--- title: "10 Artist Quotes By M.I.A" description: "10 Artist quotes by M.I.A. Plus more from M.I.A and more Artist sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/m-i-a-3418_art_i-don-t-consider-myself-a-musician-i-m-a_2866575.jpg" --- > [I don't consider myself a musician. I'm an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-musician-i-m-an-artist/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/m-i-a-3418_art_i-don-t-consider-myself-a-musician-i-m-a_2866575.jpg) > [What really drives me mad about art is that, in America, the only thing you can do is to take it apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/what-really-drives-me-mad-about-art-is-that-in-america-the-only-thing/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d8/m-i-a-3418_america_what-really-drives-me-mad-about-art-is-t_2971836.jpg) > [Any piece of art, when you're putting it on a certain platform, if the platform becomes a political place, you can manipulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/any-piece-of-art-when-you-re-putting-it-on-a-certain-platform-if-the/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f27/m-i-a-3418_art_any-piece-of-art-when-you-re-putting-it_1891852.jpg) > [I come from a generation where you put the art out and had the luxury to sit back and watch the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-come-from-a-generation-where-you-put-the-art-out-and-had-the-luxury/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ba/m-i-a-3418_art_i-come-from-a-generation-where-you-put-t_1440155.jpg) > [As an artist, you want to play around with mediums and see if you can get the point across in different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/as-an-artist-you-want-to-play-around-with-mediums-and-see-if-you-can/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efb/m-i-a-3418_across_as-an-artist-you-want-to-play-around-wit_2141660.jpg) > [I was part of the generation that pushed the Internet. In fact, I broke as an artist in the U.S.A. because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-was-part-of-the-generation-that-pushed-the-internet-in-fact-i-broke/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/m-i-a-3418_art_i-was-part-of-the-generation-that-pushed_3092542.jpg) > [The consequence of making it a business thing and making an artist the same as a Wall Street trader is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business-thing-and-making-an-artist/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/m-i-a-3418_art_the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business_1387279.jpg) > [I think when something becomes a comfortable genre, it's against what street art stood for in the beginning - breaking out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfortable-genre-it-s-against-what/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/m-i-a-3418_art_i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfort_2519878.jpg) > [Art is supposed to be about creativity. But the same people are the same art darlings every month, and it's a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-but-the-same-people-are-the/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/986/m-i-a-3418_annoying_art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-b_3176794.jpg) > [ Now, \[hip-hop/grime artists\] Stormzy, Skepta, or the Section Boyz have to be validated by Drake, Rihanna or Beyoncé. They're rolled into this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta-or-the-section-boyz-have-to/) M.I.A [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/m-i-a-3418_art_now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta_2579135.jpg) ## Other authors on Artist - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-oscar-wilde-72846.jpg) Oscar Wilde 231 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/oscar-wilde/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-pablo-picasso-73081.jpg) Pablo Picasso 193 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/pablo-picasso/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-jerry-saltz-49147.jpg) Jerry Saltz 143 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/jerry-saltz/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vincent-van-gogh-93793.jpg) Vincent Van Gogh 126 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/vincent-van-gogh/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-kehinde-wiley-1194.jpg) Kehinde Wiley 111 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/kehinde-wiley/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-henri-matisse-41358.jpg) Henri Matisse 90 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/henri-matisse/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-henri-79837.jpg) Robert Henri 88 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/robert-henri/) - [Ralph Waldo Emerson 87 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/ralph-waldo-emerson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-marcel-duchamp-63203.jpg) Marcel Duchamp 76 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/marcel-duchamp/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gerhard-richter-38308.jpg) Gerhard Richter 75 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/gerhard-richter/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-genn-79770.jpg) Robert Genn 74 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/robert-genn/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-seth-godin-84128.jpg) Seth Godin 73 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/seth-godin/) ## More by M.I.A > [I'd be very controversial if I said why, and I don't do controversial anymore. That's too passé. So last year. Being controversial is boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-d-be-very-controversial-if-i-said-why-and-i-don-t-do-controversial/) M.I.A > [You have to constantly redefine who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/you-have-to-constantly-redefine-who-you-are/) M.I.A > [That's what I miss, being a real human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-s-what-i-miss-being-a-real-human/) M.I.A > [Retirement: a brand new beginning! How wonderful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/retirement-a-brand-new-beginning-how-wonderful/) M.I.A > [I don't like the idea of spirituality done the way it's done. The only way I could understand it was through creativity, not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-spirituality-done-the-way-it-s-done-the-only/) M.I.A > [I felt pissed off because I realized that you have to teach people in a clichéd way how to be happy-and happiness