--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always felt that if one was going to…" description: "\"I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond that decorative facade\" — Anish Kapoor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png" --- # I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously… ![“I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond that decorative facade” quote by Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png) > “I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond that decorative facade” [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist must move beyond superficial aesthetics to engage deeply with the essence of their craft. **In simple terms:** Go beyond surface art. Key Takeaway Prioritize depth over decoration. Themes art authenticity creativity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - personal studio practice - public installations Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy identity exploration Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance visual appeal with deeper meaning? - What does “decorative facade” hide? A Different Perspective Depth may be less marketable than decorative work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Decorative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-decorative-5885356/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Facade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facade/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Going Seriously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-seriously-849837/) [Seriously Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seriously-vocation-5885355/) [Vocation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation/) [Vocation Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocation-artist-4636068/) ## Related quotes > [Very sacred is the vocation of the artist, who has to do directly with the works of God, and interpret the teaching of creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-j-brown/very-sacred-is-the-vocation-of-the-artist-who-has-to-do-directly-with/) [Jason 'J' Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-j-brown/) > [“Hitherto I had been convinced that my friend wanted to become an artist, a painter, or perhaps an architect. Now this was no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-kubizek/hitherto-i-had-been-convinced-that-my-friend-wanted-to-become-an/) [August Kubizek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-kubizek/) > [At no point was I like, 'Man, I gotta write me a part where people are going to take me seriously'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-arnett/at-no-point-was-i-like-man-i-gotta-write-me-a-part-where-people-are/) [Will Arnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-arnett/) > [I was stressing when 'Hot to Go' came out because I was like, 'People are not going to take me seriously as a writer.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/i-was-stressing-when-hot-to-go-came-out-because-i-was-like-people-are/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) > [When something takes itself too seriously, you're not going to take it seriously. 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There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [I find the greatest songs in the world come out of pain, and I don't like it! Here's what it does: It strips away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-richie/i-find-the-greatest-songs-in-the-world-come-out-of-pain-and-i-don-t/) [Lionel Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-richie/) > [I think space, architectural space, is my thing. It's not about facade, elevation, making image, making money. My passion is creating space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/i-think-space-architectural-space-is-my-thing-it-s-not-about-facade/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [Light-skinned privilege is largely through a white lens. It is exploited by oppressive forces... It was always a facade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-sampson/light-skinned-privilege-is-largely-through-a-white-lens-it-is/) [Kendrick Sampson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-sampson/) > [A man is the facade of a temple wherein all wisdom and all good abide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-is-the-facade-of-a-temple-wherein-all-wisdom-and-all-good-abide/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When you really need help, people will respond. Sincerity means dropping the image facade and showing a willingness to be vulnerable. Tell it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/when-you-really-need-help-people-will-respond-sincerity-means/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More by Anish Kapoor > [I am really interested in the idea that art can reach wider, can go further, can go beyond the art world, why not? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-am-really-interested-in-the-idea-that-art-can-reach-wider-can-go/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [Much of what I make is geometric, and has a kind of almost mathematical logic to the form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/much-of-what-i-make-is-geometric-and-has-a-kind-of-almost/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [We live in a fractured world. I've always seen it as my role as an artist to attempt to make wholeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/we-live-in-a-fractured-world-i-ve-always-seen-it-as-my-role-as-an/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [I don't want to have anything to say, it just gets in the way. I think the journey of an artist is a journey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-don-t-want-to-have-anything-to-say-it-just-gets-in-the-way-i-think/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [Is it my role as an artist to say something, to express, to be expressive? 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There will be a whole series of dead ends that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-used-to-empty-the-studio-out-and-throw-stuff-away-i-now-don-t-there/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [If one is talking about sculpture then scale and skin is everything,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/if-one-is-talking-about-sculpture-then-scale-and-skin-is-everything/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [One doesn't make art for other people, even though I am very concerned with the viewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/one-doesn-t-make-art-for-other-people-even-though-i-am-very-concerned/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [One does afford oneself the luxury to come into the studio and all day, every day, spend one's life making aesthetic propositions. What an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/one-does-afford-oneself-the-luxury-to-come-into-the-studio-and-all/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [I'm not necessarily interested in being the best Indian artist. I want to be the best artist I can be. That's enough of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-m-not-necessarily-interested-in-being-the-best-indian-artist-i-want/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [Being an artist is a very long game. It is not a 10-year game. I hope I'll be around making art when I'm 80](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/being-an-artist-is-a-very-long-game-it-is-not-a-10-year-game-i-hope-i/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [One does not set out with the idea that I've just had a great idea and now I'm going to go and carry it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/one-does-not-set-out-with-the-idea-that-i-ve-just-had-a-great-idea/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [My first show sold within the first 3 minutes, and I came back to the studio and spent the next two and a half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/my-first-show-sold-within-the-first-3-minutes-and-i-came-back-to-the/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) [Explore all 51 Anish Kapoor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) ## 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": "I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond that decorative facade", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anish Kapoor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-to-take-seriously-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-to-take-seriously-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab5/anish-kapoor-13098_art_i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-t_1566138.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond…” — Anish Kapoor", "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": "Anish Kapoor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've always felt that if one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-to-take-seriously-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/i-ve-always-felt-that-if-one-was-going-to-take-seriously-this/#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 } } ] } ```