--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists are the worst [people]. They are…" description: "\"Artists are the worst [people]. They are selfish, self-centred; they don't care what happens.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/ai-weiwei-824_art_artists-are-the-worst-people-they-are-se_3231155.png" --- # Artists are the worst \[people\]. They are selfish… ![“Artists are the worst [people]. They are selfish, self-centred; they don't care what happens.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/ai-weiwei-824_art_artists-are-the-worst-people-they-are-se_3231155.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/ai-weiwei-824_art_artists-are-the-worst-people-they-are-se_3231155.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/ai-weiwei-824_art_artists-are-the-worst-people-they-are-se_3231155.png) > “Artists are the worst \[people\]. They are selfish, self-centred; they don't care what happens.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists are portrayed as selfish and indifferent, reflecting criticism that they prioritize personal expression over societal concerns. **In simple terms:** Artists seen as selfish and indifferent. Key Takeaway Consider the social impact of art. Themes art selfishness social responsibility Mood critical provocative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - public art projects - community workshops - artist residencies Key Concepts egoism creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - Do you think all artists are selfish? - How can art serve both self-expression and community? A Different Perspective Artists often do engage deeply with social issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-worst-6113346/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Don-t-care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-care/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-selfish/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-self-293679/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-people/) ## Related quotes > [When you're younger, you're more selfish, because there's so much self-exploration, you're in your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-re-younger-you-re-more-selfish-because-there-s-so-much-self/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Facebook is fulled with a bunch of selfish self centered people!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/facebook-is-fulled-with-a-bunch-of-selfish-self-centered-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm going to be meeting with people today who talk too much - people who are selfish, egotistical, ungrateful. But I won't be surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/i-m-going-to-be-meeting-with-people-today-who-talk-too-much-people/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [People do things with terrible motivations and those motivations are selfish and self-interested and financially driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schur/people-do-things-with-terrible-motivations-and-those-motivations-are/) [Michael Schur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schur/) > [Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered. I think one of the reasons that we are counseled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/marriage-provides-an-ideal-setting-for-overcoming-any-tendency-to-be/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [“Being selfish isn’t choosing yourself over other people. Being selfish" is expecting other people to choose you over themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/being-selfish-isn-t-choosing-yourself-over-other-people-being-selfish/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [ I think ultimately, people are selfish in that department \[blues\], in a good way - the reason we're attracted to art is because it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/i-think-ultimately-people-are-selfish-in-that-department-blues-in-a/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [Once you conquer your selfish self, all your darkness will change to light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/once-you-conquer-your-selfish-self-all-your-darkness-will-change-to/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Childlessness doesn't make people selfish; selfishness makes people selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/childlessness-doesn-t-make-people-selfish-selfishness-makes-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“A depressed person is selfish because her self, the very core of who she is, will not leave her alone, and she can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-pershall/a-depressed-person-is-selfish-because-her-self-the-very-core-of-who/) [Stacy Pershall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-pershall/) > [So many relationships fail because so many people are so selfish. Its an ALL ABOUT ME mindset. Show ME attention or else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/so-many-relationships-fail-because-so-many-people-are-so-selfish-its/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [People are selfish. But they can also be compassionate and generous, and they care about the country. But not when they feel threatened. That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/people-are-selfish-but-they-can-also-be-compassionate-and-generous/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“But there was no use. There was no point. It was just a story. It was just a story of people, of Ralph and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goolrick/but-there-was-no-use-there-was-no-point-it-was-just-a-story-it-was/) [Robert Goolrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goolrick/) > [“Anything that binds people together into dense networks of trust makes people less selfish. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/anything-that-binds-people-together-into-dense-networks-of-trust/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Surely we can do more as a society and make things easier for people? We're becoming more and more selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-brooker/surely-we-can-do-more-as-a-society-and-make-things-easier-for-people/) [Alex Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-brooker/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## 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": "Artists are the worst [people]. 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