--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Abstraction has always been around, since…" description: "\"Abstraction has always been around, since the drawings in the caves. It exists in all cultures all over the world. I thought for a while that it was go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/brice-marden-21129_abstraction_abstraction-has-always-been-around-since_514834.jpg" --- # Abstraction has always been around, since the drawings in… ![“Abstraction has always been around, since the drawings in the caves. It exists in all cultures all over the world. I thought for a while that it was going to be the major movement. But people always drift back to realism. I guess there is a certain security in that.” quote by Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/brice-marden-21129_abstraction_abstraction-has-always-been-around-since_514834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/brice-marden-21129_abstraction_abstraction-has-always-been-around-since_514834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/brice-marden-21129_abstraction_abstraction-has-always-been-around-since_514834.jpg) > “Abstraction has always been around, since the drawings in the caves. It exists in all cultures all over the world. I thought for a while that it was going to be the major movement. But people always drift back to realism. I guess there is a certain security in that.” [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abstraction is an ancient, universal artistic impulse, yet people often revert to realism for comfort and familiarity. **In simple terms:** Abstraction is old but people prefer realism for security. Key Takeaway Embrace abstraction while recognizing the comfort of realism. Themes art culture history psychology creativity Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - museum curation - art education - personal artistic practice - public art projects - cultural heritage preservation Key Concepts abstraction realism human cognition cultural continuity Questions to Reflect On - How does realism provide a sense of security? - In what ways can abstraction be made more approachable? A Different Perspective Abstraction may be seen as less accessible or commercially viable than realism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Caves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caves/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [When I paint from a photograph, conscious thinking is eliminated. I don't know what I am doing. My work is far closer to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-paint-from-a-photograph-conscious-thinking-is-eliminated-i-don/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Nature I believe in. True art aims to, represent men and women, not as my little self would have them, but as they appear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ouida/nature-i-believe-in-true-art-aims-to-represent-men-and-women-not-as/) [Ouida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ouida/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Abstraction and realism work best together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-danby/abstraction-and-realism-work-best-together/) [Ken Danby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-danby/) > [I think abstraction is a very rich area. And it is upsetting that people seem to have some fear of it. I'm constantly making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-think-abstraction-is-a-very-rich-area-and-it-is-upsetting-that/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I'm an abstract painter not just for myself, but because I really believe in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-an-abstract-painter-not-just-for-myself-but-because-i-really/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) ## More by Brice Marden > [I smoke pot when I work. I take a couple of tokes before I start. It just loosens you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-smoke-pot-when-i-work-i-take-a-couple-of-tokes-before-i-start-it/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I'm an abstract painter not just for myself, but because I really believe in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-an-abstract-painter-not-just-for-myself-but-because-i-really/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [Holding together a kind of tension. When you see a painting that's really good that's what it's doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/holding-together-a-kind-of-tension-when-you-see-a-painting-that-s/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I'm much more concerned about what artists think. But as you get older you tend to get much more isolated; you're not out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-much-more-concerned-about-what-artists-think-but-as-you-get-older/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [You can't say I'm going to become a painter in the same way you say I'm going to become a dentist. Or maybe you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/you-can-t-say-i-m-going-to-become-a-painter-in-the-same-way-you-say-i/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I'm very much involved with Asian art and its theory and practice, mainly Chinese because that was quite sophisticated. I tend to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-very-much-involved-with-asian-art-and-its-theory-and-practice/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [When you're not smoking anymore, you don't have to carry around a pack of cigarettes, a lighter - all this paraphernalia. So you're liberated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/when-you-re-not-smoking-anymore-you-don-t-have-to-carry-around-a-pack/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I love the idea of hitchhiking into the city. It was bizarre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-love-the-idea-of-hitchhiking-into-the-city-it-was-bizarre/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I don't remember any dream. All I remember is waking up and feeling that there had been a change while I was sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-don-t-remember-any-dream-all-i-remember-is-waking-up-and-feeling/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [The possibilities of thought training are infinite, its consequences eternal, and yet few take the pains to direct their thinking into channels that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/the-possibilities-of-thought-training-are-infinite-its-consequences/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [Remember that an artist's life is an intense search for truth. This search takes many forms. Everyone of these forms demands its own disciplines.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/remember-that-an-artist-s-life-is-an-intense-search-for-truth-this/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [A work of art is a renewable source of energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/a-work-of-art-is-a-renewable-source-of-energy/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I love the healthy exchange of information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-love-the-healthy-exchange-of-information/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [Western art has a certain relationship to nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/western-art-has-a-certain-relationship-to-nature/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) > [I'm a professional artist, that's how I make my living. So I watch the market. There is, it seems to me, a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brice-marden/i-m-a-professional-artist-that-s-how-i-make-my-living-so-i-watch-the/) [Brice Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) [Explore all 29 Brice Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brice-marden/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Abstraction has always been around, since the drawings in the caves. It exists in all cultures all over the world. I thought for a while that it was going to be the major movement. But people always drift back to realism. 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