Quotes

 The following quotes really struck an emotional chord with me under the circumstance they came to me, and though the background is blurred or invisible when just reading the quote itself, the background is essential for the understanding of the quote.

"HAPPINESS IS GIVING MORE THAN  YOU RECEIVE".

(Raymond Moriyama)

Raymond was one of the most successful, inspirational and famous architiects of the World. He was a Canadian who rose out of the ashes of racism and Japanese intermnent camps, to become a global icon, and though "the dark hours" never left him, he was focused on doing good for for all people, all of humanity. I came across this quote in a Knowledge Network dodumentary about his life. It was fascinating, emotionally very moving, touching, and surely brought moist eyes to many people who watched it. The documentary was called "Magical imperfection " and you can read more about Raymond Moriyama here. Raymond passed away in 2023.

"THE GREATES ART IN THE WORLD IS CREATED THROUGH INTENSE SUFFERING".

(David Choe)

For David, his art is expressed through emotional pain, through a deeply troubled soul, like when his good friend Anthony Bourdain (one of my favourite authors) committed suicide. This pain and suffering, he then uses to catapult his way to highly evocative art. It looks to me like pain and suffering goes hand in hand with beauty and "divinity", which might become more clear to you by digging into the story behind these quotes.

"I SEE AN EAGLE IN THE WOOD".

(Robert Davidson)

Robert is a Haida Gwaii carver and artist from British Columbia, with whom I had a chance encounter in the 1990's, when I was working in South Surrey. I've had a life-long fascination with the entire Native/First Nations issue, and North-West Coast Native art in particular, but when meeting Robert Davidson, it became personal. My first exposure to Robert's art, was when I went to Grouse Mountain for the first time, and got introduced to his Eagle Transformation Mask - one of his most famous pieces. The quote itself I love, because it tells you about the need to ensision an end result, showing that photography and carving has a lot in common. In fact, almost all artforms work on the visionary concept.

THIS PAGE STARTED LATE 2026 AND MORE QUOTES WILL BE ADDED AS TIME ALLOWS.