--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When an artist explains what he is doing…" description: "\"When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg" --- # When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has… ![“When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation.” quote by Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg) > “When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation.” [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must either abandon explanations or force their work to match them. **In simple terms:** Explanations can constrain art. Key Takeaway Balance explanation with artistic freedom. Themes creativity communication self‑reflection Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - artist statement - creative process Key Concepts artistic intent interpretation authenticity Questions to Reflect On - When does explanation enhance art? - How to keep work authentic? A Different Perspective Over‑explaining may stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Explains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-explains-3189452/) [Explained Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explained-make-4388757/) [Explains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explains/) [Explains Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explains-doing-4388756/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Scrap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scrap/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-things/) ## Related quotes > [“Art isn’t explanation. Art is what an artist does, not what an artist explains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/art-isn-t-explanation-art-is-what-an-artist-does-not-what-an-artist/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Evolution explains our biological evolution, but human beings are very unique creatures. As the Dobzhansky said, all animals are unique; humans are the uniquest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-johanson/evolution-explains-our-biological-evolution-but-human-beings-are-very/) [Donald Johanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-johanson/) > [The ethnic differences among Filipinos are very real. The paucity of arable land, for instance, explains the industry of the Ilokanos and the Cebuanos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/the-ethnic-differences-among-filipinos-are-very-real-the-paucity-of/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [I'm a huge believer in science. But I don't think it explains everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/i-m-a-huge-believer-in-science-but-i-don-t-think-it-explains/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [We should not live by Darwinian principles. But Darwin explains how we got here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-should-not-live-by-darwinian-principles-but-darwin-explains-how-we/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Even in high school, I had friends that I didn't know were gay until years later. I'd find out on Facebook or something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/even-in-high-school-i-had-friends-that-i-didn-t-know-were-gay-until/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [I feel like guitar explains a lot. You can just listen to a guitar without any lyrics over it; you can just feel what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayvadius-cash/i-feel-like-guitar-explains-a-lot-you-can-just-listen-to-a-guitar/) [Nayvadius Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayvadius-cash/) > [Faith does not always demand that God explains Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/faith-does-not-always-demand-that-god-explains-himself/) [Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/) > [If someone explains me the definition of love, I will give my life to the person. Love is a thing which is difficult to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randeep-hooda/if-someone-explains-me-the-definition-of-love-i-will-give-my-life-to/) [Randeep Hooda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randeep-hooda/) > [Explains it all :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/explains-it-all-d/) [Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/) > [Never abandon a theory that explains something until you have a theory that explains more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccarthy/never-abandon-a-theory-that-explains-something-until-you-have-a/) [John McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccarthy/) > [There is a 'patrician arrogance' to James Taylor that accounts in part for his popularity while it at the same time explains the critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/there-is-a-patrician-arrogance-to-james-taylor-that-accounts-in-part/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) > [If Romney explains why where we are with Obama is unacceptable, why whither we are tending is even worse - and why his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kristol/if-romney-explains-why-where-we-are-with-obama-is-unacceptable-why/) [Bill Kristol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kristol/) > [I should probably confess that I get bored easily, which explains my reluctance to work with formula, tropes, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-reed/i-should-probably-confess-that-i-get-bored-easily-which-explains-my/) [Kit Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-reed/) > [A good theory explains a lot but postulates little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-good-theory-explains-a-lot-but-postulates-little/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Alexander Calder > [My fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-fan-mail-is-enormous-everyone-is-under-six/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [You see nature and then you try to emulate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/you-see-nature-and-then-you-try-to-emulate-it/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [Ralph Wiggum: I paint with shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/ralph-wiggum-i-paint-with-shapes/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The simplest forms in the universe are the sphere and the circle. I represent them by disks and then I vary them... spheres of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/the-simplest-forms-in-the-universe-are-the-sphere-and-the-circle-i/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [My fingers always seem busier than my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-fingers-always-seem-busier-than-my-mind/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [To most people who look at a mobile, it's no more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/to-most-people-who-look-at-a-mobile-it-s-no-more-than-a-series-of/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect-with-an-artist-there-s-no/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The underlying sense of form in my work has been the system of the Universe, or part thereof...What I mean is that the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/the-underlying-sense-of-form-in-my-work-has-been-the-system-of-the/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [About my method of work: first it’s the state of mind—Elation (joy).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/about-my-method-of-work-first-it-s-the-state-of-mind-elation-joy/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I love red so much, I almost want to paint everything red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-love-red-so-much-i-almost-want-to-paint-everything-red/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I paint with shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-paint-with-shapes/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I have been making wire jewelry - and think I'll really do something with it, eventually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-have-been-making-wire-jewelry-and-think-i-ll-really-do-something/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [Just as one can compose colors, or forms, so one can compose motions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/just-as-one-can-compose-colors-or-forms-so-one-can-compose-motions/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [My whole theory about art is the disparity that exists between form, masses and movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-whole-theory-about-art-is-the-disparity-that-exists-between-form/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) [Explore all 28 Alexander Calder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) ## 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": "When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has explained, or make his work fit in with the explanation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Calder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing-he-usually-has-to-do-one-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing-he-usually-has-to-do-one-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/alexander-calder-22104_art_when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing_2941735.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When an artist explains what he is doing, he usually has to do one of two things: either scrap what he has…” — Alexander Calder", "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": "Alexander Calder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When an artist explains what he...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing-he-usually-has-to-do-one-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/when-an-artist-explains-what-he-is-doing-he-usually-has-to-do-one-of/#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 } } ] } ```