Pat Steir Quotes

Painter

Pat Steir, born on April 10, 1940, is a renowned painter known for her unique abstract style and profound depiction of natural phenomena.

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All Art Painting Beautiful Art Is Way Ifs Want Aspect Beautiful Paintings Giving

Famous Pat Steir Quotes

“To handle paint the way Pollock did, you need the muscularity of a ballet dancer.”

Way Needs Paint Handle Dancer Ballet Ballet Dancer Pollock

Author:Pat Steir

“An artist needs to become familiar with that which is most hidden from the self by the self. For this one thing which one fears to know is often the driving force in one's life. These recognitions seen in art are the difference between decent, extraordinary and great.”

Knows Needs Art Self Artist Force Differences One Thing Extraordinary Driving Familiar Recognition Decent Driving Force

Author:Pat Steir

“I consider my work non-objective and I think abstract is an abstraction of something, like a landscape. Abstraction means something is abstracted. It relates to something. Non-objective relates to nothing. It has no object.”

Thinking Mean Objects Objectives Relate Landscape Abstract Abstraction

Author:Pat Steir

“The spiritual in my art is giving up control. My paintings are based on what I can do, and what I can do is not controlled. So I give up control, and that's the spiritual aspect of the work - taking what comes and relinquishing control. Although they look very controlled, they're really not, because it's all poured paint.”

Giving Looks Art I Can Spiritual Can Do Painting Giving Up Art Is Aspect Paint Controlled Relinquishing Relinquishing Control Giving Up Control

Author:Pat Steir

“I have a friend who says a beautiful painting can cure headaches, but I want it to cure a little bit more! I want it to cure the society of voting for Donald Trump.”

Want Littles Beautiful Bits Painting Trump Little Bit Cures Voting Headache Beautiful Paintings

Author:Pat Steir

“Every piece of art will be if it's lucky enough to be dug up, if there's anything to dig up.”

Ifs Art Enough Pieces Lucky

Author:Pat Steir

“I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look at that painting and I want it to affect you in some way, to change what you see, to change how you see it. To change how you see something, whatever.”

Way Want Looks Art Painting Art Is I Want You

Author:Pat Steir

“I want art to affect the viewer and for the viewer to take it away to enhance, embrace, and elevate life. That's the spiritual aspect. Painting is a spiritual practice, but sometimes it is hard to give up control!”

Want Giving Art Sometimes Hard Spiritual Practice Painting Giving Up Aspect Embrace Viewers Spiritual Practice

Author:Pat Steir

“Everything you do on Earth is political.”

Earth Political

Author:Pat Steir

“Art as a political gesture is committed to making something beautiful, and then understanding what beauty is in your own time, because what we think of as beauty changes with time. The notion of beauty everywhere changes.”

Thinking Art Beautiful Political Understanding Notion Committed Gestures Something Beautiful Beauty Everywhere

Author:Pat Steir

“Painting is an object, but it's also a voice. I don't see them as objects; I see them as voices.”

Voice Objects Painting

Author:Pat Steir

“Art is a way you discover the past, and so it brings the past into the present and the future. That's why we have anthropologists who dig up the art from the past. You can see the refinement in the society by the art. And people will see our lack of refinement when they dig up our art.”

People Way Art Past Art Is Over The Past Refinement Anthropologists

Author:Pat Steir

“Art is the most important way of recording history.”

Way Art Important Art Is

Author:Pat Steir

“We live in a time when people are afraid of beauty, because beauty passes; you can't hang on to it. And even if you see something or someone beautiful, the next time you hear it, it sounds different. So you can't cling to beauty; beauty passes and when that passes, you realize you pass too, and you will die. And that's why people cry at a beautiful view, a beautiful lecture, a beautiful painting, a new baby.”

People Ifs Different Beautiful Dies Next Sound Realizing Views Cry Painting Baby Next Time Lectures New Baby Beautiful Paintings

Author:Pat Steir

“When you see the holy halo around the holy heads on holy paintings - the halo is a bright light so you can't see the face. The face comes in darkness because it would be too beautiful to see. If there were such a thing as a holy person, a god, with a halo around his head, you wouldn't be able to see his face because the beauty would be terrifying.”

Ifs Persons Light Would Be Able Beautiful Faces Darkness Painting Holy Halos Bright Lights

Author:Pat Steir

“I have my moods, but I can always see something beautiful.”

I Can Beautiful Mood Something Beautiful

Author:Pat Steir

About the Author

Born: April 10, 1940
Known for: Painter
Quotes: 16

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