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Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

“Imagination without knowledge leads no farther than the back yard of primitive art, the child's scrawl on the fence, and the crank's message in the market place. Art is never simple.”

Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

Author

Vladimir Nabokov

Russian-born American novelist, best known for his novel 'Lolita'. Nabokov is renowned for his unique literary style and profound use of language and symbolism. more

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“I do not see any essential difference between abstract and primitive art. Both are simple and sincere. Naturally, we should not generalize in these matters: It is the individual artist that counts.”

Should Art Matter Artist Individual Differences Simple Essentials Abstract Sincere Primitive

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“Only talent interests me in paintings and books. Not general ideas, but the individual contribution.”

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“A work of art has no importance whatever to society. It is only important to the individual, and only the individual reader is important to me. I don't give a damn for the group, the community, the masses, and so forth.”

Giving Art Important Individual Community Groups Reader Mass Importance Damn Works Of Art Don't Give A Damn I Don't Give A Damn

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“I remixed a remix, it was back to normal.”

Inspirational Humor Motivational Funny Normal Remix

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“Although I do not care for the slogan "art for art's sake", there can be no question that what makes a work of fiction safe from larvae and rust is not its social importance but its art, only its art.”

Art Care Social Fiction Safe Importance Sake Slogans Rust

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“The social or economic structure of the ideal state is of little concern to me. My desires are modest. Portraits of the head of the government should not exceed a postage stamp in size. No torture and no executions. No music, except coming through earphones, or played in theaters. Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of art.”

“I have no ear for music. When I attend a concert, I endeavor gamely to follow the sequence and relationship of sounds but cannot keep it up for more than a few minutes. Visual impressions, reflections of hands in lacquered wood, a diligent bald spot over a fiddle, take over, and soon I am bored beyond measure by the motions of the musicians.”

Hands Sound Minutes Musician Reflection Ears Woods Impression Spots Bored Visuals Endeavor Concerts Sequence Diligent Fiddle

Author:Vladimir Nabokov

“I don't read reviews about myself with any special eagerness or attention unless they are masterpieces of wit and acumen, and I never reread them.”

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“Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoievsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, venerate him as a mystic and not as an artist.”

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“Usually I read several books at a time - old books, new books, fiction, nonfiction, verse, anything - and when the bedside heap of a dozen volumes or so has dwindled to two or three, which generally happens by the end of one week, I accumulate another pile.”

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Author:Vladimir Nabokov