“There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists. Once these were men who took colored earth and roughed out the forms of a bison on the wall of a cave; today some buy their paints, and design posters, to advertise the brand of beer they make. In between there is every variety and degree, but the function remains constant—to this day the painter uses his paints to make a piece of the world which he can call his own. That is the analogy with the cave painter, and it is an analogy which goes deep, not only in terms of technical skill, but in terms of the human condition. The urge to make images is as old as humanity itself, and it is as varied as the human mind. But the word ‘Art’—with its aura of mystery and reverence—has become a bogey or a fetish, an idol to be worshipped or a demon to be feared, rather than a tool for understanding. We must strip away this mystique if we are to see the works of artists for what they truly are: expressions of human experience, shaped by skill, tradition, and imagination.”

- E.H. Gombrich