Harold Rosenberg Quotes

A collection of quotes by Harold Rosenberg.

Harold Rosenberg (1906-1978) was an American art critic and writer known for his influential contributions to Abstract Expressionism. He played a significant role in shaping the discourse around modern art through his essays and reviews. Rosenberg coined the term "action painting" to describe the works of artists like Jackson Pollock, emphasizing the raw, spontaneous, and performative nature of their creations. His writings often explored the relationship between art and existentialism, challenging traditional notions of art's purpose. Rosenberg's critical insights continue to be studied and debated, making him an important figure in art criticism of the 20th century.

They had enough. They wanted to enjoy their life.

They had enough. They wanted to enjoy their life.

Harold Rosenberg

Politics in the United States consists of the struggle betwe

Politics in the United States consists of the struggle between those whose change has been arrested by success or failure, on one side, and those who are still engaged in changing themselves, on the other. Agitators of arrested metamorphosis versus agitators of continued metamorphosis. The former have the advantage of numbers (since most people accept themselves as successes or failures quite early), the latter of vitality and visibility (since self-transformation, though it begins from within, with ideology, religion, drugs, tends to express itself publicly through costume and jargon).

Harold Rosenberg

One of the grotesqueries of present-day American life is the

One of the grotesqueries of present-day American life is the amount of reasoning that goes into displaying the wisdom secreted in bad movies while proving that modern art is meaningless. They have put into practice the notion that a bad art work cleverly interpreted according to some obscure Method is more rewarding than a masterpiece wrapped in silence.

Harold Rosenberg

What better way to prove that you understand a subject than

What better way to prove that you understand a subject than to make money out of it?

Harold Rosenberg

The story of Americans is the story of arrested metamorphose

The story of Americans is the story of arrested metamorphoses. Those who achieve success come to a halt and accept themselves as they are. Those who fail become resigned and accept themselves as they are.

Harold Rosenberg

Only conservatives believe that subversion is still being ca

Only conservatives believe that subversion is still being carried on in the arts and that society is being shaken by it. Advanced art today is no longer a cause --it contains no moral imperative. There is no virtue in clinging to principles and standards, no vice in selling or in selling out.

Harold Rosenberg

Whoever undertakes to create soon finds himself engaged in c

Whoever undertakes to create soon finds himself engaged in creating himself. Self-transformation and the transformation of others have constituted the radical interest of our century, whether in painting, psychiatry, or political action.

Harold Rosenberg

American time has stretched around the world. It has become

American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.

Harold Rosenberg

America is the civilization of people engaged in transformin

America is the civilization of people engaged in transforming themselves. In the past, the stars of the performance were the pioneer and the immigrant. Today, it is youth and the Black.

Harold Rosenberg

The purpose of education is to keep a culture from being dro

The purpose of education is to keep a culture from being drowned in senseless repetitions, each of which claims to offer a new insight.

Harold Rosenberg

The values to which the conservative appeals are inevitably

The values to which the conservative appeals are inevitably caricatured by the individuals designated to put them into practice.

Harold Rosenberg

The differences between revolution in art and revolution in

The differences between revolution in art and revolution in politics are enormous. Revolution in art lies not in the will to destroy but in the revelation of what has already been destroyed. Art kills only the dead.

Harold Rosenberg