Gerhard Richter , 3. 1. 88

Art is the pure realization of religiousness, of capacity for belief, of longing for "God." All other realizations of these most essential attributes of man are misuse in the sense that they exploit these attributes by putting them at the service of an ideology. Even art becomes 'applied art' when it renounces its lack of purpose, when it wants to express something: for only by absolutely refusing to say anything is it human. Our capacity for belief is our most considerable attribute and only finds its adequate realization in art. If, on the other hand, we satisfy our desire to believe in an ideology, we only wreak havoc.