--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe art has to take responsibility…" description: "\"I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.\" — Anselm Kiefer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png" --- # I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not… ![“I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.” quote by Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png) > “I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.” [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must engage with societal duties while preserving its intrinsic creative freedom. **In simple terms:** Art should be responsible yet remain art. Key Takeaway Create work that matters without losing its essence. Themes art responsibility creativity Mood thought‑provoking critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - public installations - gallery shows - community projects Key Concepts ethics expression social impact Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance message with aesthetic? - When does art become propaganda? A Different Perspective Too much responsibility can stifle artistic innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-responsibility-1326121/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-art/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-art-590823/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [The public needs art, and it is the responsibility of a ’self-proclaimed artist’ to realize the public needs art, and not to make bourgeois…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/the-public-needs-art-and-it-is-the-responsibility-of-a-self/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) > [What we do is a wonder, an art, and we have a responsibility to do it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-rose/what-we-do-is-a-wonder-an-art-and-we-have-a-responsibility-to-do-it/) [M.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-rose/) > [Making reality real is art's responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/making-reality-real-is-art-s-responsibility/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I think that my responsibility to my art is to try to get it right or to push the boundaries of what I'm able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-my-responsibility-to-my-art-is-to-try-to-get-it-right-or/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [“The writer's only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one... If a writer has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-s-only-responsibility-is-to-his-art-he-will-be-completely-2/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The public needs art - and it is the responsibility of a 'self-proclaimed artist' to realize that the public needs art, and not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/the-public-needs-art-and-it-is-the-responsibility-of-a-self-2/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) > [Making reality real is art's responsibility. It is a practical assignment, then, a self-assignment: to achieve, by a cultivated sensitivity for observing life, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/making-reality-real-is-art-s-responsibility-it-is-a-practical/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [The writer's only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one. He has a dream. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-s-only-responsibility-is-to-his-art-he-will-be-completely/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The writer's only responsibility is to his art...If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the 'Ode on a Grecian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-s-only-responsibility-is-to-his-art-if-a-writer-has-to-rob/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [In Washington, of course, evading responsibility is an art form, so it is not always easy to tell who's responsible for which mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-horowitz/in-washington-of-course-evading-responsibility-is-an-art-form-so-it/) [David Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-horowitz/) > [In general I think that in art you only have the responsibility to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/in-general-i-think-that-in-art-you-only-have-the-responsibility-to/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [Art to me is a humanitarian act and I believe that there is a responsibility that art should somehow be able to effect mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/art-to-me-is-a-humanitarian-act-and-i-believe-that-there-is-a/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [I think the challenges that come with the responsibility of art directing something is something that appeals to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/i-think-the-challenges-that-come-with-the-responsibility-of-art/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [If what we want to do is promote reading and writing and publishing and making sure this is a business that keeps going -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-what-we-want-to-do-is-promote-reading-and-writing-and-publishing/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [The writer's only responsibility is to his art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-writer-s-only-responsibility-is-to-his-art/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More by Anselm Kiefer > [Art really is something very difficult. It is difficult to make, and it is sometimes difficult for the viewer to understand. It is difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-really-is-something-very-difficult-it-is-difficult-to-make-and-it/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [What does the artist do? He draws connections. He ties the invisible threads between things. He dives into history, be it the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/what-does-the-artist-do-he-draws-connections-he-ties-the-invisible/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [History is formed by the people, those who have power and those without power. Each one of us makes history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/history-is-formed-by-the-people-those-who-have-power-and-those/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Art is difficult. It's not entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-is-difficult-it-s-not-entertainment/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Art is difficult. It's not entertainment. There are only a few people who can say something about art - it's very restricted. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-is-difficult-it-s-not-entertainment-there-are-only-a-few-people/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [When knowledge becomes rigid, it stops living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/when-knowledge-becomes-rigid-it-stops-living/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I might have been born into a very literal sense of chaos, but in fact that state is true of all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-might-have-been-born-into-a-very-literal-sense-of-chaos-but-in-fact/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I am against the idea of the end, that everything culminates in paradise or judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-am-against-the-idea-of-the-end-that-everything-culminates-in/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Ruins, for me, are the beginning. With the debris, you can construct new ideas. They are symbols of a beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/ruins-for-me-are-the-beginning-with-the-debris-you-can-construct-new/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I am of the opinion that there are artists and non-artists. I think that this is the way it always was and always will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-am-of-the-opinion-that-there-are-artists-and-non-artists-i-think/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I was interested in transcendence from a very early age. I was interested in what was over there, what was behind life. So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-was-interested-in-transcendence-from-a-very-early-age-i-was/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Art maybe the only space where an indvidual can be utterly free to question himself, as well as his relationship to his God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-maybe-the-only-space-where-an-indvidual-can-be-utterly-free-to/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [If I do something that depresses, it's not because I'm depressed, but because political life and history is depressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/if-i-do-something-that-depresses-it-s-not-because-i-m-depressed-but/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [Because of my Calvinistic upbringing, I was trained to think that what you do has to have a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/because-of-my-calvinistic-upbringing-i-was-trained-to-think-that-what/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [I never see a forest that does not bear a mark or a sign of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-never-see-a-forest-that-does-not-bear-a-mark-or-a-sign-of-history/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) [Explore all 33 Anselm Kiefer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) ## 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 believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anselm Kiefer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility-but-it-should-not-give-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility-but-it-should-not-give-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/666/anselm-kiefer-19043_art_i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility_1352750.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe art has to take responsibility but it should not give up being art.” — Anselm Kiefer", "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": "Anselm Kiefer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I believe art has to take...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility-but-it-should-not-give-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/i-believe-art-has-to-take-responsibility-but-it-should-not-give-up/#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 } } ] } ```