--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A lot of what making art is, is just…" description: "\"A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and empty. And putting yourself in the right place for things to, literally, come together.\" — Bill Viola" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/bill-viola-14184_art_a-lot-of-what-making-art-is-is-just-bein_2856179.png" --- # A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and… ![“A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and empty. And putting yourself in the right place for things to, literally, come together.” quote by Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/bill-viola-14184_art_a-lot-of-what-making-art-is-is-just-bein_2856179.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/bill-viola-14184_art_a-lot-of-what-making-art-is-is-just-bein_2856179.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d15/bill-viola-14184_art_a-lot-of-what-making-art-is-is-just-bein_2856179.png) > “A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and empty. And putting yourself in the right place for things to, literally, come together.” [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating art requires openness and emptiness, allowing the right conditions for ideas to naturally converge. **In simple terms:** Be open and empty to let art happen. Key Takeaway Cultivate openness for creative flow. Themes creativity mindfulness process Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - artist studio - personal reflection - collaborative projects Key Concepts artistic expression presence intuition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance openness with technical mastery? - What environments foster your creative flow? A Different Perspective Openness alone may not guarantee skillful execution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) ## Related quotes > [My goal beyond being an actor, is just being an open channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-miller/my-goal-beyond-being-an-actor-is-just-being-an-open-channel/) [Ezra Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-miller/) > [I think that's just part of how it is with making art. Sometimes you're just flooded with ideas, and then other times you're questioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-think-that-s-just-part-of-how-it-is-with-making-art-sometimes-you/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [Don't think about making art, just get it done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/don-t-think-about-making-art-just-get-it-done/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [“But I think that what it comes down to is this: we haven't stopped doing astronomy for the same reason we haven't stopped making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geach/but-i-think-that-what-it-comes-down-to-is-this-we-haven-t-stopped/) James Geach > [While making art you should just do what is in your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cooper/while-making-art-you-should-just-do-what-is-in-your-heart/) [Alan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cooper/) > [When I began making art, I just thought I liked it. As a woman who was placed in spaces with various conditions, conventions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/when-i-began-making-art-i-just-thought-i-liked-it-as-a-woman-who-was/) [Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/araya-rasdjarmrearnsook/) > [I think there's something beautiful about the art of making art, and it just will live and breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annaleigh-ashford/i-think-there-s-something-beautiful-about-the-art-of-making-art-and/) [Annaleigh Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annaleigh-ashford/) > [I just open my mouth and out it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/i-just-open-my-mouth-and-out-it-comes/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [Sometimes you don't have to look around for it; you just have to open your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/sometimes-you-don-t-have-to-look-around-for-it-you-just-have-to-open/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [It's kind of surprising that you could just open up a site and let people work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-wales/it-s-kind-of-surprising-that-you-could-just-open-up-a-site-and-let/) [Jimmy Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-wales/) > [You can see beauy everywhere, you just have to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/you-can-see-beauy-everywhere-you-just-have-to-be-open-minded/) [EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/) > [They'll try to close the door on you... Just open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/they-ll-try-to-close-the-door-on-you-just-open-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [“It isn't complicated. You just open up and let someone in. And whatever comes after that, you face it together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-isn-t-complicated-you-just-open-up-and-let-someone-in-and-whatever/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-ought-to-be-one-day-just-one-when-there-is-open-season-on/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Bill Viola > [Because we live in an industrialized, fast-paced world that prefers that the soul remain asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/because-we-live-in-an-industrialized-fast-paced-world-that-prefers/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [I hope we'll be able to see that in our lifetime: the end of the camera! When I'm in Paris, I'll buy a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/i-hope-we-ll-be-able-to-see-that-in-our-lifetime-the-end-of-the/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [There's another world out there just beyond the world we're in. It's just on the other side of that translucent, semitransparent surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/there-s-another-world-out-there-just-beyond-the-world-we-re-in-it-s/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [When you're making video, you're giving structure to time, which is what a composer does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/when-you-re-making-video-you-re-giving-structure-to-time-which-is/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [In the mid- to late '60s to the mid-'70s, when I was a student, there was a major change in the thinking about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/in-the-mid-to-late-60s-to-the-mid-70s-when-i-was-a-student-there-was/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [The human brain is probably one of the most complex single objects on the face of the earth; I think it is, quite honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/the-human-brain-is-probably-one-of-the-most-complex-single-objects-on/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [Video artists being at the low end of the totem pole economically, one of the ways we survive is to go around showing work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/video-artists-being-at-the-low-end-of-the-totem-pole-economically-one/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [I spend a lot of time writing. I get inspiration from texts rather than images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-writing-i-get-inspiration-from-texts-rather/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [The future art historians are going to be software guys who are going to go into the depths of the code to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/the-future-art-historians-are-going-to-be-software-guys-who-are-going/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [Art is, for me, the process of trying to wake up the soul. Because we live in an industrialized, fast-paced world that prefers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/art-is-for-me-the-process-of-trying-to-wake-up-the-soul-because-we/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [In the 1970s, a lot of critics didn't understand video. I got a lot of bad reviews. But film-makers didn't understand what we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/in-the-1970s-a-lot-of-critics-didn-t-understand-video-i-got-a-lot-of/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [This thing called the camera, that takes everything in equally, taught me a lot about how to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/this-thing-called-the-camera-that-takes-everything-in-equally-taught/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [I cry a lot. Usually once a day. I think it's one of the most profound forms of human expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/i-cry-a-lot-usually-once-a-day-i-think-it-s-one-of-the-most-profound/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [You are just as qualified as any expert to make a judgment and have a feeling or a response to any work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/you-are-just-as-qualified-as-any-expert-to-make-a-judgment-and-have-a/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [If you look at landscape in historical terms, you realize that most of the time we have been on Earth as a species, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/if-you-look-at-landscape-in-historical-terms-you-realize-that-most-of/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) [Explore all 47 Bill Viola quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) ## 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": "A lot of what making art is, is just being open, and empty. 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