Jackie Ryan

I hope the Guggenheim plan will be revived.

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

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

The essence of all Art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure.

Nothing will stop you from being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.

Bad artists imitate, great artists steal.

In the field of art, to be able to have lunch with Kirk Varnedoe is thrilling. I met him at Si and Victoria Newhouse’s dinner one night. Barnett Newman’s widow was there. That’s the part of me that’s a fan. Like when I was a kid and went to the Brooklyn Paramount. Well, my interest has expanded, and it’s not just rock-and-roll.

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.

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.

There’s no collection that has a better representation of post-war American art than David Geffen’s.

I don’t want to put too many boxes on it because the work speaks louder than words.

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.

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.

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

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.