--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is whether or not there is a scream…" description: "\"Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way.\" — Chaim Potok" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png" --- # Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to… ![“Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way.” quote by Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png) > “Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way.” [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art emerges when inner turmoil seeks expression, often through intense, personal outbursts. **In simple terms:** Art is a personal scream. Key Takeaway Channel inner tension into creative work. Themes creativity expression inner conflict Mood introspective passionate Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - personal journaling - visual art - music composition - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology artistic catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when inner tension becomes creative? - What outlets help you release it safely? A Different Perspective Not all emotional intensity is productive; it can overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Scream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-scream-1975678/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Scream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scream/) [Scream Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scream-wanting-3670038/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting/) [Wanting Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-special-3350192/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [In letting go of wanting something special to occur, maybe we can realize that something special is already occurring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/in-letting-go-of-wanting-something-special-to-occur-maybe-we-can/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [“Millions of people can draw. Art is whether there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/millions-of-people-can-draw-art-is-whether-there-is-a-scream-in-you/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Because art is a scream, even when it hides itself somewhere, you will find it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/because-art-is-a-scream-even-when-it-hides-itself-somewhere-you-will/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [How many are silenced, because in order to get to their art they would have to scream?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-clark/how-many-are-silenced-because-in-order-to-get-to-their-art-they-would/) [Anne Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-clark/) > [The work of art is a scream of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-work-of-art-is-a-scream-of-freedom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ It's hard for me to be serious. I can't really rub oil on me and go all the way with it \[laughs\]. I hear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-hard-for-me-to-be-serious-i-can-t-really-rub-oil-on-me-and-go/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Rincewind could scream for mercy in nineteen languages, and just scream in another forty-four.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/rincewind-could-scream-for-mercy-in-nineteen-languages-and-just/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I think that I originally became an actor because I was super, super dramatic. Over the top, all the time. I was the kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanna-masterson/i-think-that-i-originally-became-an-actor-because-i-was-super-super/) [Alanna Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanna-masterson/) > [which pisses her off and makes her scream and i look around my room and miss me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-johnson/which-pisses-her-off-and-makes-her-scream-and-i-look-around-my-room/) [Angela Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-johnson/) > [I'd rather not deal with such questions, because anyway it's like shearing a pig - lots of screams but little wool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-d-rather-not-deal-with-such-questions-because-anyway-it-s-like/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [You cannot just scream and yell unless you feel it in your whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-gupta/you-cannot-just-scream-and-yell-unless-you-feel-it-in-your-whole-body/) [Esha Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-gupta/) > [Language just gradually came in, one or two stressed words a time. Before then, I would just scream. I couldn't talk. I couldn't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/language-just-gradually-came-in-one-or-two-stressed-words-a-time/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Being able to scream at the top of my lungs in front of people is very therapeutic. It is a great gift for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-matthews/being-able-to-scream-at-the-top-of-my-lungs-in-front-of-people-is/) [Dave Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-matthews/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) ## More by Chaim Potok > [“DW: Some critics have written that they don’t admire your so-called simple style. You have contended that your writing is a result of much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/dw-some-critics-have-written-that-they-don-t-admire-your-so-called/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I cannot pray. I talk to God through my sculpture and painting.' 'That's also prayer.' He smiled faintly, the morning sun on his face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-cannot-pray-i-talk-to-god-through-my-sculpture-and-painting-that-s/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I don't work on my Sabbath. I write five-and-a-half or six days a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-don-t-work-on-my-sabbath-i-write-five-and-a-half-or-six-days-a-week/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [And these two elements are at odds with one another because Freud is utterly adversary to almost all the ways of structuring the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-these-two-elements-are-at-odds-with-one-another-because-freud-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“How should a Jew feel? There we went through the seven gates of hell for matzos. Here I stand in matzos over my head.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/how-should-a-jew-feel-there-we-went-through-the-seven-gates-of-hell/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“In our time... a man whose enemies are faceless bureaucrats almost never wins. It is our equivalent to the anger of the gods in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/in-our-time-a-man-whose-enemies-are-faceless-bureaucrats-almost-never/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Seeds must be sown everywhere. Only some will bear fruit. But there would not be the fruit from the few had the many not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/seeds-must-be-sown-everywhere-only-some-will-bear-fruit-but-there/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Basically it’s none of our business how somebody manages to grow, if only he does grow, if only we’re on the trail of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/basically-it-s-none-of-our-business-how-somebody-manages-to-grow-if/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“I walked the streets and tasted the golden sun that lay across the city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-walked-the-streets-and-tasted-the-golden-sun-that-lay-across-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [What I have in advance are people I want to write about and a problem or problems that I see those people encountering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/what-i-have-in-advance-are-people-i-want-to-write-about-and-a-problem/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“Millions of people can draw. Art is whether there is a scream in you wanting to get out in a special way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/millions-of-people-can-draw-art-is-whether-there-is-a-scream-in-you/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“When the alternative is possible disaster, a man must gamble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/when-the-alternative-is-possible-disaster-a-man-must-gamble/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [I will go wherever the truth leads me. It is secular scholarship, Rebbe; it is not the scholarship of tradition. In secular scholarship there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/i-will-go-wherever-the-truth-leads-me-it-is-secular-scholarship-rebbe/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [… the world will indulge you just so long Asher Lev. Then it will stop. You will simply have to grow accustomed to that truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/the-world-will-indulge-you-just-so-long-asher-lev-then-it-will-stop/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [No one knows he is fortunate until he becomes unfortunate, that's the way the world is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/no-one-knows-he-is-fortunate-until-he-becomes-unfortunate-that-s-the/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) [Explore all 175 Chaim Potok quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) ## 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 whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chaim Potok" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream-in-him-wanting-to-get-out-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream-in-him-wanting-to-get-out-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/chaim-potok-2254_art_art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream_2832756.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is whether or not there is a scream in him wanting to get out in a special way.” — Chaim Potok", "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": "Chaim Potok", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is whether or not there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream-in-him-wanting-to-get-out-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/art-is-whether-or-not-there-is-a-scream-in-him-wanting-to-get-out-in/#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 } } ] } ```