“Art for the most part, is about concentration, solitude and determination. It’s really not about other people’s needs and assumptions. I’m not interested in the notion that art serves something. Art is useless, not useful.”
Richard Serra (b. 1938, San Francisco) Strike: To Roberta and Rudy 1969–71 Hot-rolled steel 8 ft 1 in x 24 ft x 1 ½ in Guggenheim Museum, New York
“And the big daddy that I learned from all this: I actually CAN’T paint like other artists, and nor do I want to. That’s the best thing this exercise has taught me over the years; it’s fun to experiment, to try out what other artists are doing, but if I only ever did that I’d be unfulfilled and dissatisfied. I’d be surrounded by a vegetarian buffet and craving steak.”
“Big fish eat little fish” is an classical proverb that indicates the predatory nature of humans and the vicious cycle of exploitation that exists in the business world; where rich and powerful people or organizations will exploit, swallow up or destroy those who are weaker, poorer and less powerful, and in turn those who are exploited, accordingly, follow the example of those who exploit them.
“And the big daddy that I learned from all this: I actually CAN’T paint like other artists, and nor do I want to. That’s the best thing this exercise has taught me over the years; it’s fun to experiment, to try out what other artists are doing, but if I only ever did that I’d be unfulfilled and dissatisfied. I’d be surrounded by a vegetarian buffet and craving steak.”