--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary." description: "\"Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary.\" — Carl Andre" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg" --- # Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary. ![“Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary.” quote by Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg) > “Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary.” [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should eliminate excess, keeping only essential elements that convey meaning. **In simple terms:** Remove the unnecessary in art. Key Takeaway Focus on essential elements. Themes minimalism aesthetic reduction essence design Mood thoughtful analytical Type aesthetic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - product design - architectural planning Key Concepts visual art conceptual art design theory Questions to Reflect On - What does “unnecessary” mean to you? - How can essential elements evoke emotion? A Different Perspective Minimalism can be perceived as cold or lacking emotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Exclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-exclusion-2822476/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Exclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion/) [Exclusion Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exclusion-unnecessary-2822477/) [Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnecessary/) ## Related quotes > [There are some disabling myths about what art is, how to do it, what is good art, and what art is for, that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-london/there-are-some-disabling-myths-about-what-art-is-how-to-do-it-what-is/) [Peter London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-london/) > [I think it was Henry Moore who was asked where he got his ideas for his sculptures, and he said something like, "I continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-think-it-was-henry-moore-who-was-asked-where-he-got-his-ideas-for/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [Art is an attempt to give substance to existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sondra-horton-fraleigh/art-is-an-attempt-to-give-substance-to-existence/) [Sondra Horton Fraleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sondra-horton-fraleigh/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [The true end of Art is not to imitate a fixed material condition, but to represent a living motion,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-inness/the-true-end-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-a-fixed-material-condition-but/) [George Inness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-inness/) > [I'm simply saying that our deepest thoughts, desires and preoccupations manifest themselves in art, whether we intend them to or not. That's what art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/i-m-simply-saying-that-our-deepest-thoughts-desires-and/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [Art is ultimately schizophrenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver/art-is-ultimately-schizophrenic/) [Oliver $](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver/) > [Art is fast, but with art you're tied down. That's too negative. What I mean is, you have a business and a place that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-arcangel/art-is-fast-but-with-art-you-re-tied-down-that-s-too-negative-what-i/) [Cory Arcangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-arcangel/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Art is nothing; it's a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/art-is-nothing-it-s-a-way/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/art-is-not-a-reflection-of-reality-it-is-the-reality-of-a-reflection/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [Art is art when it is appreciated by someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isao-tomita/art-is-art-when-it-is-appreciated-by-someone/) [Isao Tomita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isao-tomita/) > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Carl Andre > [The girls you picked up from the bars were not the girls you took home to mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/the-girls-you-picked-up-from-the-bars-were-not-the-girls-you-took/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [I think it was Henry Moore who was asked where he got his ideas for his sculptures, and he said something like, "I continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-think-it-was-henry-moore-who-was-asked-where-he-got-his-ideas-for/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [I didn't like men because they were so physically competitive. Men are always making a pecking order. "I can beat you up and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-didn-t-like-men-because-they-were-so-physically-competitive-men-are/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [An artist, to achieve anything in art, has to finally do the thing that nobody else wants to do and nobody else has thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/an-artist-to-achieve-anything-in-art-has-to-finally-do-the-thing-that/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [What I made depended on what I found on the street. At least in the beginning, my materials came from the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/what-i-made-depended-on-what-i-found-on-the-street-at-least-in-the/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [Americans understand better than the Europeans and the English that any publicity is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/americans-understand-better-than-the-europeans-and-the-english-that/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [When I came to New York, it was cheap!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/when-i-came-to-new-york-it-was-cheap/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [The wood was better before I cut it, than after. I did not improve it in any way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/the-wood-was-better-before-i-cut-it-than-after-i-did-not-improve-it/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [Lenin thought abstract art was a conspiracy by the bourgeois to demoralize the proletariat. Yeah, socialist realism!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/lenin-thought-abstract-art-was-a-conspiracy-by-the-bourgeois-to/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [Money is a very complicated problem. The history of money is very curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/money-is-a-very-complicated-problem-the-history-of-money-is-very/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [I grew up in a brick house. What's wrong with bricks? An Englishman took me aside and said, "You have to understand, all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-grew-up-in-a-brick-house-what-s-wrong-with-bricks-an-englishman/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [I never stopped doing what I did as a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-never-stopped-doing-what-i-did-as-a-child/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [Every time you work, you have to do it all over again, to rid yourself of this dross. I suppose for a person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/every-time-you-work-you-have-to-do-it-all-over-again-to-rid-yourself/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [A place is an area within an environment that has been altered in such a way to make the general environment more conspicuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/a-place-is-an-area-within-an-environment-that-has-been-altered-in/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > [I'm a feminist. I've always been in favor of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-m-a-feminist-i-ve-always-been-in-favor-of-women/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) [Explore all 57 Carl Andre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Andre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/carl-andre-12004_art_art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary_2712820.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is the exclusion of the unnecessary.” — Carl Andre", "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": "Carl Andre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is the exclusion of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/art-is-the-exclusion-of-the-unnecessary/#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 } } ] } ```