--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most contemporary artists are behind the…" description: "\"Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time. They're making videos that are so incredibly boring compared to a good movie. Or they're makin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/alex-katz-25578_art_most-contemporary-artists-are-behind-the_2702293.jpg" --- # Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time… ![“Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time. They're making videos that are so incredibly boring compared to a good movie. Or they're making work where I say, "You realize minimal art is 50 or 60 years old?" That's what I tell people to shock them. They just blanch.” quote by Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/alex-katz-25578_art_most-contemporary-artists-are-behind-the_2702293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/alex-katz-25578_art_most-contemporary-artists-are-behind-the_2702293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65e/alex-katz-25578_art_most-contemporary-artists-are-behind-the_2702293.jpg) > “Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time. They're making videos that are so incredibly boring compared to a good movie. Or they're making work where I say, "You realize minimal art is 50 or 60 years old?" That's what I tell people to shock them. They just blanch.” [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemporary art often recycles past minimalism, leading to boring works compared to narrative cinema. **In simple terms:** Modern art repeats old minimalism, becoming dull. Key Takeaway Seek originality beyond past trends. Themes art culture creativity Mood critical contemplative Type artistic critical When to use this quote - gallery curation - film making - art education - creative workshops Key Concepts aesthetics historical influence media criticism Questions to Reflect On - How to define meaningful art? - Can minimalism be innovative? A Different Perspective Some viewers find minimalism profound, not boring. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Contemporary art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-art/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Video](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video/) ## Related quotes > [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [I've never been at odds with the world of contemporary artists. If there is any animosity, it's one-sided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/i-ve-never-been-at-odds-with-the-world-of-contemporary-artists-if/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [The artistic formulae wear thin quickly and yet daily the artist - when developing his own foundation - must enter his own time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-artistic-formulae-wear-thin-quickly-and-yet-daily-the-artist-when/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Leonard de Vinci, for example, is a great artist, but he is living in the past. However, I don't feel John Cage and Matsuzawa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/leonard-de-vinci-for-example-is-a-great-artist-but-he-is-living-in/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/all-great-contemporary-artists-schooled-or-not-are-essentially-self/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The number of contemporary artists who appeal to me is infinitesimal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lowe/the-number-of-contemporary-artists-who-appeal-to-me-is-infinitesimal/) [Nick Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lowe/) > [“A great many contemporary artists from hugely diverse backgrounds are currently approaching the prospect of cultural mixing...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-great-many-contemporary-artists-from-hugely-diverse-backgrounds-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The artists could be dead, but some of them are not so distant from us, and make us feel as if they are alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/the-artists-could-be-dead-but-some-of-them-are-not-so-distant-from-us/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Few contemporary artists mined the space between the ordinary and the strange better than Orozco did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/few-contemporary-artists-mined-the-space-between-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Pipilotti Rist is a Swiss video artist I learned about pretty early on. She's one of the first contemporary artists I knew about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/pipilotti-rist-is-a-swiss-video-artist-i-learned-about-pretty-early/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [Some comic artists I've known are better than most contemporary artists with work hanging in Tate Modern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/some-comic-artists-i-ve-known-are-better-than-most-contemporary/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [I'm obsessed with the power of music and image together. There's also something about music videos that are incredibly glamorous - there's a fetishistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-minghella/i-m-obsessed-with-the-power-of-music-and-image-together-there-s-also/) [Max Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-minghella/) > [Music videos are so incredibly relevant, but I don't think they're relevant on broadcast television anymore. I think they're much more about the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-bayer/music-videos-are-so-incredibly-relevant-but-i-don-t-think-they-re/) [Samuel Bayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-bayer/) > [The more minimal the art, the more maximum the explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/the-more-minimal-the-art-the-more-maximum-the-explanation/) Hilton Kramer > [The more minimal art, the more maximum the explaination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-kramer/the-more-minimal-art-the-more-maximum-the-explaination/) Hilton Kramer ## More by Alex Katz > [You have to find what your temperament is like and live around it. I find I work really well off the top of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/you-have-to-find-what-your-temperament-is-like-and-live-around-it-i/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [If you're going to go for 'it' you have a common thing you share with other artists; that's desperation. You jump out a window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/if-you-re-going-to-go-for-it-you-have-a-common-thing-you-share-with/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [You usually want to get something out of a painting other than the ideas that you had in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/you-usually-want-to-get-something-out-of-a-painting-other-than-the/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [I know people can be a little nervous about swimsuits, but have some fun with it. Believe you can hold it down. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/i-know-people-can-be-a-little-nervous-about-swimsuits-but-have-some/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [I like to make an image that is so simple you can't avoid it, and so complicated you can't figure it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/i-like-to-make-an-image-that-is-so-simple-you-can-t-avoid-it-and-so/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [Paint faster than you can think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/paint-faster-than-you-can-think/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [Make a painting you can work on for a long period, and make it look like it doesn't show any effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/make-a-painting-you-can-work-on-for-a-long-period-and-make-it-look/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [I use the iPhone now for information. But with selfies, I don't know what those people are doing. It's like they believe what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/i-use-the-iphone-now-for-information-but-with-selfies-i-don-t-know/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [Sometimes it takes me days or weeks to get something clear in my head on what I want to do. Everything is in steps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/sometimes-it-takes-me-days-or-weeks-to-get-something-clear-in-my-head/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [What makes everything one is the style.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/what-makes-everything-one-is-the-style/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [Part of what Im about is seeing how I can paint the same thing differently instead of different things the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/part-of-what-im-about-is-seeing-how-i-can-paint-the-same-thing/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [The abstract expressionists had that thing of, subject matter becomes content, content becomes form. And I always thought there was no room for style.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/the-abstract-expressionists-had-that-thing-of-subject-matter-becomes/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [Picasso and Matisse were the guys I wanted to get away from, and cubism is all still lifes. Their paintings are all closed drawings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/picasso-and-matisse-were-the-guys-i-wanted-to-get-away-from-and/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [My mother thought I would have a hard life as a painter. My father thought the highest thing a person could be was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/my-mother-thought-i-would-have-a-hard-life-as-a-painter-my-father/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) > [You have to be a little scared of what you're doing. Otherwise, you just paint the same masterpiece a little worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-katz/you-have-to-be-a-little-scared-of-what-you-re-doing-otherwise-you/) [Alex Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) [Explore all 23 Alex Katz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-katz/) ## 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 > [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": "Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time. 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