The question whether art alone is enough may be answered affirmatively by the artist only until one of two things happens. Either he is confronted by a shattering event in his personal life or he is confronted by an uncommon one in his inner life. By the latter, I mean a descent of grace with no external cause or with one in human or nature form. This confrontation with an enlightened person may act as a catalyst, or this blessed gift of mountain-sea immensity or forest peace may touch him more deeply than earlier experiences. It is then that he understands that the importance of art can be exaggerated, that there is another level of being for which it can prepare him, or to which it can lead, but which it cannot touch because it is derivative--not direct, not immediate.
-- Notebooks Category 14: The Arts in Culture > Chapter 3 : Art Experience and Mysticism > # 15
