--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting is, I think, inevitably an…" description: "\"Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and one that depends on spiritual values.\" — Bridget Riley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png" --- # Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and… ![“Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and one that depends on spiritual values.” quote by Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png) > “Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and one that depends on spiritual values.” [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Painting is seen as an outdated practice that relies on deep spiritual values. **In simple terms:** Painting feels old-fashioned and spiritual. Key Takeaway Recognize the spiritual roots of art. Themes art spirituality tradition Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - personal practice - art education Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What spiritual values guide your creative work? - How can tradition inspire innovation? A Different Perspective May overlook modern digital mediums. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Archaic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaic/) [Archaic Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaic-activity-4482816/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Depends Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends-spiritual-4482815/) [Inevitably Archaic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inevitably-archaic-4482814/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-values/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I am surprised to see that today everything that does not amount to surrender pure and simple to generalized capitalism, let us call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/i-am-surprised-to-see-that-today-everything-that-does-not-amount-to/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [For the past several generations we've forgotten what the psychologists call our archaic understanding, a willingness to know things in their deepest, most mythic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/for-the-past-several-generations-we-ve-forgotten-what-the/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [It's so archaic. It's just, like, bizarre to me. I feel like in 10 or 15 years' time our children are going to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-johansson/it-s-so-archaic-it-s-just-like-bizarre-to-me-i-feel-like-in-10-or-15/) [Scarlett Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-johansson/) > [The Indians used to be the only inhabitants of the Americas, but times change. Having perceived us as belonging to history, they are free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gunn-allen/the-indians-used-to-be-the-only-inhabitants-of-the-americas-but-times/) [Paula Gunn Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gunn-allen/) > [The poet, however, uses these two crude, primitive, archaic forms of thought (simile and metaphor) in the most uninhibited way, because his job is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-poet-however-uses-these-two-crude-primitive-archaic-forms-of/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [If you see a wonderful archaic Greek marble object in a museum, it's not only that it's beautiful, but what comes to your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steinhardt/if-you-see-a-wonderful-archaic-greek-marble-object-in-a-museum-it-s/) [Michael Steinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steinhardt/) > [Dealing with crime using archaic methods has become impossible. So, it's imperative that we change the ways to counter them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/dealing-with-crime-using-archaic-methods-has-become-impossible-so-it/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“shrestha (SHRES·thuh) noun When a dream comes true—but not for the dreamer. Archaic;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/shrestha-shres-thuh-noun-when-a-dream-comes-true-but-not-for-the/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“Her husband had archaic ideas about jewels; a man bought them for his wife in acknowledgement of things he could not gracefully utter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/her-husband-had-archaic-ideas-about-jewels-a-man-bought-them-for-his/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Every mind is a room packed with archaic furniture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-hock/every-mind-is-a-room-packed-with-archaic-furniture/) [Dee Hock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-hock/) > [What's really interesting about that is that a lot of these words that were incendiary in their time now seem almost harmless and laughable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kaufman/what-s-really-interesting-about-that-is-that-a-lot-of-these-words/) [Philip Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kaufman/) > [“Archaic humans paid for their large brains in two ways. Firstly, they spent more time in search of food. Secondly, their muscles atrophied. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/archaic-humans-paid-for-their-large-brains-in-two-ways-firstly-they/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“The formation of a unified standard (biblical) text probably also involved the elimination of terms and structures that were too archaic to be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-s-enz-badillos/the-formation-of-a-unified-standard-biblical-text-probably-also/) [Angel Sáenz-Badillos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-s-enz-badillos/) > [The world is filled with archaic objects - mailboxes which look like alarm boxes, banks which look like places to break out of rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-loewy/the-world-is-filled-with-archaic-objects-mailboxes-which-look-like/) [Raymond Loewy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-loewy/) ## More by Bridget Riley > [It is important that the painting can be inhabited, so that the mind's eye, or the eye's mind, can move about it credibly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-is-important-that-the-painting-can-be-inhabited-so-that-the-mind-s/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [I work with nature, although in completely new terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/i-work-with-nature-although-in-completely-new-terms/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [It was only after I had been out of the art school that I actually copied a small Seurat, and I copied it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/it-was-only-after-i-had-been-out-of-the-art-school-that-i-actually/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [Painters have always needed a sort of veil upon which they can focus their attention. It's as though the more fully the consciousness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/painters-have-always-needed-a-sort-of-veil-upon-which-they-can-focus/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [An artist's early work is inevitably made up of a mixture of tendencies and interests, some of which are compatible and some of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/an-artist-s-early-work-is-inevitably-made-up-of-a-mixture-of/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [If you can allow colour to breathe, to occupy its own space, to play its own game in its unstable way, it's wanton behaviour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/if-you-can-allow-colour-to-breathe-to-occupy-its-own-space-to-play/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [The word 'paradox' has always had a kind of magic for me, and I think my pictures have a paradoxical quality, a paradox of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/the-word-paradox-has-always-had-a-kind-of-magic-for-me-and-i-think-my/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [An artist's failures are as valuable as his successes: by misjudging one thing he conforms something else, even if at the time he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/an-artist-s-failures-are-as-valuable-as-his-successes-by-misjudging/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [His failures are as valuable as his successes: by misjudging one thing he conforms something else, even if at the time he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/his-failures-are-as-valuable-as-his-successes-by-misjudging-one-thing/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [The actual basis of colour is instability. Once you accept that in lieu of something which is stable, which is form, you are dealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/the-actual-basis-of-colour-is-instability-once-you-accept-that-in/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [In my earlier paintings, I wanted the space between the picture plane and the spectator to be active. It was in that space, paradoxically,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/in-my-earlier-paintings-i-wanted-the-space-between-the-picture-plane/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [I work on two levels. I occupy my conscious mind with things to do, lines to draw, movements to organize, rhythms to invent. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/i-work-on-two-levels-i-occupy-my-conscious-mind-with-things-to-do/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [I never make studies from nature. They would get in the way. I make use of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/i-never-make-studies-from-nature-they-would-get-in-the-way-i-make-use/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [I used to build up to sensation, accumulating tension until it released a perceptual experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/i-used-to-build-up-to-sensation-accumulating-tension-until-it/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) > [I learned from Seurat this important thing about colour and light, that 'a light' can be built from colour. I learned a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/i-learned-from-seurat-this-important-thing-about-colour-and-light/) [Bridget Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) [Explore all 29 Bridget Riley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and one that depends on spiritual values.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bridget Riley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archaic-activity-and-one-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archaic-activity-and-one-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/bridget-riley-21227_activity_painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archai_1333490.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Painting is, I think, inevitably an archaic activity and one that depends on spiritual values.” — Bridget Riley", "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": "Bridget Riley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-riley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Painting is, I think, inevitably an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archaic-activity-and-one-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-riley/painting-is-i-think-inevitably-an-archaic-activity-and-one-that/#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 } } ] } ```