"Most artists have experienced the creative block. We get stuck in our work. We beat our head against the wall: nothing. Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time"
About this Quote
Creative block isn’t framed here as a mystical curse or a personal failure; Foss treats it like bad timing in a rehearsal room. That choice matters. As a composer who lived through modernism’s pressure to constantly reinvent the musical language, Foss knew the romantic myth of “inspiration” can become its own trap: if the work won’t move, the artist assumes the self is broken. His opening move normalizes the stall - “Most artists” - then immediately makes it physical and faintly comic: “We beat our head against the wall.” It’s the sound of a practice room turning into a padded cell.
The pivot, though, is where the quote shows its real intent: “Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time.” Foss slips a corrective into that one word, “sometimes.” He’s not selling a productivity slogan. He’s offering a humane diagnosis that preserves agency without pretending art is purely willpower. The subtext is anti-heroic: the obstacle isn’t always a lack of talent or discipline; it can be misalignment between idea and moment - emotional, technical, even historical.
For a composer, “wrong time” is unusually literal. You can hear a concept before you have the craft to execute it, or attempt a formal experiment before your ear has metabolized it. Foss’s line quietly argues for patience as a professional skill: set the wall aside, return later, or write something else until the clock catches up to the ambition.
The pivot, though, is where the quote shows its real intent: “Sometimes, it is because we are trying something at the wrong time.” Foss slips a corrective into that one word, “sometimes.” He’s not selling a productivity slogan. He’s offering a humane diagnosis that preserves agency without pretending art is purely willpower. The subtext is anti-heroic: the obstacle isn’t always a lack of talent or discipline; it can be misalignment between idea and moment - emotional, technical, even historical.
For a composer, “wrong time” is unusually literal. You can hear a concept before you have the craft to execute it, or attempt a formal experiment before your ear has metabolized it. Foss’s line quietly argues for patience as a professional skill: set the wall aside, return later, or write something else until the clock catches up to the ambition.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
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