Skip to content
quotesby

We can only take it so far, because man can only take it so far, lower self can only take it so far, and you have to realize that the public is only at a certain place. We won't see the day when the public accepts what we wanna project, even though they are accepting a lot now. By the time they're accepting it, maybe they'll be too old. ... If it's total freedom, I guess the ultimate thing you can go into is total silence between the audience and performer, with the performer projecting something he doesn't even have to play. A total silence trip is the ultimate. ... We do antagonize them psychologically. People look at us and react. They either go 'Wow! Hey-hey-hey, baby!' and we say that's great. They're reacting and that's wonderful. It's better than them sitting there doing nothing. I say make them react - do whatever's in your power to move the audience, and if that's where it is, and there where it is with America, sex and violence, then I say project it.

Alice Cooper#12

ArtAudienceAcceptanceLimits

About this quote

What does it mean?
Artists balance pushing limits with audience readiness.
In plain terms
You can't force everyone to accept new ideas too soon.
What can you take from it?
Know when to push and when to wait.

Where it applies

  • creative work
  • public speaking
  • innovation

Putting it to work

  • test reactions
  • accept lag

Questions to consider

  • When should art provoke?
  • How do you measure acceptance?

Another view

It suggests accepting the status quo eventually.

More from Alice Cooper

  1. If you confine it, you're confining a whole thing. If you make it spontaneous, so that anything can happen, like we don't want to confine or restrict anything.…

    Permalink to quote #11
  2. Well we can't salute ya Can't find a flag If that don't suit ya That's a drag School's out for summer School's out forever School's been blown to pieces.

    Permalink to quote #13
  3. I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing 'Til they got a hold of me. I opened doors for little old ladies, I helped the blind to see. I got no friends 'cause the…

    Permalink to quote #14

Related quotes

  1. Who will love Aladdin Sane?

    David BowieDavid Bowie quote #21
  2. If you're listening to this song You may think the chords are going wrong But they're not We just wrote it like that

    George HarrisonGeorge Harrison quote #1
  3. I live in the USSR, work actively and count naturally on the worker and peasant spectator. If I am not comprehensible to them I should be deported.

    Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri Shostakovich quote #1