We notice that once we starting focusing on works of art, the anxiety seems to melt away. They just become engaged with the works and in conversation about the works.

There is no question that these are trends that are going to add to people's anxiety and the process has already started.

Really, what these individuals are doing is what many people want to do when they visit the museum, which many people do when the guards aren't looking.

My reading and studying and retellings of old stories didn't do anything except help me think better. I was at least thoughtful. Too thoughtful, my friends said. And all I thought about was myths and old paintings that made me feel drunk on wine or struck my lightning but didn't matter to most people.

Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.

Creating is living doubly. The groping, anxious quest of a Proust, his meticulous collecting of flowers, of wallpapers, and of anxieties, signifies nothing else.