“What it all boils down to is this. If a man teaches composition in a university, how can he not be a composer? He has worked hard, learned his craft. Ergo, he is a composer. A professional. Like a doctor who opens you up, does exactly the right thing, closes you up –and you die. He failed to take the chance that might have saved you. Art is a crucial, dangerous operation that we perform on ourselves. Unless we take a chance, we die in art.”

—morton feldman