has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-felt-pissed-off-because-i-realized-that-you-have-to-teach-people-in/) M.I.A > [The first 10 years of my life, I lived as 'Matangi.' When I came to England in '86, my first week of school was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-first-10-years-of-my-life-i-lived-as-matangi-when-i-came-to/) M.I.A > [My uncle was the first brown person to have a market stall on Petticoat Lane in the 1960s. He worked his way up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/my-uncle-was-the-first-brown-person-to-have-a-market-stall-on/) M.I.A > [That divide between the rich and poor is so crazy, because even white kids are suffering now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-divide-between-the-rich-and-poor-is-so-crazy-because-even-white/) M.I.A > [Businessmen in society are not going to be the ones that promote anything outside of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/businessmen-in-society-are-not-going-to-be-the-ones-that-promote/) M.I.A > [That's what New York is like - you can't have real art happen in an institution because rich people can make the world stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/that-s-what-new-york-is-like-you-can-t-have-real-art-happen-in-an/) M.I.A > [I feel like a mirror reflecting back everyones perception of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-feel-like-a-mirror-reflecting-back-everyones-perception-of-me/) M.I.A > [In England right now you're not good enough until you get validated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/in-england-right-now-you-re-not-good-enough-until-you-get-validated/) M.I.A > [I'm still working out my opinions - it's always a question mark. I leave loads of space open, and people don't like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-m-still-working-out-my-opinions-it-s-always-a-question-mark-i-leave/) M.I.A > [Basically, when I went to school in Sri Lanka from age five onward, the classes there were sometimes sorted into a hierarchy of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/basically-when-i-went-to-school-in-sri-lanka-from-age-five-onward-the/) M.I.A ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/m-i-a/#itemlist", "name": "10 Artist Quotes By M.I.A", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't consider myself a musician. 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It becomes more robotic as opposed to being more soulful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.I.A" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business-thing-and-making-an-artist/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/m-i-a-3418_art_the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business_1387279.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/m-i-a-3418_art_the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business_1387279.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/m-i-a-3418_art_the-consequence-of-making-it-a-business_1387279.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The consequence of making it a business thing and making an artist the same as a Wall Street trader is that…” — M.I.A", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think when something becomes a comfortable genre, it's against what street art stood for in the beginning - breaking out of genres and taking art out of galleries. Now street art is in the gallery, and it's all made up into a nice, packaged concept.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.I.A" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfortable-genre-it-s-against-what/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/m-i-a-3418_art_i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfort_2519878.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/m-i-a-3418_art_i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfort_2519878.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/m-i-a-3418_art_i-think-when-something-becomes-a-comfort_2519878.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think when something becomes a comfortable genre, it's against what street art stood for in the beginning…” — M.I.A", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is supposed to be about creativity. But the same people are the same art darlings every month, and it's a bit annoying. It's supposed to be diverse and interesting and conceptual and have weird concepts in a comfortable place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.I.A" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-but-the-same-people-are-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/986/m-i-a-3418_annoying_art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-b_3176794.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/986/m-i-a-3418_annoying_art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-b_3176794.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/986/m-i-a-3418_annoying_art-is-supposed-to-be-about-creativity-b_3176794.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is supposed to be about creativity. But the same people are the same art darlings every month, and it's…” — M.I.A", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Now, [hip-hop/grime artists] Stormzy, Skepta, or the Section Boyz have to be validated by Drake, Rihanna or Beyoncé. They're rolled into this one urban culture bubble; it's not really to do with, \"I'm specifically f - ked off about my country and what's going on in my town.\" We're very much only showing success to artists who impress American artists, and I'm one of them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M.I.A" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta-or-the-section-boyz-have-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/m-i-a-3418_art_now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta_2579135.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/m-i-a-3418_art_now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta_2579135.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/274/m-i-a-3418_art_now-hip-hop-grime-artists-stormzy-skepta_2579135.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Now, [hip-hop/grime artists] Stormzy, Skepta, or the Section Boyz have to be validated by Drake, Rihanna or…” — M.I.A", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/m-i-a/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/m-i-a/", "name": "Artist Quotes by M.I.A", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/m-i-a/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/04a/m-i-a-3418_art_i-don-t-consider-myself-a-musician-i-m-a_2866575.jpg" }, "description": "10 Artist quotes by M.I.A. 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