Aphorisms for Artists by Walter Darby Bannard

Aphorism #10

When you break all the barriers, you get a pile of rubble.

Absolute freedom is a paralytic blur of possibility that amounts to nothing.

Limitation is essential for any clear expression of human excellence. Creative freedom relishes its limitations because it builds on them. Restriction of means releases inhibition, stimulates the imagination and clarifies choice.

Innovation is toxic when it destroys conventions it should be refreshing. Art is not breaking rules, it is making rules.

Previous: If you are lucky, people will buy your art for the wrong reasons.

Next: Postmodernism is Modernism with Alzheimer’s.

Table of Contents