Chuck Close is smarter than you
I don’t work with inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.
I think NY Magazine’s Vulture blog was trying to skewer Chuck Close with this piece. It doesn’t work. He’s smarter than you and that’s a damn good quote.
Written by Mike Monteiro on September 21, 2007 | 
2 comments so far. Add yours below.
David McCreath says:
I think it's pretty easy to make the semantic argument that by this point in his career Chuck Close lives in a state of perpetual inspiration. Not to play down the quote, because I agree it's a great one, but I think the piece that's missing from is the idea that a creative professional gets so into the habit of being inspired that he or she just lives there.
September 22, 2007 12:18 PM
richard winchell says:
David, I think a literal reading of Chuck's quote is more appropriate. Inspiration is for amateur artists (and designers) because it means that without inspiration, you're not doing anything. If you just get to work, something will happen along the way. A related aphorism comes from John Cage: "Start anywhere."
September 23, 2007 11:31 AM