--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is the means by which we communicate…" description: "\"Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past, that was mixed up with other illustrative duties, but that was s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg" --- # Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels… ![“Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past, that was mixed up with other illustrative duties, but that was still its central function that has been liberated in the art called modern.” quote by Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg) > “Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past, that was mixed up with other illustrative duties, but that was still its central function that has been liberated in the art called modern.” [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art communicates human experience; historically it also served illustrative purposes, but modern art focuses on this expressive role. **In simple terms:** Art expresses what it feels like to be alive. Key Takeaway Embrace art as a means of emotional expression. Themes art expression modernism Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - creative workshops Key Concepts aesthetic theory human experience Questions to Reflect On - How does art help us understand life? - In what ways can art become more inclusive? A Different Perspective Modern art may be inaccessible to some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-called-582016/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-means/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Called Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-modern-2279275/) [Central](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central/) [Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicate/) [Duties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duties/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [In the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/in-the-past/) [Liberated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberated/) [Liberated Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberated-art-2279274/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means/) [Means Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-communicate-1037135/) [Mixed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mixed/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate-what-it-feels-like-to-be-2/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Minimalism itself had a very strong iconoclast impulse. You think of the sixties as loose and liberated, but in art it was actually quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/minimalism-itself-had-a-very-strong-iconoclast-impulse-you-think-of/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I have to say that I reject somewhat the distinction between something called art and something called public art. I think all art demands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-have-to-say-that-i-reject-somewhat-the-distinction-between/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [ “sometime around the turn of the seventeenth century there began what is often called the modern period, or modernity.\[1\] It lasted, roughly, until sometime… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heath-white/sometime-around-the-turn-of-the-seventeenth-century-there-began-what/) [Heath White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heath-white/) > [“What is called modern today, tomorrow will be history. What ever you allow to display, don't make of it a mystery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-saleh/what-is-called-modern-today-tomorrow-will-be-history-what-ever-you/) [A. Saleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-saleh/) > [There's this expression called postmodernism, which is kind of silly, and destroys a perfectly good word called modern, which now no longer means anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-s-this-expression-called-postmodernism-which-is-kind-of-silly/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [God uses every possible means to communicate with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/god-uses-every-possible-means-to-communicate-with-you/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [In the broadest possible sense, writing well means to communicate clearly and interestingly and in a way that feels alive to the reader. Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/in-the-broadest-possible-sense-writing-well-means-to-communicate/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Leadership means you communicate. It means you believe in transparency and the rule of law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/leadership-means-you-communicate-it-means-you-believe-in-transparency/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [Being assertive means you communicate yourself with authority, in clear way & which does not hurt other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/being-assertive-means-you-communicate-yourself-with-authority-in/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [As you get up in the morning, as you make decisions, as you spend money, make friends, make commitments, you are creating a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-catherine-bateson/as-you-get-up-in-the-morning-as-you-make-decisions-as-you-spend-money/) [Mary Catherine Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-catherine-bateson/) > [“Nature is beautiful because it looks like Art; and Art can only be called beautiful if we are conscious of it as Art while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/nature-is-beautiful-because-it-looks-like-art-and-art-can-only-be/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A work of art can be called revolutionary if, by virtue of the aesthetic transformation, it represents, in the exemplary fate of individuals, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/a-work-of-art-can-be-called-revolutionary-if-by-virtue-of-the/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Art is for the so-called nerds, and I'm one of those guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geno-smith/art-is-for-the-so-called-nerds-and-i-m-one-of-those-guys/) [Geno Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geno-smith/) > [No one should ever imitate the style of another because, with regard to art, he will be called a nephew and not a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/no-one-should-ever-imitate-the-style-of-another-because-with-regard/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More by Antony Gormley > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I would say that the whole way that I have approached the body is as a space, not a thing - not an object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-would-say-that-the-whole-way-that-i-have-approached-the-body-is-as/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [How do you make the timelessness of inert, silent objects count for something? How to use the, in a way, dumbness of sculpture in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/how-do-you-make-the-timelessness-of-inert-silent-objects-count-for/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [We are not moving towards some kind of goal. We are at the goal, and it is changing with us. If art has any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/we-are-not-moving-towards-some-kind-of-goal-we-are-at-the-goal-and-it/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I just want my work to be part of the elemental world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-just-want-my-work-to-be-part-of-the-elemental-world/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Due to the failure of politics, which has become a process of middle-management, art has become one of the last open spaces to question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/due-to-the-failure-of-politics-which-has-become-a-process-of-middle/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Cities have become places where we are controlled, by CCTV and other means, in the same way as machines are controlled. My works provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/cities-have-become-places-where-we-are-controlled-by-cctv-and-other/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Western Australia is covered by granite, the largest single piece of Achaean rock that still lies on the surface of the, of, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/western-australia-is-covered-by-granite-the-largest-single-piece-of/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [It doesn't matter if you can't speak the same language. If you have pictures, or better still, if you can draw things, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/it-doesn-t-matter-if-you-can-t-speak-the-same-language-if-you-have/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I was educated by monks - I thank them dearly for the education they gave me, but I am no longer a Catholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-was-educated-by-monks-i-thank-them-dearly-for-the-education-they/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [There is no question that creative intelligence comes not through learning things you find in books or histories that have already been written, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/there-is-no-question-that-creative-intelligence-comes-not-through/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I want people to be excited about cooling towers and megasheds; they're as much part of our history as the rural barn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-want-people-to-be-excited-about-cooling-towers-and-megasheds-they/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Art has to change things, and if it was immediately acceptable it would not be doing the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-has-to-change-things-and-if-it-was-immediately-acceptable-it/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [The very first lead work that I made is called 'Land Sea and Air,' and is the enclosure of primal elements within that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/the-very-first-lead-work-that-i-made-is-called-land-sea-and-air-and/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I think that the equator could act as a great equalizer for all life on Earth, celebrated as the great energy belt of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-think-that-the-equator-could-act-as-a-great-equalizer-for-all-life/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) [Explore all 47 Antony Gormley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past, that was mixed up with other illustrative duties, but that was still its central function that has been liberated in the art called modern.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antony Gormley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate-what-it-feels-like-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate-what-it-feels-like-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19c/antony-gormley-14178_alive_art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate_1021286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive - in the past, that was mixed up…” — Antony Gormley", "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": "Antony Gormley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is the means by which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate-what-it-feels-like-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/art-is-the-means-by-which-we-communicate-what-it-feels-like-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```