Rick Rubin Quotes

Great art is created through freedom of self-expression and received with freedom of individual interpretation. Great art opens a conversation rather than closing it. And often this conversation is started by accident.

Consider how different your experience of the world might be if you engaged in every activity with the attention you might give to landing a plane.

The principle operates on faith. Believing and behaving as if it’s true. No proof is needed.

Art goes beyond language, beyond lives. It’s a universal way to send messages between each other and through time.

The only practice that matters is the one you consistently do, not the practice of any other artist. Find your most generative method, apply it, and then let it go when it is no longer of use. There is no wrong way to make art.

Art may only exist, and the artist may only evolve, by completing the work.

Whatever you choose, decide on a framework that breaks your normal rhythm and see where it leads. Just by the nature of the limitations you set, the work will be different from what you’ve done before. It is of little importance whether it’s better. The purpose is self-discovery.

A lack of knowledge can create more openings to break new ground. The Ramones thought they were making mainstream bubblegum pop. To most others, the lyrical content alone — about lobotomies, sniffing glue, and pinheads — was enough to challenge this assumption. While the band saw themselves as the next Bay City Rollers, they unwittingly invented punk rock and started a countercultural revolution. While the music of the Bay City Rollers had great success in its time, the Ramones’ singular take on rock and roll became more popular and influential. Of all the explanations of the Ramones, the most apt may be: innovation through ignorance.

Consider that it might not have been your initial style that attracted success, but your personal passion within it. So if your passion changes course, follow it. Your trust in your instincts and excitement are what resonate with others.

Art is a circulation of energetic ideas. What makes them appear new is that they’re combining differently each time they come back.

Living life as an artist is a practice. You are either engaging in the practice or you’re not. It makes no sense to say you’re not good at it. It’s like saying, “I’m not good at being a monk.” You are either living as a monk or you’re not. We tend to think of the artist’s work as the output. The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world.

Memories can also be thought of as dreamlike. They’re more a romantic story than a faithful document of a life event. And there’s good content to be found in these dreamy recollections we have of past experiences.

Faith allows you to trust the direction without needing to understand it.

Pay particular attention to the moments that take your breath away — a beautiful sunset, an unusual eye color, a moving piece of music, the elegant design of a complex machine.

The work reveals itself as you go.