--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a familiar syndrome. There is a…" description: "\"“This is a familiar syndrome. There is a stage with every drawing or painting when it looks banal and clumsy. It's worth pushing through that, working ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/antony-sher-15961_art_this-is-a-familiar-syndrome-there-is-a-s_1031391.jpg" --- # This is a familiar syndrome. There is a stage with every… ![“This is a familiar syndrome. There is a stage with every drawing or painting when it looks banal and clumsy. It's worth pushing through that, working through the cliché to find out what made it a cliché in the first place.” quote by Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/antony-sher-15961_art_this-is-a-familiar-syndrome-there-is-a-s_1031391.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/antony-sher-15961_art_this-is-a-familiar-syndrome-there-is-a-s_1031391.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fae/antony-sher-15961_art_this-is-a-familiar-syndrome-there-is-a-s_1031391.jpg) > ““This is a familiar syndrome. There is a stage with every drawing or painting when it looks banal and clumsy. It's worth pushing through that, working through the cliché to find out what made it a cliché in the first place.”” [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often feel their work is cliché, but examining why reveals deeper insight and originality. **In simple terms:** Clichés can be a stepping stone to originality. Key Takeaway Analyze clichés to discover fresh ideas. Themes creativity self‑critique artistic process Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - writing - design - music composition Key Concepts aesthetics innovation Questions to Reflect On - When is it worth persisting with a piece? - How can you transform a cliché into something unique? A Different Perspective The quote may discourage abandoning a work that feels cliché, limiting experimentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Banal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banal/) [Banal Clumsy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banal-clumsy-2358339/) [Cliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cliche/) [Cliché Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clich-place-2358338/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Looks Banal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks-banal-2358340/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Working Cliché](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-clich-2358337/) ## Related quotes > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Everything is banal in experience, fleeting in duration, sordid in content; in all respects the same today as generations now dead and buried have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/everything-is-banal-in-experience-fleeting-in-duration-sordid-in/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [I think of myself as a very ordinary person. I like writing about the juxtaposition between people: the beauty of them at times and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/i-think-of-myself-as-a-very-ordinary-person-i-like-writing-about-the/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [How totally banal of you to ask what I really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/how-totally-banal-of-you-to-ask-what-i-really-mean/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [There's a bizarre prejudice that exists in the New York publishing establishment that any work outside the tri-state area is being done by trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/there-s-a-bizarre-prejudice-that-exists-in-the-new-york-publishing/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [I really believe we read differently when we know even the most banal facts of an author's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/i-really-believe-we-read-differently-when-we-know-even-the-most-banal/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [“In an art museum, you shall realise how banal and how ordinary the life outside!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-an-art-museum-you-shall-realise-how-banal-and-how-ordinary-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [In an age of computer manipulation, surrealism has become banal, a shadow of its former self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-glaser/in-an-age-of-computer-manipulation-surrealism-has-become-banal-a/) [Milton Glaser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-glaser/) > [There has never been an 'original' sin: each is quite banal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-has-never-been-an-original-sin-each-is-quite-banal/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [It's one thing to be banal, stupid, and idiotic on the inside. It's another to have it captured in writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/it-s-one-thing-to-be-banal-stupid-and-idiotic-on-the-inside-it-s/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [It is almost banal to say so yet it needs to be stressed continually: all is creation, all is change, all is flux, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/it-is-almost-banal-to-say-so-yet-it-needs-to-be-stressed-continually/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The Twenty20 is itself a banal game, a crude game, but it works, so I hope Twenty20 commentary works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-agnew/the-twenty20-is-itself-a-banal-game-a-crude-game-but-it-works-so-i/) [Jonathan Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-agnew/) > [What is terrible is that after every one of the phases of my life is finished, I am left with no more than some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-is-terrible-is-that-after-every-one-of-the-phases-of-my-life-is-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More by Antony Sher > [As we're leaving the King's Arms Hotel after Sunday lunch, I watch a beautiful white dove walking down the wet road. A car approaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/as-we-re-leaving-the-king-s-arms-hotel-after-sunday-lunch-i-watch-a/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [ “\[Monty\] talks about Fritz Perls and the Gestalt theory. The here and now is the only time that exists. And being yourself. Not accepting… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/monty-talks-about-fritz-perls-and-the-gestalt-theory-the-here-and-now/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [I don't believe in an afterlife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [I have a Woody Allen Jewish attitude to life: that it's all going to be disastrous. That it hasn't all been that way is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-have-a-woody-allen-jewish-attitude-to-life-that-it-s-all-going-to/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [My grandparents all came from Lithuania to South Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/my-grandparents-all-came-from-lithuania-to-south-africa/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [Reading Shakespeare is sometimes like looking through a window into a dark room. You don't see in. You see nothing but a reflection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/reading-shakespeare-is-sometimes-like-looking-through-a-window-into-a/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [You don't expect to get the letter saying, Her Majesty would like to appoint you Knight Commander of the British Empire! It was just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/you-don-t-expect-to-get-the-letter-saying-her-majesty-would-like-to/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [“Ciss says, 'People have less emotions than actors think they have. For much of the time we hide our emotions, we haven't time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/ciss-says-people-have-less-emotions-than-actors-think-they-have-for/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [ I've been quoting the book \[on Peter Sutcliffe\] constantly in rehearsals. Some members of the cast have stated their disapproval that it should even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-ve-been-quoting-the-book-on-peter-sutcliffe-constantly-in/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [Most of my career has been spent with the RSC doing Shakespeare, and the thing you learn from Shakespeare is that his historical plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/most-of-my-career-has-been-spent-with-the-rsc-doing-shakespeare-and/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [We've all got darkness inside us. And I've got quite a lot of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/we-ve-all-got-darkness-inside-us-and-i-ve-got-quite-a-lot-of-darkness/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [A lot of good actors tend to be quite introverted as people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/a-lot-of-good-actors-tend-to-be-quite-introverted-as-people/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [I believe deeply in therapy. There's no one in the world who wouldn't benefit from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-believe-deeply-in-therapy-there-s-no-one-in-the-world-who-wouldn-t/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [Every play I do, every book I write, every painting I paint, I will struggle with. I don't know what it's like for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/every-play-i-do-every-book-i-write-every-painting-i-paint-i-will/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) > [I'm a complete technophobe. I can't even email.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/i-m-a-complete-technophobe-i-can-t-even-email/) [Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) [Explore all 41 Antony Sher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/) ## 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": "“This is a familiar syndrome. 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