The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.

I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me.

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.

The music industry can make you feel like a prostitute.

Comedy is the blues for people who can?t sing.

Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

Intellectual passion drives out sensuality.

We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.

Critics are the men who have failed in literature and art.

Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.

The spoken form is in fact a very restrained representation of what is possible in the musical language.

Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.

Art is permitted to survive only if it renounces the right to be different, and integrates itself into the omnipotent realm of the profane.

I'm very happy to hear that my work inspires writers and painters. It's the most beautiful compliment, the greatest reward. Art should always be an exchange.

Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo.

Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.

I love rock-n-roll. I think it's an exciting art form. It's revolutionary. Still revolutionary and it changed people. It changed their hearts. But yeah, even rock-n-roll has a lot of rubbish, really bad music.

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.