Some of Today’s Most Prominent Artists on Courage, Creativity, Criticism, Success, and What It Means to Be a Great Artist

Wisdom from Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, Damien Hirst, Laurie Simmons, Carroll Dunham, and more.

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Madeleine L’Engle on Creativity, Hope, Getting Unstuck, and How Studying Science Enriches Art

“Terrible things happen. And those are the things that we learn from… The amazing thing is that despite all… the human spirit still manages to survive, to stay strong.”

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Henri Rousseau’s Heartening Story of Success after a Lifetime of Rejection, Illustrated

How a kind old man who spent his life in poverty, worked as a toll collector, and was entirely self-taught became one of the world’s greatest artists.

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The Knot in the Rosary: Rilke on How Difficulty Can Fuel Creativity and Why Feedback Poisons Art

“All art is the result of one’s having been in danger, of having gone through an experience all the way to the end, to where no one can go any further.”

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In Praise of Melancholy and How It Enriches Our Capacity for Creativity

How the American obsession with happiness at the expense of sadness robs us of the capacity for a full life.

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