--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can art be completely invented? It's a…" description: "\"Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping reality with the help of imagination.\" — Aharon Appelfeld" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png" --- # Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping… ![“Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping reality with the help of imagination.” quote by Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png) > “Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping reality with the help of imagination.” [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can be wholly invented by shaping reality through imagination, blending truth with creative construction. **In simple terms:** Art invents reality using imagination. Key Takeaway Use imagination to reshape reality. Themes creativity reality imagination artistic process Mood inquisitive inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - writing - film making Key Concepts constructivism aesthetic theory philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - Can invented art still convey truth? - Where is the line between invention and representation? A Different Perspective Imagination may detach art from lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Completely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-completely-325863/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Help Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-imagination-5084223/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Invented Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-matter-5084224/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Shaping Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaping-reality-5084222/) ## Related quotes > [“Polls could be self-fulfilling prophecies, shaping reality as much as they described it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/polls-could-be-self-fulfilling-prophecies-shaping-reality-as-much-as/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [Art is completely subjective. It's up to the viewer to judge whether or not it has merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-danby/art-is-completely-subjective-it-s-up-to-the-viewer-to-judge-whether/) [Ken Danby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-danby/) > [“Who was it who’d said that all art was completely useless? Jimmy couldn’t recall, but hooray for him, whoever he was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/who-was-it-who-d-said-that-all-art-was-completely-useless-jimmy/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Music is the art... which most completely realizes the artistic idea and is the condition to which all the other arts are constantly aspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/music-is-the-art-which-most-completely-realizes-the-artistic-idea-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I deny that art can be taught, or, in other words, maintain that art is completely individual, and that the talent of each artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/i-deny-that-art-can-be-taught-or-in-other-words-maintain-that-art-is/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [What I do in films is really special work but it doesn't happen everyday. On the other hand, art is completely my domain. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-shah/what-i-do-in-films-is-really-special-work-but-it-doesn-t-happen/) [Shefali Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-shah/) > [When you're somebody who has the pretension to make art, it's completely different from when someone else says I want to make a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-gonzalez/when-you-re-somebody-who-has-the-pretension-to-make-art-it-s/) [Luis Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-gonzalez/) > [Art is the extended arm of your imagination, The feast of inspiration for your muse. Art isn't just creativity, its a way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-curran/art-is-the-extended-arm-of-your-imagination-the-feast-of-inspiration/) [Sarah Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-curran/) > [A popular cliche in philosophy says that science is pure analysis or reductionism, like taking the rainbow to pieces; and art is pure synthesis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/a-popular-cliche-in-philosophy-says-that-science-is-pure-analysis-or/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/art-is-not-a-reflection-of-reality-it-is-the-reality-of-a-reflection/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [Art is art when it is appreciated by someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isao-tomita/art-is-art-when-it-is-appreciated-by-someone/) [Isao Tomita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isao-tomita/) > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) ## More by Aharon Appelfeld > [I see myself as a man who is searching for meaning in life. This is rather different from being a staunch believer in something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/i-see-myself-as-a-man-who-is-searching-for-meaning-in-life-this-is/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [I had a feeling that my generation-and me, also-we were naked. We did not belong to anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/i-had-a-feeling-that-my-generation-and-me-also-we-were-naked-we-did/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [“Since they were unable to liberate themselves from the old words and the fear, they prowled the streets and cast their angry shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/since-they-were-unable-to-liberate-themselves-from-the-old-words-and/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [A story is not only meaning, it's music as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/a-story-is-not-only-meaning-it-s-music-as-well/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [The Holocaust is a central event in many people's lives, but it also has become a metaphor for our century. There cannot be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/the-holocaust-is-a-central-event-in-many-people-s-lives-but-it-also/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [People who lose their parents when young are permanently in love with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/people-who-lose-their-parents-when-young-are-permanently-in-love-with/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [My nights are a nightmare, quite often, but the nightmares are rich. I nourish myself by those nights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/my-nights-are-a-nightmare-quite-often-but-the-nightmares-are-rich-i/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [The writer in western civilization has become not a voice of his tribe, but of his individuality. This is a very narrow-minded situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/the-writer-in-western-civilization-has-become-not-a-voice-of-his/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [A person has to be by himself a little bit. We weren’t born in a flock. Togetherness drives me out of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/a-person-has-to-be-by-himself-a-little-bit-we-weren-t-born-in-a-flock/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) > [I am not writing in metaphors. I am writing about catastrophes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/i-am-not-writing-in-metaphors-i-am-writing-about-catastrophes/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) [Explore all 11 Aharon Appelfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping reality with the help of imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aharon Appelfeld" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-matter-of-shaping-reality-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-matter-of-shaping-reality-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab8/aharon-appelfeld-36561_art_can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-ma_2241608.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can art be completely invented? It's a matter of shaping reality with the help of imagination.” — Aharon Appelfeld", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aharon Appelfeld", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can art be completely invented? It's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-matter-of-shaping-reality-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/can-art-be-completely-invented-it-s-a-matter-of-shaping-reality-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```