--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art does not exist only to entertain…" description: "\"“Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth.”\" — Barbr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg" --- # Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to… ![“Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth.” quote by Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg) > ““Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth.”” [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should entertain and provoke thought, disturbing comfort to pursue truth. **In simple terms:** Art must challenge as well as amuse. Key Takeaway Create art that questions reality. Themes art truth provocation entertainment philosophy Mood inspirational provocative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - media production - educational curricula Key Concepts critical thinking social commentary creative risk Questions to Reflect On - What truths does your work reveal? - How to balance entertainment with challenge? A Different Perspective Provocative art may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Search for truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-for-truth/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Be a provocateur! Provoke people to think! Provoke sleepers to awake! Provoke slaves to revolt against their masters! 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We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In design, be logical, search for truth, be clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-vignelli/in-design-be-logical-search-for-truth-be-clear/) [Massimo Vignelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-vignelli/) > [As for the search for truth, I know from my own painful searching, with its many blind alleys, how hard it is to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/as-for-the-search-for-truth-i-know-from-my-own-painful-searching-with/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Acting is an everlasting search for truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/acting-is-an-everlasting-search-for-truth/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [“A successful search for Truth means complete deliverance from the dual throng such as of love and hate, happiness and misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-successful-search-for-truth-means-complete-deliverance-from-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A society committed to the search for truth must give protection to, and set a high value upon, the independent and original mind, however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryl-parker-haskins/a-society-committed-to-the-search-for-truth-must-give-protection-to/) Caryl Parker Haskins > [Science is the search for truth, that is the effort to understand the world: it involves the rejection of bias, of dogma, of revelation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-pauling/science-is-the-search-for-truth-that-is-the-effort-to-understand-the/) [Linus Pauling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-pauling/) > [I have abandoned my search for truth and am now looking for a good fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/i-have-abandoned-my-search-for-truth-and-am-now-looking-for-a-good/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) ## More by Barbra Streisand > [If a man wants to get it right, he's looked up to and respected. If a woman wants to get it right, she's difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/if-a-man-wants-to-get-it-right-he-s-looked-up-to-and-respected-if-a/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Around people I don't know, I'm totally at a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/around-people-i-don-t-know-i-m-totally-at-a-loss/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [They're called 'angels' because they're in heaven until the reviews come out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/they-re-called-angels-because-they-re-in-heaven-until-the-reviews/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I think, is wonderful about growing older, is appreciation for the miracle of existence, of life. I thank God every day. I also do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-think-is-wonderful-about-growing-older-is-appreciation-for-the/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I don't know why it is that we need to denigrate, to knock down. It's so sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-don-t-know-why-it-is-that-we-need-to-denigrate-to-knock-down-it-s/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/for-me-one-of-the-most-disturbing-elements-of-the-right-wing-s/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I just don't like the idea of her singing my songs. Who the hell does she thinks she is? 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I think it takes obsession, takes searching for the details for any artist to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-ve-been-called-many-names-like-perfectionist-difficult-and/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I was a personality before I became a person - I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy and driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-was-a-personality-before-i-became-a-person-i-am-simple-complex/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I think of myself as a girl from Brooklyn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-think-of-myself-as-a-girl-from-brooklyn/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I'm tired of malicious articles slandering me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-m-tired-of-malicious-articles-slandering-me/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I like to stay home a lot. I like to do other things, too, like decorate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-like-to-stay-home-a-lot-i-like-to-do-other-things-too-like-decorate/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [The audience is the barometer of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/the-audience-is-the-barometer-of-the-truth/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [I believe in love and lust and sex and romance. I don't want everything to add up to some perfect equation. I want mess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/i-believe-in-love-and-lust-and-sex-and-romance-i-don-t-want/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [progress, whatever your definition of it, is not inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/progress-whatever-your-definition-of-it-is-not-inevitable/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) [Explore all 177 Barbra Streisand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) ## 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": "“Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for the truth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbra Streisand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but-also-to-challenge-one-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but-also-to-challenge-one-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f9/barbra-streisand-2243_art_art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but_807261.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art does not exist only to entertain -- but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in…” — Barbra Streisand", "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": "Barbra Streisand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Art does not exist only to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but-also-to-challenge-one-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/art-does-not-exist-only-to-entertain-but-also-to-challenge-one-to/#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 } } ] } ```