20 Doug Aitken Quotes for You to Enjoy

Doug Aitken

American Artist

Born: 1968

Art Culture Made Think World You

Related authors: Andy Warhol Jackson Pollock Jean-Michel Basquiat Jeff Koons Kehinde Wiley Keith Haring Yoko Ono

We're moving into an era when things are dematerialised and much more holographic. Floating above the physical world and the geographic map, there's another landscape that's constantly changing - something like a cloud - of communication, information, exchange and commerce. Doug Aitken

Communication World Cloud Changing Constantly Physical Above Something More Physical World Exchange Like Another Geographic Era Commerce Information Moving Much Landscape Map Floating Things

There's really no differentiation between the work I make and the world I live in. Doug Aitken

Work World Live Between Make Really Differentiation

My office has two buildings that function like the right and left sides of the brain. There's a room where everything is being edited for an upcoming project, but you can pull out of that into a tranquil space to work in a different, more solitary medium. It's an architectural unfolding of the process instead of just one chaotic structure. Doug Aitken

Work You Space Medium Sides Chaotic Everything Project Solitary Out Architectural Structure More Instead Like Edited Buildings Brain Left Office Tranquil Just Being Where Different Unfolding Just One Process Room Function Right Two Pull

It's very easy to lose track of the environment around you, to lose touch with the present. Doug Aitken

You Lose Easy Touch Environment Track Around Very Present

The perfect pop song is a 20th-century creation; it's not a sonnet, it's not an opera, it's something short - three and a half minutes by nature - and has this ability to travel and to defy class and economic structures. Doug Aitken

Nature Travel Class Song Three Half Creation Defy Ability Minutes Something Structures Economic Perfect Sonnet Opera Short Pop Pop Song

One of the core reasons for creating 'Station to Station' was to provide a space for exploration and cultural friction between different mediums. It should be natural for mediums like music, film and art to cross over, and we wanted to empower that process. Doug Aitken

Music Art Natural Space Mediums Station Cross Between Over Like Empower Provide Friction Cultural Different Wanted Process Creating Should Exploration Reasons Film Core

The 'Station to Station' film has been fascinating to create. It feels as though it made itself in a way, and after awhile, the film told us what it needed and began to sculpt itself. Doug Aitken

Made Way Station Though Has-Been Feels Been Began Itself After Us Create Sculpt Fascinating Film Awhile Needed

Our culture is not this thing to be seen from a distance. We need to be embracing the friction of it all - that is where the energy is. Doug Aitken

Culture Seen Energy Our Distance Embracing Friction Where Thing Need

I have always just made things. I don't see what I make as being defined by a medium or aesthetic. It probably comes more from a fundamental restlessness, an attempt to create tools for questioning or understanding, and I have always been interested in using a wide spectrum of mediums to do this. Doug Aitken

Made Understanding Medium Mediums Tools Defined See Restlessness More Attempt Make Always Aesthetic Been Questioning Just Being Interested Create Using Fundamental Wide Things Spectrum

The 20th century is a period defined by cultural and artistic movements. However, the 21st century creative-scape that we occupy now doesn't really have movements in the same way. Instead it's made up of diverse individuals working across various platforms simultaneously; art, architecture, film, music and literature. Doug Aitken

Music Art Architecture Made Way Defined Diverse Various Instead Individuals Simultaneously Period Occupy However Cultural Up Same Artistic Movements Literature Century Really Working Across Platforms Film Now Film Music

I see life as a burning meteorite that you can climb all over, and feed off, as it is falling to earth. Doug Aitken

Life You Earth See Feed Over Climb Falling Off Burning

I'm not a journalist; I'm probably a horrible interviewer. The one small thing I have is I'm curious, and I'm interested in who I'm with. Doug Aitken

Journalist Interviewer Horrible Small Small Thing Curious Interested Who Thing

I'm really pleased to share the 'Station to Station' film. It has a very unorthodox structure; it's made up of separate one-minute films. So you watch this piece that is like time moving. Everything is democratised, whether it's a minute of Patti Smith or a single landscape with a drone, it's this amazing modern kaleidoscope. Doug Aitken

Time You Amazing Made Single Films Everything Pleased Station Unorthodox Minute Structure Share Like Piece Smith Up Very Modern Whether Patti Smith Moving Kaleidoscope Really Separate Landscape Film Watch

'Station to Station' came out of a sense of urgency - a sense that culture, be it art, film or architecture, has become so compartmentalised. For this project, we wanted to break that and create a language that is more nomadic and less materialistic and really empowering for the creators and the audience. Doug Aitken

Art Culture Architecture Language Become Sense Project Station Out More Nomadic Empowering Audience Materialistic Came Wanted Break Urgency Create Really Less Creators Film

'Planet Caravan' by Black Sabbath is such a delicate song from such a surprising place. Doug Aitken

Song Black Black Sabbath Delicate Sabbath Surprising Place Planet Caravan

'Station to Station' is a series of happenings that go across the landscape. What is a happening? A happening is a moment in time. A moment in time that is not choreographed, where you don't know precisely what's going on. Where there are aspects of different layers of culture. Doug Aitken

Time You Culture Station Layers Know Go Precisely Going Where Different Happening Happenings Across Landscape Aspects Moment Series

I think that 'Station to Station' is a nomadic project not only in a literal sense, as it's traveling by train from place to place. Some of these places are New York City or Los Angeles, but some of these places are rather off-the-grid places. Doug Aitken

Doug Aitken Quotes

No more Doug Aitken quotes