I would describe myself as a tallish, shy, middle-aged man who equally loves his work and his freedom. And a good liar! Maurizio Cattelan More Quotes by Maurizio Cattelan More Quotes From Maurizio Cattelan I tend not to work with a specific person in mind. Art is a matter of statistics. It's not about individuals. It's about people. Maurizio Cattelan mindpeopleart My ideas are all the same but look different. Maurizio Cattelan differentlooksideas I was a loser, most concerned with making a living. It took me 30 years to understand... I had to reinvent a system, find a way out, and set some rules that could work for me and a few others. I guess in the end that's what we all are trying to do. Maurizio Cattelan failuretryingyears The current climate doesn't represent a threat to the production of art but to the market. I think it's time for artists to get over auction houses, galleries, and high-production-value exhibitions and start using our voices again. Maurizio Cattelan voiceartthinking I do not know exactly why, but it seems to me that images do not belong to anybody but are instead there, at the disposal of all. Maurizio Cattelan seemsknows I don't design. I don't paint. I absolutely never touch my works. Maurizio Cattelan collaborationpaintdesign It's in our nature. If you are a plumber, there is an objective way to establish whether you put together a great piping system or not. Art is a bit more slippery than that. So, when you fill a gallery with dirt and someone comes along waving wads of bills, it's difficult not to take them because they become a tangible acknowledgement that what you've been doing actually makes sense. Maurizio Cattelan tangibletogetherart The market is like a machine that needs to be constantly excited. It needs to constantly produce wealth and more excitement. There are some leading players who are always there before everyone else, and they set market trends, they make people safe about the excitement. Of course, those who buy it first are the first to drop it. It's an ongoing game. Maurizio Cattelan playergamespeople I'm criticizing the way they are perceived. I was going through a book of Marina Abramovic and Ulay's 1970s performance work the other day. These people did two, even three Documentas or Venice Biennales over the course of a decade without any fuss. They would just treat it as any of their other engagements, with the same level of dignity and commitment they'd reserve for a one-day event in a small gallery on the Austrian mountains. Maurizio Cattelan twobookcommitment Part of the blame can be put at the artists' door, too - no question. But I see our involvement more as a consequence. When there is too much money at stake, the whole system gets corrupted. Artists can be very vulnerable to these mechanisms. Maurizio Cattelan too-muchartistdoors I don't think that the big crunch should be seen as a menace, but rather as an opportunity. It's one of these times in -history - and we have plenty of examples from the past - where it's possible to really make a difference. And if art is serious about claiming a central role in today's society and culture, this is the best chance it's had in ages. Maurizio Cattelan opportunitypastart I'm not saying the 1970s was a golden age - I don't believe such a thing exists in art . . . It would be like talking about a golden age of science. But it's true that those were slightly more ideological times, and the relevance of artists wasn't established by their CVs but by their work. Maurizio Cattelan talkingbelieveart What’s the point of our life? everything seems absurd until we die and then it makes sense. Maurizio Cattelan politics Every morning, we choose between milk or tea or coffee. Usually, I know what I like, but I don't rule out changing my idea sometimes. The editing process is one of the most important parts in everyday life. The same is with my work: mistakes are part of the decision-making process. Maurizio Cattelan coffeeworkmorninglife Every work of art is a great promise of escape and, therefore, like an open invitation. Maurizio Cattelan escapegreatworkart From my point of view, humour and irony include tragedy; they're two sides of the same coin. Maurizio Cattelan viewironypoint-of-viewtragedy Never give an artist like me carte blanche: he would think it's simply toilet paper. Maurizio Cattelan neverthinkmeartist Based on my experience, it's considerably difficult to force a donkey into doing something it perceives to be dangerous for whatever reason. Maurizio Cattelan doingdifficultdangerousexperience There are times when being scandalous or provocative can help bring focus to issues of major concern. Maurizio Cattelan bringhelpbeingfocus Art is about forgetting all these feelings, good and bad, and trying to understand what acts will last longer, which symbols will remain in history. It's a question of perspective: The further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems. Maurizio Cattelan goodyouhistoryart
