Jenny Holzer Quotes

At times inactivity is preferable to mindless functioning.

You are a victim of the rules you live by.

My arrogance knows no bounds and I will make no peace today, and you should be so lucky to find a woman like me.

TRYING TO BE POPULAR IN HIGH SCHOOL IS LIKE TRYING TO BE MAYOR OF A CITY THAT WON'T EXIST IN FOUR YEARS.

If you have many desires your life will be interesting.

Protect me from what I want.

All things are delicately interconnected.

I used language because I wanted to offer content that people - not necessarily art people - could understand.

THERE IS A PERIOD WHEN IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU HAVE GONE WRONG BUT YOU CONTINUE. SOMETIMES THERE IS A LUXURIOUS AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE ANYTHING BAD HAPPENS.

Slipping into madness is good for the sake of comparison

Abuse of power comes as no surprise

Ensure that your life stays in flux.

It's better to be a good person than a famous person.

Fear is the most elegant weapon, your hands are never messy

A lot of professionals are crackpots.

BY YOUR RESPONSE TO DANGER IT IS EASY TO TELL HOW YOU HAVE LIVED AND WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO YOU. YOU SHOW WHETHER YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE, WHETHER YOU THINK YOU DESERVE TO, AND WHETHER YOU BELIEVE IT'S ANY GOOD TO ACT.

I wasn't sure I was an artist, so I thought maybe I just was throwing ideas out for people to consider.

The desperate things seem to require attention, the lovely things seem to elicit celebration. If I had to choose, I would go to the awful in the hope that doing something could yield a happier result.

Everyone's work is equally important.

The most profound things are inexpressible.

I really like doing the laundry, because I succeed at it. But I loathe putting it away. It is already clean.

Expressing anger is necessary.

When you start liking pain things start to get interesting.

Drama often obscures the real issues

Lack of charisma can be fatal.

Enjoy yourself because you can't change anything anyway

Going with the flow is soothing but risky.

Well, I think in trying to make life seem real enough that one is moved to do something about the more atrocious things. By going really far afield into a completely fake world, maybe there's a chance to make things resonant somehow - or in this case, truly terrifying. To make it as bad as the real stuff that's happening.

I think of a piece, and then people who are competent fabricate it. But lately I've started finger painting, which probably should be a joke but isn't!

Being alone with yourself is increasingly unpopular.

I was hesitant to approach people. I'm socially awkward. But I was working on a number of memorials, and finally it dawned on me: These are memorials to people who wrote, so I should use their writing. That's how I started to quit.

Turn soft and lovely any time you have a chance

How do you resign yourself to something that will never be? You stop wanting just that thing. You go numb. Or you kill the agent of desire.

It's fun wandering around other people's minds.

The epiphany for me was that I wasnt a writer, and I had to do something with these texts. I put them in the streets as posters.

Expiring for love is beautiful but stupid.

Remember you always have freedom of choice.

SPIT ALL OVER SOMEONE WITH A MOUTHFUL OF MILK IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR PERSONALITY FAST.

It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender.

Anger or hate can be a useful motivating force

Alienation produces eccentrics or revolutionaries.

Being happy is more important than anything else.

I'd been doing projects outdoors for the public. I made pigeons eat geometry by putting bread out in rhomboids and triangles. I don't know if this activity made sense, but the work was available.

It can be kind of gruesome at times, making things alone.

I wanted to support things that are helpful to people and maybe bash what I think is dangerous. So I switched from being everybody to being myself.

Someone else's body is a place for your mind to go.

Boredom makes you do crazy things

Deviants are sacrificed to increase group solidarity

Usually going places makes me feel optimistic. And I'm a hillbilly, so heading to the countryside made sense a number of ways.

A positive attitude means all the difference in the world.