--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it…" description: "\"Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition would he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/berenice-abbott-14021_composition_self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it_422679.png" --- # Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would… ![“Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition would help construct a better organized image.” quote by Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/berenice-abbott-14021_composition_self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it_422679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/berenice-abbott-14021_composition_self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it_422679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/berenice-abbott-14021_composition_self-conscious-artiness-is-fatal-but-it_422679.png) > “Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. Having a basic understanding of composition would help construct a better organized image.” [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overthinking artistic choices can hinder creativity; basic composition knowledge aids clearer images. **In simple terms:** Studying composition improves visual clarity. Key Takeaway Learn composition basics to enhance artwork. Themes art creativity visual design Mood thoughtful inspired Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - photography - painting - graphic design - advertising - film framing Key Concepts composition aesthetic principles Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance study and instinct? - When does composition become restrictive? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on theory may stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-conscious/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [A considerable role in the forming of my style was played by an early attraction to study composition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-smyslov/a-considerable-role-in-the-forming-of-my-style-was-played-by-an-early/) [Vasily Smyslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-smyslov/) > [The movie on the screen is always going to be different from the movie in your head. How it makes you feel is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ayer/the-movie-on-the-screen-is-always-going-to-be-different-from-the/) [David Ayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ayer/) > [I see stardom very clearly as a construct that's been created in order to sell things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-christie/i-see-stardom-very-clearly-as-a-construct-that-s-been-created-in/) [Julie Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-christie/) > [Inevitably we construct ourselves. Let me explain. I enter this house and immediately I become what I have to become, what I can become:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-pirandello/inevitably-we-construct-ourselves-let-me-explain-i-enter-this-house/) [Luigi Pirandello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-pirandello/) > [Today, when we look at a brain, we see an intricate network of billions of neurons in constant, crackling communication, a chemical labyrinth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/today-when-we-look-at-a-brain-we-see-an-intricate-network-of-billions/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [She and Thomas had helped construct the Maze; at the same time she’d exerted a lot of effort to build a wall holding back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dashner/she-and-thomas-had-helped-construct-the-maze-at-the-same-time-she-d/) [James Dashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dashner/) > [You can see the rider serving the elephant when people are morally dumbfounded. They have strong gut feelings about what is right and wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/you-can-see-the-rider-serving-the-elephant-when-people-are-morally/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Want to talk third wave feminism, you could cite Ariel Levy and the idea that women have internalized male oppression. Going to spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/want-to-talk-third-wave-feminism-you-could-cite-ariel-levy-and-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [My thinking was that today's spectator is so well-versed in film language that all theories about suspense, as argued by Dreyer and Hitchcock, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/my-thinking-was-that-today-s-spectator-is-so-well-versed-in-film/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [I reject the idea there are just two sides. I think that with the amount of ideas and thoughts there are, it's not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/i-reject-the-idea-there-are-just-two-sides-i-think-that-with-the/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) ## More by Berenice Abbott > [The camera is no more an instrument of preservation, the image is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-camera-is-no-more-an-instrument-of-preservation-the-image-is/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [The challenge for me has first been to see things as they are, whether a portrait, a city street, or a bouncing ball. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/the-challenge-for-me-has-first-been-to-see-things-as-they-are-whether/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [To chart a course, one must have a direction. In reality, the eye is no better than the philosophy behind it. The photographer creates,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/to-chart-a-course-one-must-have-a-direction-in-reality-the-eye-is-no-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [None. They should just go out and photograph and stop talking about it. That's the only way they are going to find themselves. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/none-they-should-just-go-out-and-photograph-and-stop-talking-about-it/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera... notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [There are many teachers who could ruin you. Before you know it you could be a pale copy of this teacher or that teacher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/there-are-many-teachers-who-could-ruin-you-before-you-know-it-you/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Abstraction in photography is ridiculous, and is only an imitation of painting. We stopped imitating painters a hundred years ago, so to imitate them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/abstraction-in-photography-is-ridiculous-and-is-only-an-imitation-of/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-have-yet-to-see-a-fine-photograph-which-is-not-a-good-document/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Like every other means of expression, photography, if it is to be utterly honest and direct, should be related to the life of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/like-every-other-means-of-expression-photography-if-it-is-to-be/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I wanted to combine science and photography in a sensible, unemotional way. Some people’s ideas of scientific photography is just arty design, something pretty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-wanted-to-combine-science-and-photography-in-a-sensible-unemotional/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/photography-can-only-represent-the-present-once-photographed-the/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [What the human eye observes casually and incuriously, the eye of the camera (the lens) notes with relentless fidelity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/what-the-human-eye-observes-casually-and-incuriously-the-eye-of-the-2/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [Let us first say what photography is not. A photograph is not a painting, a poem, a symphony, a dance. It is not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/let-us-first-say-what-photography-is-not-a-photograph-is-not-a/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) > [I believe there is no more creative medium than photography to recreate the living world of our time. Photography gladly accepts the challenge because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berenice-abbott/i-believe-there-is-no-more-creative-medium-than-photography-to/) [Berenice Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) [Explore all 48 Berenice Abbott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berenice-abbott/) ## More Composition quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/a-composition-is-always-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts-in-other-words/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [When I start writing a new imaginary future, I have no idea what it is. The characters arrive first. They help me figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/when-i-start-writing-a-new-imaginary-future-i-have-no-idea-what-it-is/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Though I cannot claim to be a Christian in the sectarian sense, the example of Jesus suffering is a factor in the composition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/though-i-cannot-claim-to-be-a-christian-in-the-sectarian-sense-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I always look at money not as a motivating factor but as an element in the composition. You can't ignore it, but you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-always-look-at-money-not-as-a-motivating-factor-but-as-an-element/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Musical compositions, it should be remembered, do not inhabit certain countries, certain museums, like paintings and statues. The Mozart Quintet is not shut up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-rabaud/musical-compositions-it-should-be-remembered-do-not-inhabit-certain/) Henri Rabaud > [Science does not enter a chaotic society to put order into it anymore, to simplify its composition, and to put an end to controversies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/science-does-not-enter-a-chaotic-society-to-put-order-into-it-anymore/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/if-you-really-want-to-be-a-good-archaeologist-you-have-to-understand/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [Oil companies are radical because they're willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/oil-companies-are-radical-because-they-re-willing-to-alter-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Composition is definitely what I'm born to do, and it came last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-friedman/composition-is-definitely-what-i-m-born-to-do-and-it-came-last/) [David Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-friedman/) Browse all 766 Composition quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Self-conscious artiness is fatal, but it certainly would not hurt to study composition in general. 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