performances, prints ….! The collected artist quotes, with their personal writings & talks, give us perhaps a surrounding support to connect with the art-thing itself.

The still invisible becomes visible because a modern artwork presents a new visual reality which we can experience! But before this new form enters our personal life there are a lot of things to be done, by the artist. To create modern art is a real job. It means hard work and demands a lot of courage, independence thinking and some inspiration.

WHY
DO ARTISTS
TALK & WRITE ABOUT THEIR ART?

Every painter or sculptor must produces personal stories & thoughts on art. He or she will presume a lot by means of temporarily art comments or concepts in the head – just for his or her personal use. By writing down these floating inspirations and thoughts in private notes, or letters, public statements, and writings become reality. Or by means of a poem like the Dada artist Kurt Schwitters and sculptor Hans Arp frequently did together. Or by creating subtle and quite monologues in a diary – day by day, like the German woman painter Paula Modersohn-Becker did in her private notebooks. The same did Marianne von Werefkin who created even a personal imaginary lover, to discuss art with, by writing many letters to her art-lover.

Other famous artists had their talks and debates, like the famous German Fluxus-artist Joseph Beuys who loved to have his frequently exchanges with the American public – often young art students. Famous are the many art-debates of the American Abstract-expressionist, where De Kooning, Rothko and other artist participated intensively. Just a few historical examples how artist quotes come to life.

Every artist had to develop at first secret inner visual and mental thoughts. We call it information, ideas, presumptions, theories or temporarily concepts, because only afterwards they can be verified some way or another, after the process of creation.
You will find on this website a large collection of all kinds of these artist ideas, comments, concepts by their life quotes and art statements. As you will see, artists are very often referring to other artists’ ideas or statements; they are all connected in this way, in the network of art.

All together the artist quotes and biography facts give us an unique insight and deep information from the heart of creation of art itself. Still in words – not yet materialized in physical and visual FORM – but they exist already in thoughts. they are expressing and exchanging ideas, as an important part of the production of modern art.

WHY
CAN ARTIST QUOTES & STORIES
BE SO MEANINGFUL?

The art quotes and biography facts of famous artists and painters represent in my view an essential part of world’s cultural heritage. They are part of modern art history itself. They establish a system or even better a network, full of art tracks for fellow artists and for modern art history teachers.
The same counts for the art lovers public – people who just love modern art and use it as their daily inspiration. The life quotes & art statements of the artists – with their extended biography information and life story facts – are a gift of former great artists to the new coming generation, the still unknown artists, and the contemporary art in future as a whole. The quotes mean a precious part of modern human evolution.

I hope you will enjoy the artist quotes

editor Fons Heijnsbroek

Art movements described in definitions and core art text-quotes by famous art-critics

On the website on the right side you will find art movements & art styles described in facts and definitions. Art movements and artist groups were the historical nests for many artist to find warmth and company; to exchange and develop ideas and to struggle with other artists. The art movements are of course an essential part of the modern art history and had a large meaning as art circle and setting for all the individual artists.
A number of older European art movements, such as Cubism and Futurism are described in art quotes by Jacob Bendien, a Dutch artist living and working in the same period; he died young in 1934. I believe the history of the modern art movements here described, form together a useful art resource and clarifying tutorial for pupils, students, art-lovers and teachers. That’s the reason why the text-quotes, explaining the history of the art movements are all sourced very well and combined with useful art links for further study and exploration of the art movement and its involved artists
The history of the modern art movements after 1940 is described in quotes – selected by Fons Heijnsbroek, and translated into English by Anne Porcelijn.

Reading the text-quotes on the modern art movements connects very well with the quotes of the famous artists and painters. For this reason you will find many inter-links between the modern art movements and the quotes by artists. You can click onto these art-links in the text-lines directly.