The Best Artists Are Complete Failures
Josephine
I ran away from home, away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States of America, the Statue of Liberty—I preferred the Eiffel Tower, which made no promises. One dance made me the most famous colored woman in the world. I was not intimidated. Everyone is made with two arms, two legs, a stomach and a head. Just think about that. A violinist had a violin, a painter his palette. All I had was myself.
Jasper
To be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist. I assumed it would lead to complete failure, but I decided that didn't matter —that would be my life. My experience is very fragmented. In one place, a certain kind of thing occurs, and in another place, a different thing occurs. A complaint, or appeasement. As one gets older, one sees many more paths that could be taken. One would like not to be led. Remove the signs of thought— it is not thought that needs showing.
Claude
Everyone discusses art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love. I'm not performing miracles, my garden in a slow work. I would like to paint the way a bird sings. I must have flowers, always, and always. I planted them for the pleasure of it. Every day I discover more beautiful things. There is enough paint here for a lifetime. My wish is to stay like this—living quietly in a corner of nature. Colorful silence— here is a little square of blue, here a circle of pink, here a streak. of yellow.