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About this quote

What does it mean?
Artists must face real dangers and reject bitterness; culture and freedom prevent society from becoming a jungle. Authentic creation gifts the future.
In plain terms
Artists must take risks and stay kind, because culture and freedom keep society from becoming wild.
What can you take from it?
Create authentically to gift culture to the future.

Where it applies

  • artistic practice
  • cultural policy
  • civil society

Putting it to work

  • protecting artists
  • supporting arts
  • building culture

Questions to consider

  • What protects culture?
  • Why is art a gift?

Another view

Some art is destructive or cynical too.

More from Albert Camus

  1. We live in an unsacrosanct moment in history.

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  2. When law ventures, in the hope of dominating, into the dark regions of consciousness, it has little chance of being able to simplify the complexity it wants to…

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  3. We have to live and let live in order to create what we are.

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