David Bowie

Make the best of every moment. We’re not evolving. We’re not going anywhere.

Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.

To this day I’m really not sure if I was playing Ziggy [Stardust] or if Ziggy was exaggerated aspects of my own personality. A fair amount of psychological baggage was undoubtedly coming out through the character. Because I felt awkward and nervous and inadequate with myself, it felt easier to be somebody else.

We’ll buy some drugs and watch a band and jump in a river holding hands.

The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.

I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir.

One of the things about creativity is you can be in denial about these things. When I found out I had cancer, there were four hours in which I was pounding my head on the marble kitchen top saying, “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it.” But then I felt as if this little army in uniform was flooding me. They had come to help me fight it. I felt really strong about it after that. It was one of the strongest periods of my life.

It’s like telling Michelangelo: ‘I know you painted this dope angel, that was really good, but Michelangelo, I don’t think you can paint a cow.’

Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.

The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

I hope the Guggenheim plan will be revived.

I got more publicity for not doing a festival than for doing the festival.

I think of art as the highest level of creativity. To me, it is one of the greatest sources of enjoyment.

Mother’s taste was eclectic and ranged from the ancient world to the contemporary from Europe to the U.S.

An artist can only be evaluated after he’s dead. At the 11th hour he might do something that will eclipse everything else.

We’ll buy some drugs and watch a band and jump in a river holding hands.

Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course.

Art is self expression. If you are expressing someone else’s personality, that is not art.

Mother’s interest in contemporary American artists emerged during the 1920s.

I cry out for order and find it only in art.