Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad - ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car . I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Waits criticizes how commercial advertising has replaced artistic respect, noting he refuses to appear in ads.
- In plain terms
- He thinks being in an ad is the highest but empty praise artists get now.
- What can you take from it?
- Commercial success does not equal artistic integrity.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is commercial success compatible with art?
- What is a true compliment to an artist?
Another view
Some artists find value in reaching audiences through ads.
More from Tom Waits
In response to a heckler at his concert at Toronto's Massey Hall in the late 1980's who complained that he could not hear Waits, he replied: 'I haven't screame…
Permalink to quote #29 'When he performs, it sounds as if the world has stopped at 2 A.M.' - Dinah Shore
Permalink to quote #31 'I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged needing a shave and shouted 'Time Square, a…
Permalink to quote #28
Related quotes
'How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic art for…
Rod SerlingRod Serling quote #6 It seems to me that today, if the artist wishes to be serious - to cut out a little original niche for himself, or at least preserve his own innocence of perso…
Edgar DegasEdgar Degas quote #12 When nations grow old, the Arts grow cold, And Commerce settles on every tree.
William BlakeWilliam Blake quote #12