--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't believe in originality in art. I…" description: "\"I don't believe in originality in art. I think we exist on this earth to inspire each other, through our actions, through our deeds, and through who we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/bill-viola-14184_action_i-don-t-believe-in-originality-in-art-i_2016926.png" --- # I don't believe in originality in art. I think we exist on… ![“I don't believe in originality in art. I think we exist on this earth to inspire each other, through our actions, through our deeds, and through who we are. We're always borrowing.” quote by Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/bill-viola-14184_action_i-don-t-believe-in-originality-in-art-i_2016926.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/bill-viola-14184_action_i-don-t-believe-in-originality-in-art-i_2016926.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/409/bill-viola-14184_action_i-don-t-believe-in-originality-in-art-i_2016926.png) > “I don't believe in originality in art. I think we exist on this earth to inspire each other, through our actions, through our deeds, and through who we are. We're always borrowing.” [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. Art is a collective dialogue; originality emerges from shared inspiration and action. **In simple terms:** Art builds on what came before. Key Takeaway Create by contributing to the conversation. Themes creativity inspiration collective culture Mood thoughtful philosophical Type artistic reflective When to use this quote - collaborative projects - public installations - educational workshops Key Concepts intertextuality cultural exchange Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance influence and uniqueness? - What does borrowing mean to you? A Different Perspective Risk of losing personal voice in copying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Borrowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrowing/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeds/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I believe in originality, primarily. However, it's important to know what there has been before to aim in that direction. Art history informs us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/i-believe-in-originality-primarily-however-it-s-important-to-know/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [You can believe in originals only if you just don't know their context within literature. Certainly I believe in originality, but it lies with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/you-can-believe-in-originals-only-if-you-just-don-t-know-their/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I don’t believe in originality. You take inspiration from whatever moves you and you find your voice in those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walker/i-don-t-believe-in-originality-you-take-inspiration-from-whatever/) [Tim Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walker/) > [I don't believe too much in originality... you learn art from other art and then looking into somebody's face or landscape is the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paterson-ewen/i-don-t-believe-too-much-in-originality-you-learn-art-from-other-art/) Paterson Ewen > [People believe in my originality more than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-malik/people-believe-in-my-originality-more-than-anything-else/) [Anu Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-malik/) > [Originality is the art of concealing your source.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-p-jones/originality-is-the-art-of-concealing-your-source/) [Franklin P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-p-jones/) > [“Originality is the art of hiding your source”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-roolaart/originality-is-the-art-of-hiding-your-source/) Harry Roolaart > [Originality in art puts charm where it wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/originality-in-art-puts-charm-where-it-wasn-t/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [Cerebration is the enemy of originality in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-ritt/cerebration-is-the-enemy-of-originality-in-art/) Martin Ritt > [The prerequisite of originality is the art of forgetting, at the proper moment, what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-prerequisite-of-originality-is-the-art-of-forgetting-at-the/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Originality is the art of concealing your sources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/originality-is-the-art-of-concealing-your-sources/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [We always find something, eh Didi, to let us think we exist?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-always-find-something-eh-didi-to-let-us-think-we-exist/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You do not exist. I think I exist. I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-do-not-exist-i-think-i-exist-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [The problem is we think we exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/the-problem-is-we-think-we-exist/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I think I exist,' he said wearily. 'I am conscious of my own identity. I was born, and I shall die. I have arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-think-i-exist-he-said-wearily-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## 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. 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