Wisdom in fragments

Art is necessary for the human mind. Art is about our dreams, fears, and imagination. Art is about everything outside of the system. It is a death sentence for art when it is within the system.

Chinese Artist & Dissident; Prominent Human Rights Activist and Political Critic

The strongest characteristic of art is that it belongs to the individual. Art is an expression of individualism and the opposite of oppressive dogma.

Chinese Artist & Dissident; Prominent Human Rights Activist and Political Critic

You can't go through life in that negative frame of mind. Just go, see what happens… challenge it. It's better to go to University and have an education doing what you want, rather than what you don't.

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

Had I not defended it and stood by it, I think it could have disappeared into history- but because I protected it, stood up for it, believed in it and understood why it existed and what it had done? That's why it still remains.

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

There's a beauty in the truth which is undeniable. It's a tragedy in a way- sometimes we just need to understand what the hell we've truly lost.

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

True art, real art, real creativity, comes from somewhere else. It isn't about a picture or decoration- there's a divinity to it…

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

Most people would have a nervous breakdown if they didn't have their phone for a day; I would have a total breakdown if there was no culture, no art. I couldn't live without art, it would be impossible.

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

Art is a vocation for me, not a career, not a job… you wouldn't say to a nun. 'so, how did you get into God?'

British artist known for provocative conceptual and autobiographical works

Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast. We all have the ability to perform magic, to endure, to push ourselves beyond our limits, if we have the patience and the resilience.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

Endurance stays with you across everything, if you do it one place, you can do it anywhere. You're able to sustain because you've already trained your brain to do that.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

We have created a society that gives us more access to comfort. We have the ability to push much further than we think is possible, but the brain wants us to rest to allow the body to recover.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

The way you eliminate fear is to approach your situation from every angle, almost as though it were a logic puzzle. I like to think of it as approaching like a tortoise, not like a hare.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

Endurance is mind over body. It's about tapping into something within us that allows us to push further than we ever thought possible, especially at our weakest moments.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

Humans often come together by believing in ideas that may only exist in our imaginations. We have an ability to imagine together, to merge our ideas as a collective, which can slowly move us toward a future once believed to be impossible. This is part of what changes us from being simple animals to a group that will soon travel to Mars and perhaps even further. To me that is magic.

Illusionist & Street Magician Known for Endurance Stunts & Television Specials

There's something beautiful, open and present about using the human voice. We've lost the dynamics of audio over the last 30 years because of compressed music formats, radio and different genres of music.

Magician, Illusionist & Half of Penn & Teller Duo

If you can be as open with your heart as possible, humans will feel that intimacy from any distance. Bob Dylan, even in a stadium of 20,000 people can choose a point to strip it down to a piano, and you feel it.

Magician, Illusionist & Half of Penn & Teller Duo