--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists who believe they control…" description: "\"Artists who believe they control everything control what they know. Artists who allow outside forces to intervene are like canoes going down rapids. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/arno-hintjens-62905_art_artists-who-believe-they-control-everyth_2564457.jpg" --- # Artists who believe they control everything control what… ![“Artists who believe they control everything control what they know. Artists who allow outside forces to intervene are like canoes going down rapids. The rocks are there. If you fight them, you fly off the bow. If you allow the current to take you, you can pass through swimmingly. It is a rare gift…” quote by Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/arno-hintjens-62905_art_artists-who-believe-they-control-everyth_2564457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/arno-hintjens-62905_art_artists-who-believe-they-control-everyth_2564457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/arno-hintjens-62905_art_artists-who-believe-they-control-everyth_2564457.jpg) > “Artists who believe they control everything control what they know. Artists who allow outside forces to intervene are like canoes going down rapids. The rocks are there. If you fight them, you fly off the bow. If you allow the current to take you, you can pass through swimmingly. It is a rare gift at every bend.” [Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Control over one's artistic choices shapes perception and outcome; yielding to external forces can lead to smoother navigation but may limit agency. **In simple terms:** Control influences perception; yielding eases flow. Key Takeaway Balance control with openness. Themes creativity control flow Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - music composition - collaborative projects Key Concepts agency adaptation artistic process Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to steer and when to drift? - What risks arise from surrendering control? A Different Perspective Over-reliance on external forces can dilute personal voice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) ## Related quotes > [Networks like Adult Swim allow artists to be artists and allow their vision to come through without a lot of tinkering. 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When they find out they are not, they think they have failed, instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/men-always-believe-they-are-in-control-of-everything-around-them-when/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [“To believe the control is in your hands when it is in the hands of some other power, is indeed a wrong belief (bhranti,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/to-believe-the-control-is-in-your-hands-when-it-is-in-the-hands-of/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“You are a symbol, Vhalla. And, despite what some may have you believe, you have more control over what you symbolize than anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-kova/you-are-a-symbol-vhalla-and-despite-what-some-may-have-you-believe/) [Elise Kova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-kova/) > [I believe that you are only in control of so much. So whatever you are not in control of you can't worry about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-olsen/i-believe-that-you-are-only-in-control-of-so-much-so-whatever-you-are/) [Elizabeth Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-olsen/) > [“We believe that we’re in control of our lives. But in reality we can only seize opportunities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-klein/we-believe-that-we-re-in-control-of-our-lives-but-in-reality-we-can/) [Stefan Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-klein/) ## More by Arno Hintjens > [The Creed of the Assassin Brotherhood teaches us that nothing is forbidden to us. Once, I thought that meant we were free to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-hintjens/the-creed-of-the-assassin-brotherhood-teaches-us-that-nothing-is/) [Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) > [ The best data we have \[concerning the Big Bang\] are exactly what I would have predicted, had I nothing to go on but the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-hintjens/the-best-data-we-have-concerning-the-big-bang-are-exactly-what-i/) [Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) > [What really matters when facing a challenge? What matters is learning. You want to test yourself, throw yourself into something outside your comfort zone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-hintjens/what-really-matters-when-facing-a-challenge-what-matters-is-learning/) [Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) > [I still have your pocket watch, my dear father. Like me, it is broken, but stubborn, and still keeps going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-hintjens/i-still-have-your-pocket-watch-my-dear-father-like-me-it-is-broken/) [Arno Hintjens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) [Explore all 5 Arno Hintjens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arno-hintjens/) ## 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": "Artists who believe they control everything control what they know. 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