Marilyn Minter Quotes

Powerful Marilyn Minter for Daily Growth

About Marilyn Minter

Marilyn Minter (born in 1948) is an influential American artist known for her provocative, sensual, and often glamorous photographic and painted works that explore femininity, sexuality, and consumer culture. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Minter grew up in a conservative family. She attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she studied painting and graphic design, graduating in 1970. During her time at Pratt, she was inspired by pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, whose works focused on consumer culture and mass media imagery. Minter's early career began with a focus on graphic design before transitioning to photography in the late 1970s. Her work gained attention in the 1980s with her series "Green Pink Cavities," which featured highly stylized close-up photographs of young women's mouths and teeth, challenging societal norms surrounding beauty and femininity. In the 1990s, Minter started to explore painting again and is now known for her large-scale, hyperrealistic paintings that incorporate glossy enamel paint on aluminum panels. Some of her most notable works include "Greening the Queen" (2003), a painting of a woman's buttocks with a green pubic area that references both royal portraiture and contemporary culture; "Pretty/Dirty" series (2007-ongoing), which features glamorous but often gritty images of women; and "Meltdown" (2015), a painting of a melting lipstick on aluminum. Throughout her career, Minter has been recognized for her innovative approach to depicting femininity and her ability to challenge societal norms. Her work is held in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, among others. She continues to live and work in New York City.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I've always thought it was kind of a waste of time to be modest. Modesty is just fear in tiny shoes."

Marilyn Minter's quote emphasizes that modesty, often associated with humility or reserve, can sometimes stem from fear rather than self-awareness. She suggests that suppressing one's talents or achievements due to timidity or self-doubt is a waste of time and potential. Instead, she encourages embracing one's skills boldly and confidently, as fear in small packages (modesty) can hinder personal growth and success. This quote inspires individuals to overcome their fears and showcase their abilities with pride and self-assurance.


"Art has to do with the raw, the emotional, and not being afraid to show that."

This quote suggests that art is a means for expressing genuine emotions and the uncensored aspects of human experience. It emphasizes that in creating art, there should be no fear or reservation about displaying raw and powerful emotions, as this authenticity is an essential part of the artistic process and connection with viewers.


"I don't know what 'feminist art' is. I make art about women because I am a woman, and I make art that reflects my world."

This quote highlights Marilyn Minter's personal approach to feminism in her artistic work. She emphasizes that she doesn't categorize her art as 'feminist' but rather sees it as a natural extension of her identity as a woman. Her art reflects her experiences, observations, and the world she knows. It focuses on women not because she is making a political statement but because they are an integral part of her life and her vision. In this way, Minter subtly reinforces the idea that art rooted in the female experience can be seen as inherently feminist without explicitly labeling it as such.


"Beauty is whatever makes you feel good about yourself."

This quote by Marilyn Minter asserts that beauty is subjective, defined not by external standards but by how one perceives themselves. Essentially, it suggests that what enhances a person's self-confidence or positive self-image can be considered beautiful, emphasizing personal fulfillment and inner radiance over societal norms and expectations.


"My work has always been about surface and glamour and the way we construct our identities through the things we surround ourselves with."

This quote by Marilyn Minter emphasizes her art's focus on the superficial allure and the manipulation of personal identity through material possessions and appearances. In other words, she uses visual elements like glossy surfaces and glamorous imagery to explore how people shape their self-image based on the objects and aesthetics they choose to associate with.


I'm a voracious reader. I want information, all kinds - Internet, books, magazines.

- Marilyn Minter

Want, Books, Reader, Voracious

I sort of feel like if you're slightly marginalized, you're hungrier, and you can take more risks and be more playful.

- Marilyn Minter

Like, Slightly, Hungrier, Marginalized

When Photoshop came around, I thought I'd died and went to heaven. When I hear artists say, 'Oh, the good old days' or 'I'm old school,' I just want to puke. There's no tool I won't use.

- Marilyn Minter

Thought, Use, Died, Old School

I feed off the fashion world like a parasite.

- Marilyn Minter

World, Like, Feed, Parasite

I've always worked from images that already exist in our culture, and I just tweak them - I photograph my vision/interpretation of things that already exist, and I take it to the extreme. And then I make paintings or videos.

- Marilyn Minter

Always, Them, Images, Tweak

I work in a studio with lots of young people, most of whom are my former students. We delight in trading YouTube videos! We all stop working to watch them. I'm totally addicted to anything with kittens and puppies, but 'Very Scared Kid' is one of my favorites.

- Marilyn Minter

YouTube, Studio, Trading, Delight

I always say, 'Perfection is the flaw. It doesn't exist.' I saw something somewhere about 'porcelain pores' - you're not even allowed to have pores anymore!

