---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art you can flush down the loo means…"
description: "\"Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp\" — Andrew O'Hagan"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png"
---

#  Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even…

![“Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp” quote by Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png)

> “Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp”

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Art that appears mundane can hold deep significance, challenging conventional value judgments.

**In simple terms:** Even ordinary things can be art.

Key Takeaway

Look beyond surface to find meaning.

Themes

art value perception culture

Mood

contemplative curious

Type

critical philosophical

When to use this quote

- museum curation
- creative writing
- critical analysis
- education

Key Concepts

aesthetics conceptual art philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What makes an everyday object a work of art?
- How do personal biases affect artistic appreciation?

A Different Perspective

Not all art is immediately understandable or appreciated.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/)

## Related quotes

> [ \[Photographer Julian Wasser\] had this great idea that I should play chess naked with Marcel Duchamp and it seem to be such a great… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/photographer-julian-wasser-had-this-great-idea-that-i-should-play/)

[Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/)

> [“Art should grasp the mind the way the vagina grasps the penis-Marcel Duchamp”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/art-should-grasp-the-mind-the-way-the-vagina-grasps-the-penis-marcel/)

Alice Goldfarb Marquis

> [“By shifting from the air to the ground, I sought to destroy any notion of scale as in Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp's Elevage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-ristelhueber/by-shifting-from-the-air-to-the-ground-i-sought-to-destroy-any-notion/)

[Sophie Ristelhueber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-ristelhueber/)

> [“Art is original. Marcel Duchamp was an artist when he pioneered Dadaism and installed a urinal in a museum. The second person to install…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-original-marcel-duchamp-was-an-artist-when-he-pioneered/)

[Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/)

> [Marcel Duchamp, one of this century's pioneers, moved his work through the retinal boundaries which had been established with Impressionism into a field where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/marcel-duchamp-one-of-this-century-s-pioneers-moved-his-work-through/)

[Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/)

> [And then there is that one-man movement, Marcel Duchamp for me a truly modern movement because it implies that each artist can do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/and-then-there-is-that-one-man-movement-marcel-duchamp-for-me-a-truly/)

[Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/)

> [The second time I was there I met Marcel Duchamp, and we immediately fell for each other. Which doesn't mean a thing because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-wood/the-second-time-i-was-there-i-met-marcel-duchamp-and-we-immediately/)

[Beatrice Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-wood/)

> [“I don't want to be pinned down to any position. My position is the lack of a position, but of course you can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/i-don-t-want-to-be-pinned-down-to-any-position-my-position-is-the/)

Alice Goldfarb Marquis

> [I didn't really know what I was looking at when I first came across Man Ray's 'Dust Breeding,' his photograph of a work by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-didn-t-really-know-what-i-was-looking-at-when-i-first-came-across/)

[Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/)

> [“A painting that doesn't shock isn't worth painting-Marcel Duchamp”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-goldfarb-marquis/a-painting-that-doesn-t-shock-isn-t-worth-painting-marcel-duchamp/)

Alice Goldfarb Marquis

> [In my case, everything starts from Marcel Duchamp and the new expressive possibilities he gave us with his ready-mades. I transferred his artistic language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-abloh/in-my-case-everything-starts-from-marcel-duchamp-and-the-new/)

[Virgil Abloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-abloh/)

> [I had thrown my body in for art... I had thrown myself into this game for art. You know, I was not a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/i-had-thrown-my-body-in-for-art-i-had-thrown-myself-into-this-game/)

[Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/)

> [Of course at that time, especially here in America, we were dealing with women's liberation. Things weren't so easy then. Méret Oppenheim wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-horn/of-course-at-that-time-especially-here-in-america-we-were-dealing/)

[Rebecca Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-horn/)

> [Damien Hirst is the Elvis of the English art world, its ayatollah, deliverer, and big-thinking entrepreneurial potty-mouthed prophet and front man. Hirst synthesizes punk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/damien-hirst-is-the-elvis-of-the-english-art-world-its-ayatollah/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [You know, also I, you know, I was on those birth control pills and my breasts were like, they hurt... and, you know, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/you-know-also-i-you-know-i-was-on-those-birth-control-pills-and-my/)

[Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/)

## More by Andrew O'Hagan

> [The first rule of travel is that you should always go with someone you love, which is why I travel alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/the-first-rule-of-travel-is-that-you-should-always-go-with-someone/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [You'll find that no pride is greater than the pride that comes with being thick. Britain is filled with people who are really proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/you-ll-find-that-no-pride-is-greater-than-the-pride-that-comes-with/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [I always knew I would come to London. I loved Glasgow, but it seemed filled with echoes of my parents' lives, and sometimes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/i-always-knew-i-would-come-to-london-i-loved-glasgow-but-it-seemed/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Interviewing is not a democratic art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/interviewing-is-not-a-democratic-art/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [High culture isn't what it used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/high-culture-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [When you grow up by the sea, you spend a good deal of time looking at the horizon. You wonder what on Earth the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/when-you-grow-up-by-the-sea-you-spend-a-good-deal-of-time-looking-at/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [“But she was half in love with chaos... With all her yearning for the ordinary life, she was born to admire outsiders. You could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/but-she-was-half-in-love-with-chaos-with-all-her-yearning-for-the/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Long before I was a writer, when I was just a haphazard reader and a dreamer of stories, I learnt about an influential book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/long-before-i-was-a-writer-when-i-was-just-a-haphazard-reader-and-a/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Fans of football and fans of nationhood have a similar zeal. Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/fans-of-football-and-fans-of-nationhood-have-a-similar-zeal-read-the/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Writing a novel is an act of self-annihilation as much as self-discovery. You can kill whole appetites and flood whole depths while plumbing them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/writing-a-novel-is-an-act-of-self-annihilation-as-much-as-self/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [It's not a crime not to know yourself. It's not a crime to send life away. It's just a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/it-s-not-a-crime-not-to-know-yourself-it-s-not-a-crime-to-send-life/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [I'm not interested in writers who are overcome with certainty, with single-mindedness, or with a sense of how consistent and morally upstanding they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/i-m-not-interested-in-writers-who-are-overcome-with-certainty-with/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Long before the arrival of reality TV - before speed cameras, before recording angels on buses and lampposts - I felt I was living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/long-before-the-arrival-of-reality-tv-before-speed-cameras-before/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Once upon a time, I thought that politics was the name we gave to our higher instincts. That was before Margaret Thatcher, who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/once-upon-a-time-i-thought-that-politics-was-the-name-we-gave-to-our/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

> [Traveling alone offers the chance to test the limits of what you think you know about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/traveling-alone-offers-the-chance-to-test-the-limits-of-what-you/)

[Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

[Explore all 54 Andrew O'Hagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/)

## 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": "Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andrew O'Hagan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a93/andrew-o-hagan-12635_art_art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-not_751988.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp” — Andrew O'Hagan",
                "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": "Andrew O'Hagan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Art you can flush down the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
