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Quote by Ben Shahn

“The popular eye is not untrained; it is only wrongly trained - trained by inferior and insincere visual representations.”

Quote by Ben Shahn

Author

Ben Shahn was an American artist known for his social realism style and woodcuts. His works often focused on the lives of the working class and ordinary people, reflecting the social and political conditions of the United States in the 20th century. more

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“I have studied the art of the masters and the art of the moderns, avoiding any preconceived system and without prejudice. I have no more wanted to imitate the former than to copy the latter; nor have I thought of achieving the idle aim of art for art's sake.”

Art Wanted Achieve Masters Prejudice Aim Sake Former Latter Copies Idle Avoiding Copying

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“To be able to translate the customs, ideas and appearance of my times as I see them - in a word, to create a living art - this has been my aim.”

Has Beens Art Ideas Able Culture Aim Appearance My Time Customs Translate

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“I deny that art can be taught, or, in other words, maintain that art is completely individual, and that the talent of each artist is but the result of his own inspiration and his own study of past tradition.”

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“The state is not competent in artistic matters... When the state leaves us free, it will have carried out its duty.”

Matter States Freedom Duty Artistic Competent

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“It is fatal for art if it is forced into official respectability and condemned to sterile mediocrity.”

Ifs Art Officials Mediocrity Respectability

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“I hope always to earn my living by my art without having ever deviated by even a hair's breadth from my principles... to please anyone or to sell more easily.”

Art Principles Hair Please Sells Selling Breadth

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“Art or talent, for an artist, is merely a means of applying his personal faculties to the ideas and the things of the period in which he lives.”

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“Titles have never given a just idea of things; were it otherwise, the work would be superfluous.”

Ideas Would Be Given Titles Superfluous

Author:Gustave Courbet

“Without trying to clear up the degree of correctness of a qualification which no one, one must hope, will be asked to understand exactly, I will limit myself to a few words of explanation to cut short any misunderstandings.”

Trying Clear Cutting Limits Degrees Explanation Misunderstanding Correctness Qualifications Few Words

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“If I'm lucky, when I paint, first my patrons leave the room, then my dealers, and if I'm really lucky I leave too.”

Ifs Firsts Rooms Lucky Paint Dealer Patron

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