During the 80s and 90s we all became consumed with ourselves. In the 21st century we've come back to simpler times. People are struggling economically and this has forced them to scale back the material aspects of their lives and realise the beauty of finding the simple joy in being with the people we love.

In such ugly times the only true protest is beauty.

In chess one cannot control everything. Sometimes a game takes an unexpected turn in which beauty begins to emerge. Both players are always instrumental in this.

Everyone has their own insecurities regardless of how you look or how people perceive you but sometimes people give their insecurities too much power. Defining beauty is simply a matter of opinion. For me real beauty has very little to do with the structure of someone's face or body.

Without realizing it the individual composes his life according to the laws of beauty even in times of greatest distress.

I think that the U.S. does have this very much more open attitude and I admire it very much and I think it's very important to the world. But the information and the discussion sometimes come too late after the effective decision has been made.

I cannot say that the attitude of the United Nations always is for the Israeli attitude. Israel I think has been under severe attacks by members of the United Nations many times.

I've always had a 'Work hard play hard' attitude to life - I still do - but sometimes you get involved in something that needs a calm methodical approach.

A lot of times I find that people who are blessed with the most talent don't ever develop that attitude and the ones who aren't blessed in that way are the most competitive and have the biggest heart.

I think a lot of times we don't pay enough attention to people with a positive attitude because we assume they are naive or stupid or unschooled.

People in tough times - it doesn't mean they don't have a great attitude.

Fashion often starts off beautiful and becomes ugly whereas art starts off ugly sometimes and becomes beautiful.

The downfall of the industry seems to actually be good for art. I think the industry will find their way once the focus shifts from its greed-based origins downsizes and begins to support creative visions that speak to our times and shifting ideals.

Shadows sometimes people don't see shadows. The Chinese of course never paint them in pictures oriental art never deals with shadow. But I noticed these shadows and I knew it meant it was sunny.

You are welcome to your intellectual pastimes and books and art and newspapers welcome too to your bars and your whisky that only makes me ill. Here am I in the forest quite content.

I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times.

In the first book of my Discworld series published more than 26 years ago I introduced Death as a character there was nothing particularly new about this - death has featured in art and literature since medieval times and for centuries we have had a fascination with the Grim Reaper.

Cinema is still a very young art form with extraordinary techniques and very impressive special effects but sometimes it seems the soul has been taken out of things.

I don't know much about auctions. I sometimes go to previews and see art sardined into ugly rooms. I've gawked at the gaudy prices and gaped at well-clad crowds of happy white people conspicuously spending hundreds of millions of dollars.

The alchemy of good curating amounts to this: Sometimes placing one work of art near another makes one plus one equal three. Two artworks arranged alchemically leave each intact transform both and create a third thing.

Artistic qualities that once seemed undeniable don't seem so now. Sometimes these fluctuations are only fickleness of taste momentary glitches in an artist's work or an artist getting ahead of his audience (it took me ten years to catch up to Albert Oehlen). Other times however these problems mean there's something wrong with the art.

It ought to be illegal for an artist to marry. If the artist must marry let him find someone more interested in art or his art or the artist part of him than in him. After which let them take tea together three times a week.

If thou art a master be sometimes blind if a servant sometimes deaf.

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.