“By the late '50s, something was happening in England, and it got to be quite exciting. The music world then started to explode with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It was an incredible time with this mixture of independence in art, fashion, and the explosion of the pop sensibility. London was certainly at the center of it all for a few years. And as far as art is concerned, I think that sensibility of what was later called Pop art started in England even before America. And so I was lucky to be there.” ThinkingWorldArtFashionLuckyArt IsConcernedExcitingIndependenceIncrediblesSensibilityRolling StonesPop Art Author:Tony Shafrazi
“I think being from Iran sharpened my eye as an art dealer. This is why, today, I think the true definition of so-called postmodernism is the acceptance that we cannot go by old models any longer. The old models were based upon a single narrative of development that happened along a singular path. In the 20th century, you have electricity, you have transportation by plane, you have the telephone and all the various media that developed, you have a multiplicity of events and voices and creativities that are happening all around the world-and that multiplicity escalated after the war.” ThinkingArtWarEyeTodayCreativityPathAcceptanceVariousElectricity20th CenturyTransportationDealerMultiplicityPostmodernism Author:Tony Shafrazi
“I was asked in 1969 by Lucy Lippard to define art. I think at the time I said that art was a matter of life and death, meaning just the breathing and living and thinking experience-that's what art is.” ThinkingArtArt IsLife And DeathFine Arts Author:Tony Shafrazi
“I think that the whole experience of living, breathing, thinking, and being lost in wonderment is, for me, that of being an artist. And the idea of identifying as someone who is just living and existing and making objects or paintings-somehow I moved away from that years and years ago.” ThinkingArtistMovedBeing An Artist Author:Tony Shafrazi
“I think that the first responsibility of an artist is to follow truth, and the innate original forces and energies that are within them. At the same time, I also think, collectively, that there has to be a place for artists to reflect and deal with the society they're living in. I think that great art inevitably reflects some of the drama and trauma and conflicts that exist in the outer world.” ThinkingWorldArtArtistEnergyResponsibilityDramaConflictTraumaGreat Art Author:Tony Shafrazi
