David Rockefeller

The Japanese have a wonderful sense of design and a refinement in their art. They try to produce beautiful paintings with the minimum number of strokes.

As children we recognized that we belonged to an unusual, even exceptional, family, but the effect was different on each of us.

They decided to establish a museum of modern art where works by contemporary artists would be shown. Mother was viewed as a very progressive person, and not everybody liked the paintings she bought.

MoMA is doubling its space, and I decided to raise the money for it.

The Christian ethic played an essential part in my upbringing.

You know, gentlemen, that I do not owe any personal income tax. But nevertheless, I send a small check, now and then, to the Internal Revenue Service out of the kindness of my heart.

I’m just an individual who doesn’t feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I’m working for me.

The role of a museum of modern art is to make a good selection and identify what we believe to be the coming movements, and that requires taste.

The conventional notions of art have changed, and a lot of things done today are considered works of art that would have been rejected in the past.

I believe that all creative people have more than one passion, more than one creative talent.

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.

Playing with freedom can only come after a certain amount of foundational study.

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

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.

Creative Arts raise a person to another level of consciousness as if you could imagine life before words.

The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.

I wouldn’t give five cents for all the art in the world.

Life is tough and if you’re creative, it’s tougher.

There is only 1 difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.

The arts are at the center of a nation’s purpose and a test of civilization.

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.’