--- title: "9 Question Art Quotes by 9 authors" description: "Browse 9 Question Art quotes by 9 authors. Discover the best Question Art sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png" --- > [“Criticism talks a good deal of nonsense, but even its nonsense is a useful force. It keeps the question of art before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense-but-even-its-nonsense-is-a/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png) > [I once had the nerve to ask Picasso the question, 'What is art?' He answered, 'Art is a lie which makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the-question-what-is-art-he/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/james-dickey-11461_art_i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the_13771.jpg) > [The magic question is, 'What for?' But art is not for anything. Art is the ultimate goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-magic-question-is-what-for-but-art-is-not-for-anything-art-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a3/anonymous-1_art_the-magic-question-is-what-for-but-art-i_1189348.jpg) > [My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-has-always-been-am-i-good-or-am/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83b/k-naan-16145_about_my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-ha_295645.png) > [Can art change the world? Maybe ... we should change the question: Can art change people's lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should-change-the-question-can-art/) [JR](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jr/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jr-13628_art_can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should_316396.png) > [Since the beginning of the 20th century, the public's relationship to art has been weakened by a profound institutional reluctance to address…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-public-s-relationship-to/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/alain-de-botton-221_art_since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century_1385806.jpg) > [I never went into aesthetics. Aesthetics is what philosophers have to say about art, and a lot of them take an analytics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-ihde/i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics-is-what-philosophers-have-to/) [Don Ihde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-ihde/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/don-ihde-48619_art_i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics_856117.jpg) > [“I was aware of doing only a so-so job on the grown-up career front, but I didn't really care, because there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on-the-grown-up-career-front/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/claire-messud-1372_art_i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on_845125.jpg) > [The question of art songs always came up with Gastr del Sol. I think Jim O'Rourke had it right in being clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up-with-gastr-del-sol-i-think/) [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/david-grubbs-27090_art_the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up_2478717.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-art/#itemlist", "name": "Question Art Quotes", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Criticism talks a good deal of nonsense, but even its nonsense is a useful force. It keeps the question of art before the world, insists upon its importance. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense-but-even-its-nonsense-is-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Criticism talks a good deal of nonsense, but even its nonsense is a useful force. It keeps the question of…” — Henry James", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I once had the nerve to ask Picasso the question, 'What is art?' He answered, 'Art is a lie which makes us see the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Dickey" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the-question-what-is-art-he/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/james-dickey-11461_art_i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the_13771.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/james-dickey-11461_art_i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the_13771.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/james-dickey-11461_art_i-once-had-the-nerve-to-ask-picasso-the_13771.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I once had the nerve to ask Picasso the question, 'What is art?' 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But art is not for anything. Art is the ultimate goal.” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the artist who wants to have the 'because' attached.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "K'naan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-has-always-been-am-i-good-or-am/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83b/k-naan-16145_about_my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-ha_295645.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83b/k-naan-16145_about_my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-ha_295645.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83b/k-naan-16145_about_my-question-about-my-art-and-my-music-ha_295645.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My question about my art and my music has always been, 'Am I good, or am I good because?' I'm not the artist…” — K'naan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can art change the world? Maybe ... we should change the question: Can art change people's lives?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "JR" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should-change-the-question-can-art/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jr-13628_art_can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should_316396.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jr-13628_art_can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should_316396.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/jr-13628_art_can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should_316396.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can art change the world? 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This is a question that has, quite unfairly, come to feel impatient, illegitimate, and a little impudent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-public-s-relationship-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/alain-de-botton-221_art_since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century_1385806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/alain-de-botton-221_art_since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century_1385806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/alain-de-botton-221_art_since-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century_1385806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since the beginning of the 20th century, the public's relationship to art has been weakened by a profound…” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never went into aesthetics. Aesthetics is what philosophers have to say about art, and a lot of them take an analytics position and raise the question, \"What is an art object?\" As soon as you fall into that trap, an artist is going to come along and say, \"That isn't art - it's something else.\" That's a hopeless gig.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don Ihde" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-ihde/i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics-is-what-philosophers-have-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/don-ihde-48619_art_i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics_856117.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/don-ihde-48619_art_i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics_856117.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab9/don-ihde-48619_art_i-never-went-into-aesthetics-aesthetics_856117.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never went into aesthetics. Aesthetics is what philosophers have to say about art, and a lot of them take…” — Don Ihde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was aware of doing only a so-so job on the grown-up career front, but I didn't really care, because there were two big exam questions I wanted to be sure I answered fully: the question of art, and the question of love.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claire Messud" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on-the-grown-up-career-front/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/claire-messud-1372_art_i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on_845125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/claire-messud-1372_art_i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on_845125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/claire-messud-1372_art_i-was-aware-of-doing-only-a-so-so-job-on_845125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was aware of doing only a so-so job on the grown-up career front, but I didn't really care, because there…” — Claire Messud", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question of art songs always came up with Gastr del Sol. I think Jim O'Rourke had it right in being clear that there's a tradition of art song - Ives being the touchstone for the two of us - and what we do doesn't belong to it. It wasn't important to advance those kinds of distinctions, but clearly he thought it was fanciful for anyone to speak of what we were doing as being in that tradition.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Grubbs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grubbs/the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up-with-gastr-del-sol-i-think/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/david-grubbs-27090_art_the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up_2478717.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/david-grubbs-27090_art_the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up_2478717.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f96/david-grubbs-27090_art_the-question-of-art-songs-always-came-up_2478717.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question of art songs always came up with Gastr del Sol. I think Jim O'Rourke had it right in being…” — David Grubbs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-art/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-art/", "name": "Question Art Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-art/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/657/henry-james-417_art_criticism-talks-a-good-deal-of-nonsense_1044291.png" }, "description": "Browse 9 Question Art quotes by 9 authors. 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