--- title: "3 Abstraction Quotes By Kerry James Marshall" description: "3 Abstraction quotes by Kerry James Marshall. Plus more from Kerry James Marshall and more Abstraction sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/kerry-james-marshall-5157_abstraction_i-don-t-see-those-paintings-as-abstracti_1035190.jpg" --- > [I don't see those paintings as abstractions, especially because they are emblems of the inkblot. They aren't smashed together; they are constructed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/i-don-t-see-those-paintings-as-abstractions-especially-because-they/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e30/kerry-james-marshall-5157_abstraction_i-don-t-see-those-paintings-as-abstracti_1035190.jpg) > [The appearance is the allusion of abstraction when in fact I am in control of every aspect of that symmetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/the-appearance-is-the-allusion-of-abstraction-when-in-fact-i-am-in/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca9/kerry-james-marshall-5157_abstraction_the-appearance-is-the-allusion-of-abstra_1120866.jpg) > [Abstraction and representation are supposed to be going down two very different paths, one sociological and the other aesthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/abstraction-and-representation-are-supposed-to-be-going-down-two-very/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48a/kerry-james-marshall-5157_abstraction_abstraction-and-representation-are-suppo_1822155.jpg) ## Other authors on Abstraction - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-paul-gauguin-73925.jpg) Paul Gauguin 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/paul-gauguin/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-alfred-north-whitehead-11331.jpg) Alfred North Whitehead 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/alfred-north-whitehead/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-james-95592.jpg) William James 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/william-james/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-hazlitt-95511.jpg) William Hazlitt 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/william-hazlitt/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-arnon-goldfinger-14779.jpg) Piet Mondrian 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/piet-mondrian/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-jerry-saltz-49147.jpg) Jerry Saltz 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/jerry-saltz/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-jean-baudrillard-47950.jpg) Jean Baudrillard 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/jean-baudrillard/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-herbert-marcuse-41824.jpg) Herbert Marcuse 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/herbert-marcuse/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-fulton-j-sheen-36488.jpg) Fulton J. Sheen 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/fulton-j-sheen/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b003/author-aldous-huxley-10635.jpg) Aldous Huxley 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Kerry James Marshall > [There's nothing more special than intellect and labour that makes painting work. There's no magic there; it's information, and it's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/there-s-nothing-more-special-than-intellect-and-labour-that-makes/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [When art works travel from place to place, what you have is the opportunity to engage with the intellect of another person who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/when-art-works-travel-from-place-to-place-what-you-have-is-the/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [I try to make work about things that matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/i-try-to-make-work-about-things-that-matter/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [I stumbled upon Charles White purely by chance while looking through a book 'Great Negroes, Past and Present' in the library at Forty-Ninth Street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/i-stumbled-upon-charles-white-purely-by-chance-while-looking-through/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [The lighter the skin, the more acceptable you are. The darker the skin, the more marginalised you become. I want to demonstrate that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/the-lighter-the-skin-the-more-acceptable-you-are-the-darker-the-skin/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [Artwork operates on two different levels: On one level there's artwork as a mode of expressivity, and then there's the other side, where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/artwork-operates-on-two-different-levels-on-one-level-there-s-artwork/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [One of the things I recognized early on, doing whatever studies of black history I have, is that even though black folks were transported…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/one-of-the-things-i-recognized-early-on-doing-whatever-studies-of/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [If you walk into any magazine store, I guarantee that nine out of 10 covers will feature white, blonde, blue-eyed, slim women because that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/if-you-walk-into-any-magazine-store-i-guarantee-that-nine-out-of-10/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [For black people who are really dark - and a lot of black people were averse to be dark skinned - it was believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/for-black-people-who-are-really-dark-and-a-lot-of-black-people-were/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [Before people outside of the Western European tradition started asking to be in there, the people who were accumulating objects for the museum were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/before-people-outside-of-the-western-european-tradition-started/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [What I hope 'Mastry' ends up doing is completely undermining or doing away with the notion that artists are a savant: that they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/what-i-hope-mastry-ends-up-doing-is-completely-undermining-or-doing/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [My dream was always to be in museums. It's a big and important milestone and a fulfillment of one of my primary ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/my-dream-was-always-to-be-in-museums-it-s-a-big-and-important/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [ In \[Ralph\] Ellison's case, it's more psychological than it is phenomenal, and it's conditioned by anger, animosity, and lack of desire to engage with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/in-ralph-ellison-s-case-it-s-more-psychological-than-it-is-phenomenal/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [When I started, I was aware of using the black as a rhetorical device. It's understanding that black people come in a wide range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/when-i-started-i-was-aware-of-using-the-black-as-a-rhetorical-device/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [No one has a right to occupy the privileged position all the time, so it should be contested. It should always be messy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/no-one-has-a-right-to-occupy-the-privileged-position-all-the-time-so/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/kerry-james-marshall/#itemlist", "name": "3 Abstraction Quotes By Kerry James Marshall", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't see those paintings as abstractions, especially because they are emblems of the inkblot. 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