--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great art must be a living thing, or it…" description: "\"Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all.\" — Bill Reid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg" --- # Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all. ![“Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all.” quote by Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg) > “Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all.” [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that art must be alive, dynamic, otherwise it ceases to be true art **In simple terms:** Art must be vibrant and evolving Key Takeaway Seek vitality in creative work Themes creativity authenticity living art Mood thoughtful passionate Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - Museum curation - public art projects - creative education Key Concepts Aesthetics cultural relevance Questions to Reflect On - What makes art feel alive? - Is stillness ever artistic? A Different Perspective Static art can still be meaningful for some audiences ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Every living thing is both a whole system in and of itself as well as an essential part of other systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-l-young-sowers/every-living-thing-is-both-a-whole-system-in-and-of-itself-as-well-as/) [Meredith L. Young-Sowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-l-young-sowers/) > [A living thing is born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/a-living-thing-is-born/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Food is art, I believe. If you are going to be serving a living thing, you have to honor that living thing with some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/food-is-art-i-believe-if-you-are-going-to-be-serving-a-living-thing/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together. Information distilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-beauty-of-a-living-thing-is-not-the-atoms-that-go-into-it-but-the-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [If you are going to be serving a living thing, you have to honor that living thing with some kind of care and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/if-you-are-going-to-be-serving-a-living-thing-you-have-to-honor-that/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/while-the-living-thing-may-easily-be-crushed-by-superior-force-it/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Every living thing is a sort of imperialist, seeking to transform as much as possible of its environment into itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/every-living-thing-is-a-sort-of-imperialist-seeking-to-transform-as-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/every-living-thing-is-from-the-cosmic-perspective-incredibly-lucky/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [The real artist while he paints does not think of the sale, only of the need to make a beautiful living thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/the-real-artist-while-he-paints-does-not-think-of-the-sale-only-of/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) > [Genes are little items that are found in every living thing except Sen. Alfonse D'Amato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/genes-are-little-items-that-are-found-in-every-living-thing-except/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Money is a living thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jae-hee/money-is-a-living-thing/) [Jae Hee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jae-hee/) > [It's one thing to make a beautiful thing; it's another thing to make a living thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-caponigro/it-s-one-thing-to-make-a-beautiful-thing-it-s-another-thing-to-make-a/) [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) > [You cannot commit an act of violence against a non-sentient object, only against a living thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/you-cannot-commit-an-act-of-violence-against-a-non-sentient-object/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [All life is a movement in relationship. There is no living thing on earth which is not related to something or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/all-life-is-a-movement-in-relationship-there-is-no-living-thing-on/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [This solitary Tree! a living thing Produced too slowly ever to decay; Of form and aspect too magnificent To be destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/this-solitary-tree-a-living-thing-produced-too-slowly-ever-to-decay/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More by Bill Reid > [It's hard to understand how you arrive at a design. It's far too complicated to get any overall picture of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/it-s-hard-to-understand-how-you-arrive-at-a-design-it-s-far-too/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [It suits my own attitude toward the world and its people to believe that the Raven is this completely self-centered, uninvolved bringer of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/it-suits-my-own-attitude-toward-the-world-and-its-people-to-believe/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [I have created the Raven in my own image over the years and insist that mine is the version of this personality that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/i-have-created-the-raven-in-my-own-image-over-the-years-and-insist/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [But I didn't think about this beforehand. I just went ahead and did it, and that's the way it turned out. So I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/but-i-didn-t-think-about-this-beforehand-i-just-went-ahead-and-did-it/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [I've never felt that I was doing something for my people, except what I could to bring the accomplishments of the old ones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/i-ve-never-felt-that-i-was-doing-something-for-my-people-except-what/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [I certainly and deliberately introduced a great deal of variety into the people in the clamshell, which I suppose grows out of growing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/i-certainly-and-deliberately-introduced-a-great-deal-of-variety-into/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [I have a sort of waking nightmare: to get this thing just about completed, and the last day to discover one little part that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/i-have-a-sort-of-waking-nightmare-to-get-this-thing-just-about/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) > [I consider myself one of the most fortunate of men, to have lived at a time when some of the old Haidas and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/i-consider-myself-one-of-the-most-fortunate-of-men-to-have-lived-at-a/) [Bill Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) [Explore all 9 Bill Reid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/) ## 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": "Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Reid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-is-not-art-at-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-is-not-art-at-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b52/bill-reid-43276_art_great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-i_1551393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great art must be a living thing, or it is not art at all.” — Bill Reid", "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": "Bill Reid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-reid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great art must be a living...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-is-not-art-at-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-reid/great-art-must-be-a-living-thing-or-it-is-not-art-at-all/#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 } } ] } ```