Thanks to EVERYONE who helped me with the quote! As many of you have found, variations of this sentiment has been attributed to various people, the only difference being the word "artists" has been replaced by other words (arts, conscience, nationalism, empathy, etc, ).
The GOOD NEWS is that the patron is happy enough with the list below.
Thanks again,
Kim
Kim Collins, art history librarian and Humanities team leader
Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University, 540 Asbury Circle.
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
(404)727-2997. Fax (404)727-0408, [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
"Great Architecture is great civilization. Always. Without it? No civilization. Without Art and Architecture, civilization has no soul."
(Frank Lloyd Wright, writing for Arizona Highways, 1940)
"A nation without nationalism is like a body without a soul." - Garegin Njdeh
"a nation without a conscience is a nation without a soul". Winston Churchill
A room without books is like a body without a soul."- Marcus Tullius Cicero (cannot verify this one)
"The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose...and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization." - President John F. Kennedy, address at Harvard 1956
Above all, a nation cannot last as a money-making mob: it cannot with impunity,--it cannot with existence,--go on despising literature, despising science, despising art, despising nature, despising compassion, and concentrating its soul on Pence. (John Ruskin)
"No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" Thomas Hobbes, (1588-1679) The Leviathan. Part i. Chap. xviii.
"The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor in depth." James Thurber (1894-1961), U.S. humorist, illustrator. New York Times Magazine (Dec. 7, 1958).
wondering if the quote you seek is rather "a nation without art is a nation without a soul?" A quick Google search on the latter phrase in quotations (with art and not artists) comes up with different people saying that - especially surrounding censorship and funding.
Here's the link to one article that appeared both on the free web and in Lexis Nexis.
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/24/opinion/l-arts-censorship-threatens-all-our-freedoms-756190.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Censorship
See the third paragraph.
nation without a culture or a heritage is like a man without a soul.
DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD on THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF `MALAYSIAN ART - CONTEMPORARY PAINTING & TRADITIONAL ADORNMENT`, KUALA LUMPUR , 25-09-1996
http://www.pmo.gov.my/ucapan/?m=p&p=mahathir&id=1305
http://pakistaniat.com/2007/04/10/statues-jinnah-quaid-azam-allama-iqbal-sir-syed-ahmad-ahmed-khan-museum/comment-page-15/
Pervaiz Munir Alvi says:
April 13th, 2007 8:58 am
To my knowledge these three statues are the first 'public' attempt of this kind. From purley aesthetic sense, these bronze figures do not look too bad. Art and architecture are cultural reflections of a nation. While Pakistan has produced some very fine artists and many Pakistanis have collected their work, the general public is still not aware of their fine work. That is where the museums and easy access to them comes in. There is need of good quality museums in every city of Pakistan that could house and display the works of Pakistani and international artists. Art and appreciation of it must be a part of our education. Nations without art have no soul.
________________________________
This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
information. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly
prohibited.
If you have received this message in error, please contact
the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the
original message (including attachments).
__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
http://www.arlisna.org/join.html
Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask]
