--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Really the truth is just a plain picture…" description: "\"Really the truth is just a plain picture. A plain picture of, let's say, a tramp vomiting in the sewere. You know, and next door to the picture Mr. Roc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bob-dylan-168_artist_really-the-truth-is-just-a-plain-picture_2534078.jpg" --- # Really the truth is just a plain picture. A plain picture… ![“Really the truth is just a plain picture. A plain picture of, let's say, a tramp vomiting in the sewere. You know, and next door to the picture Mr. Rockefeller or Mr. C. W. Jones on the subway going to work. You know, any kind of picture. Just make a collage of pictures.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bob-dylan-168_artist_really-the-truth-is-just-a-plain-picture_2534078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bob-dylan-168_artist_really-the-truth-is-just-a-plain-picture_2534078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/bob-dylan-168_artist_really-the-truth-is-just-a-plain-picture_2534078.jpg) > “Really the truth is just a plain picture. A plain picture of, let's say, a tramp vomiting in the sewere. You know, and next door to the picture Mr. Rockefeller or Mr. C. W. Jones on the subway going to work. You know, any kind of picture. Just make a collage of pictures.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth is a simple, raw image, like an unfiltered scene of everyday life juxtaposed with wealth. **In simple terms:** Truth appears as stark, everyday scenes. Key Takeaway Seek unvarnished truth in observation. Themes truth reality contrast observation Mood critical observational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - photojournalism - street art - documentary filmmaking - social critique Key Concepts visual metaphor social commentary artistic collage Questions to Reflect On - How does juxtaposing extremes reveal truth? - What limits do collages have in conveying reality? A Different Perspective Simplistic view may overlook complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Collages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collages/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Going to work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-work/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-door/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-just-282561/) [Picture Plain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture-plain-1370868/) [Plain Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plain-picture-1370867/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Subway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subway/) [Tramp Vomiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tramp-vomiting-1370869/) [Tramps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tramps/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-is/) [Truth Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-just/) [Vomiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vomiting/) ## Related quotes > [A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-singer-sargent/a-portrait-is-a-picture-in-which-there-is-just-a-tiny-little/) [John Singer Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-singer-sargent/) > [When my kids ask who my first love was,I don't wanna have to pull out a picture..I just wanna be able to point across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-my-kids-ask-who-my-first-love-was-i-don-t-wanna-have-to-pull-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To sum it all up: It was a great picture to do; I just wish it had never been released.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nance/to-sum-it-all-up-it-was-a-great-picture-to-do-i-just-wish-it-had/) [Jack Nance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nance/) > [“One picture will have to be enough. Just like one day will have to be enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/one-picture-will-have-to-be-enough-just-like-one-day-will-have-to-be/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [If you want to show a picture, just show it - don't spend too much time arranging it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-eisenman/if-you-want-to-show-a-picture-just-show-it-don-t-spend-too-much-time/) [Peter Eisenman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-eisenman/) > [The real picture of you is just a code for reality. .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/the-real-picture-of-you-is-just-a-code-for-reality/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [Life is a photograph too, so thank you,for not removing yourself from the picture just yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meggie-royer/life-is-a-photograph-too-so-thank-you-for-not-removing-yourself-from/) [Meggie Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meggie-royer/) > [So take a dirty picture for me. Take a dirty picture. Just send the dirty picture to me. Send the dirty picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taio-cruz/so-take-a-dirty-picture-for-me-take-a-dirty-picture-just-send-the/) [Taio Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taio-cruz/) > [In 15 years or something - I like the idea of just one paparazzo coming out and trying to get a picture, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/in-15-years-or-something-i-like-the-idea-of-just-one-paparazzo-coming/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“A picture is just a picture, but add music and there's emotion. There's a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-cosway/a-picture-is-just-a-picture-but-add-music-and-there-s-emotion-there-s/) [L.H. Cosway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-cosway/) > [When someone says to you, 'Oh, I don't take a good picture,' what they mean is they haven't come to terms with how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/when-someone-says-to-you-oh-i-don-t-take-a-good-picture-what-they/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [The Picture is 100% true. I DO NOT own the quote OR the Picture, I just wanted you to know that I agree with it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-picture-is-100-true-i-do-not-own-the-quote-or-the-picture-i-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People don't realize that one picture for you is just one picture. But for me, I take a thousand pictures a day. That adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chumlee/people-don-t-realize-that-one-picture-for-you-is-just-one-picture-but/) [Chumlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chumlee/) > [“They have hopes and dreams that may echo or overlap your own. And there's no reason why you can't make room for them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/they-have-hopes-and-dreams-that-may-echo-or-overlap-your-own-and/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [We are going to finish this picture just the way I want it... because you cannot compromise an artist's vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-wood/we-are-going-to-finish-this-picture-just-the-way-i-want-it-because/) [Ed Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-wood/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Really the truth is just a plain picture. A plain picture of, let's say, a tramp vomiting in the sewere. You know, and next door to the picture Mr. Rockefeller or Mr. C. W. Jones on the subway going to work. You know, any kind of picture. 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