Ian Hamilton Finlay Quotes

21 quotes in 345 categories

• I came to these mediums through having the garden, and of course, people who have designed gardens have always worked in collaboration, and never made…
• My position is that since the non-secular status of my garden is not recognised by the law; by the world of the public, then the…
• Little Sparta is a garden in the traditional sense. It is perhaps not like other modern gardens, but I think that other times would have…
• I am always a beginner. I only try to include different parts of life; the pastoral, the tragic, et cetera.
• Certain gardens are described as retreats when they are really attacks.
• The present order is the disorder of the future.
• People have always found me challenging - I don't know why, when I am only being myself. I don't understand why they find me so…
• I am not a modern man, I am just a wee old fashioned one.
• But you have to understand that I consider myself a very modest artist, or whatever, and not of importance really at all - it is…
• As a friendly one. I would still like to write concrete poems, but I can only do it sometimes.
• For me concrete poetry was a particular way of using language which came out of a particular feeling, and I don't have control over whether…
• But I can only write what the muse allows me to write. I cannot choose, I can only do what I am given, and I…
• But at the beginning it was clear to me that concrete poetry was peculiarly suited for using in public settings. This was my idea, but…
• No, I don't make my work in order to challenge or confuse other people's expectations - I only do what I find natural.
• If the work is pure then you have to think it could be understood. If it is not understood it doesn't mean that your work…
• However, I don't feel the world is looking over my shoulder when I am working - I never think about this at all. What I…
• What you compose with is neither here nor there, you compose with words, or you compose with stone plants and trees, or you compose with…
• The same sort of thing happened in my dispute with the National Trust book: Follies: A National Trust Guide, which implied that the only pleasure…
• I have often said that just as the French revolution, for instance, understood itself through antiquity, I think our time can be understood through the…
• Well, probably I was fed up with concrete poetry. There was a lot of bad concrete poetry and besides, it was confused with visual poetry…

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