Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being true kitsch, which always strives to please.

Dumbing down takes many forms: art that is good for you, museums that flatter you, universities that increase your self-esteem. Culture, after all, is really about you.

The arts, like language, emerged spontaneously and universally in similar forms across cultures, employing imaginative and intellectual capacities that had clear survival value.

Why do humans make art? It's how we evolved.

I try to figure out - intellectually, philosophically, psychologically - what the experience of beauty is.

The continuous capacity of genius to surpass understanding remains a human constant.

Beauty is nature’s way of acting at a distance.

Once kitsch is interpreted ironically, it ceases to be kitsch

Solemnity and a complete absence of irony also mark kitsch.

It's a grave mistake in publishing, whether you're talking about Internet or print publication, to try to play to a limited repertoire of established reader interests.

A craftsman pulled a reed from the reedbed, cut holes in it, and called it a human being.Since then, it's been wailing a tender agonyof parting, never mentioning the skillthat gave it life as a flute

I know there are things you aren’t telling me. Big things…Sir, I will find out. I only hope your reasoning is good enough for me to forgive you.

The solution to nearly every problem in the world comes down to greater awareness, compassion, and empathy.

If you want God to unfailingly do His part, then you must be willing to tirelessly fulfill yours.

I enjoyed being involved in team sports and making close friendships.

You know what's a savvy business move? Making a profit.

People become depressed when they neglect their spiritual practice.

Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you.

The French have a significant saying, that a woman who buys her complexion will sell it.

Women are a problem, but if you haven't already guessed, they are the kind of problem I enjoy wrestling with.