--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you…" description: "\"You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it from something like this bubble-gum wrapper.\" — Allan Kaprow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg" --- # You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it… ![“You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it from something like this bubble-gum wrapper.” quote by Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg) > “You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it from something like this bubble-gum wrapper.” [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teaching color through high art is ineffective; everyday objects like a bubble‑gum wrapper are better teaching tools. **In simple terms:** Simple, familiar items teach color better than fine art. Key Takeaway Use relatable examples for effective teaching. Themes education art perception Mood creative practical Type instructional artistic When to use this quote - classroom lessons - design workshops - marketing visuals Key Concepts visual learning contextual relevance Questions to Reflect On - How can you blend high art with everyday examples? - When is abstract teaching appropriate? A Different Perspective Artistic abstraction may still have value in certain contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) ## Related quotes > [When I was 10, we drove to Disney World. When we arrived, what impressed me most was the meticulous attention to detail; there wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kilar/when-i-was-10-we-drove-to-disney-world-when-we-arrived-what-impressed/) [Jason Kilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kilar/) > [“Some people have a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time. Not me I cant ever get the gum out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-myers/some-people-have-a-hard-time-walking-and-chewing-gum-at-the-same-time/) [Bill Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-myers/) > [When (the Reds) won, we loved it because we ran into the locker room and touched all the bats and gloves and got some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-griffey-jr-2/when-the-reds-won-we-loved-it-because-we-ran-into-the-locker-room-and/) [Ken Griffey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-griffey-jr-2/) > [I don't eat bubble gum, but I like the smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-lagerfeld/i-don-t-eat-bubble-gum-but-i-like-the-smell/) [Karl Lagerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-lagerfeld/) > [We all used to collect baseball cards that came with bubble gum. You could never get the smell of gum off your cards, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-marshall/we-all-used-to-collect-baseball-cards-that-came-with-bubble-gum-you/) [Penny Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-marshall/) > [Between the innocence of boyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature called a boy…A boy is truth with dirt on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-beck/between-the-innocence-of-boyhood-and-the-dignity-of-manhood-we-find-a/) [Alan Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-beck/) > [Television is bubble-gum for the mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/television-is-bubble-gum-for-the-mind/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-beck/boys-are-found-everywhere-on-top-of-underneath-inside-of-climbing-on-2/) [Alan Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-beck/) > [You have to change musically. Bubble gum pop was good for the first time you have sex. They didn't want to give the OK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-garrett/you-have-to-change-musically-bubble-gum-pop-was-good-for-the-first/) [Leif Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-garrett/) > [Bubble gum angels swooped from top margins or scraped their wings between teeming paragraphs, maidens with golden hair dripped sea blue tears into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/bubble-gum-angels-swooped-from-top-margins-or-scraped-their-wings/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I couldn't even chew bubble gum and walk at the same time. I wasn't very coordinated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-o-neal/i-couldn-t-even-chew-bubble-gum-and-walk-at-the-same-time-i-wasn-t/) [Jermaine O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-o-neal/) > [My songs aren't bubble gum pop dance songs and I don't have background dancers on every single song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/my-songs-aren-t-bubble-gum-pop-dance-songs-and-i-don-t-have/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [I came here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubble gum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-piper/i-came-here-to-chew-bubble-gum-and-kick-ass-and-i-m-all-out-of-bubble/) [Roddy Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-piper/) > [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [I learned how to take other people's mechanisms of promoting their stuff through me as opposed to promoting my own stuff, as far as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-learned-how-to-take-other-people-s-mechanisms-of-promoting-their/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) ## More by Allan Kaprow > [The young artist... will discover out of ordinary things the meaning of ordinariness. He will not try to make them extraordinary. Only their real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/the-young-artist-will-discover-out-of-ordinary-things-the-meaning-of/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [In this context of achievement-and-death, artist who make Happenings are living out the purest melodrama. Their activity embodies the myth of nonsuccess, for Happenings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/in-this-context-of-achievement-and-death-artist-who-make-happenings/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [Some of us will probably become famous. It will be an ironic fame fashioned largely by those who have never seen our work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/some-of-us-will-probably-become-famous-it-will-be-an-ironic-fame/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/the-line-between-art-and-life-should-be-kept-as-fluid-and-perhaps/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [Doing life consciously was a compelling notion to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/doing-life-consciously-was-a-compelling-notion-to-me/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [The young artist of today need no longer say 'I am a painter,' or 'a poet,' or 'a dancer.' He is simply an 'artist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/the-young-artist-of-today-need-no-longer-say-i-am-a-painter-or-a-poet/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [Objects of every sort are materials for the new art: paint, food, chairs, electric and neon lights, smoke, water, old socks, a dog, movies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/objects-of-every-sort-are-materials-for-the-new-art-paint-food-chairs/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [This everyday world affects the way art is created as much as it conditions its response.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/this-everyday-world-affects-the-way-art-is-created-as-much-as-it/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [A walk down 14th street is more amazing than any masterpiece of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/a-walk-down-14th-street-is-more-amazing-than-any-masterpiece-of-art/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [I am not so sure whether what we do now is art or something not quite art. If I call it art, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/i-am-not-so-sure-whether-what-we-do-now-is-art-or-something-not-quite/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [Our advanced art approaches a fragile but marvelous life, one that maintains itself by a mere thread, melting into an elusive, changeable configuration, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/our-advanced-art-approaches-a-fragile-but-marvelous-life-one-that/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) > [Artist refers to a person, willfully enmeshed in a dilemma of categories, who performs as if none of them existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/artist-refers-to-a-person-willfully-enmeshed-in-a-dilemma-of/) [Allan Kaprow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) [Explore all 13 Allan Kaprow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it from something like this bubble-gum wrapper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allan Kaprow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you-can-only-teach-it-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you-can-only-teach-it-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21c/allan-kaprow-36234_artist_you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you_2355134.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't teach colour from Cézanne, you can only teach it from something like this bubble-gum wrapper.” — Allan Kaprow", "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": "Allan Kaprow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-kaprow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't teach colour from Cézanne,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you-can-only-teach-it-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-kaprow/you-can-t-teach-colour-from-c-zanne-you-can-only-teach-it-from/#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 } } ] } ```