- Marilyn Minter

Always, Allowed, Saw, Perfection

The fashion world tells me how much they love my work, but they don't hire me very often. Tom Ford did, and he hated it. Naturally, he wanted to Photoshop away the imperfections, which is perfectly understandable. They want their vision.

- Marilyn Minter

Love, Away, Very, Photoshop

I've been supporting Planned Parenthood all my life. I've even used it myself, back when I had no money. It's where I got my birth control. During college, every one of us got support from them.

- Marilyn Minter

College, My Life, Been, Supporting

I remember hearing a radio segment, while working in the studio, that detailed how officials were trying to systematically - and quietly - eliminate individual Planned Parenthood centres throughout the country by tweaking state laws so that it'd be harder and harder and harder for them to operate - and it was working. I was incensed.

- Marilyn Minter

Country, I Remember, Studio, Segment

I really don't own any jewelry. I paint it, but I'm not a consumer. I buy art - that's all I want.

- Marilyn Minter

Art, Jewelry, Own, Consumer

I think there's still this huge glass ceiling for women owning sexuality. And especially young women. If you're an old lady like me, I can do anything now.

- Marilyn Minter

Young, Sexuality, I Think, Old Lady

The thrill of a photo-realist painter is if you get really close to the painting, it looks just like a photograph. Whereas in my case, if you get close to my paintings, they totally fall apart - so I'm about as far from a photo-realist as it gets.

- Marilyn Minter

Looks, Thrill, About, Whereas

Success can be destructive to the creative process. I say it all the time: success is as dangerous as total failure.

- Marilyn Minter

Process, Success Is, Say, Creative Process

Feminism is the best movement that's happened in the 21st century, and it benefits everyone.

- Marilyn Minter

Benefits, Everyone, Century, 21st Century

Threads of Rosenquist and Warhol are all through my work. But I'm messier - and wetter. It's the female perspective. I'm not as tidy, and they were both very tidy.

- Marilyn Minter

Through, Very, Warhol, Tidy

I was there when they shut down the Pentagon; I've been going on protest marches my whole life... And now, this fight against controlling and policing women's bodies feels like a war.

- Marilyn Minter

Been, Shut, Feels, Controlling

The fashion world is 10,000 times more superficial than the art world. Fashion people are so much crazier than art-world people. They are constantly trying to leech from the art world, but they will never be able to do what we do.

- Marilyn Minter

Art, Will, More, Crazier

I think I might be hitting the zeitgeist. All around you, you're looking at beautiful people that have been turned into robots. Maybe the eye is craving a little upper lip fur.

- Marilyn Minter

Think, Been, Craving, Robots

Planned Parenthood is being mentioned by the Republican Party more than ISIS. I think Trump is insane. I don't think you could have a normal conversation or even convince him. I think the ego is just about Trump. It's not about the issues at all.

- Marilyn Minter

Republican, I Think, Trump, Conversation

I watched artists who blew up before me become parodies of themselves. I wasn't listening to people when they told me that I had nothing to say, and I can't listen to people now when they tell me I'm the bomb, even though I want to.

- Marilyn Minter

Tell, Before, Had, Blew

I love the idea of making images of the parts of the body that we all have but that no one pays attention to, like the soft area underneath your nose.

- Marilyn Minter

Love, Nose, Area, Underneath

I take things that already exist and just push them.

- Marilyn Minter

Exist, Things, Take, Push

I don't follow anybody. I just flip through whatever Instagram sends me. I like to keep my algorithm pure, so I only ever like pictures of art. It's a rabbit hole for me because I'm a total voyeur.

- Marilyn Minter

Through, Anybody, Instagram, Flip

I've always tried to be very seductive. I want the paintings to draw you in. But I don't want to just glamour you. I want to make an image of the time we live in and reflect it back.

- Marilyn Minter

Always, Image, Very, Glamour

Any artist who sticks around in the public awareness for more than 20 years usually has something unique to say.

- Marilyn Minter

Artist, Say, More, Sticks

I'm an animal-rights person, actually. Big time.

- Marilyn Minter

Big, Person, Actually, Big Time

My entire philosophy of teaching is based on the notion that when an artist finds a certain process really effortless, that's probably what he or she should choose to do. So often, students take the opposite tack; they have no use for the skills that come easily to them.

- Marilyn Minter

Artist, Students, Use, Philosophy

In the late '80s, I think my vision was chasing people out of the room. Nobody else thought like this. I was really this pro-sex feminist.

- Marilyn Minter

Thought, Think, I Think, Feminist

My work is about the world I live in. So, I sort of make a picture of my life or our lives. I'm always looking for something that is overlooked, so I need to constantly be aware of what's going on.

- Marilyn Minter

My Life, About, Overlooked, Our Lives

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