--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem is we're looking for…" description: "\"The problem is we're looking for something that doesn't exist. We're looking for authenticity. There is no such thing as authenticity. There is either ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chris-abani-7393_art_the-problem-is-we-re-looking-for-somethi_3070991.png" --- # The problem is we're looking for something that doesn't… ![“The problem is we're looking for something that doesn't exist. We're looking for authenticity. There is no such thing as authenticity. There is either good art or bad art. Art is never about its content. It's about its scaffolding.” quote by Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chris-abani-7393_art_the-problem-is-we-re-looking-for-somethi_3070991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chris-abani-7393_art_the-problem-is-we-re-looking-for-somethi_3070991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/chris-abani-7393_art_the-problem-is-we-re-looking-for-somethi_3070991.png) > “The problem is we're looking for something that doesn't exist. We're looking for authenticity. There is no such thing as authenticity. There is either good art or bad art. Art is never about its content. It's about its scaffolding.” [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that true authenticity in art is a myth; art's value lies in its structure, not its content, and it is either good or bad. **In simple terms:** Authenticity is impossible; art is about form, not content. Key Takeaway Focus on the scaffolding of your work. Themes art authenticity structure quality perception Mood critical contemplative Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - creative workshops - art criticism - gallery curation - educational curricula Key Concepts Aesthetics ontological critique binary evaluation Questions to Reflect On - Can art be both structurally sound and emotionally resonant? - How does this view affect artistic evaluation? A Different Perspective The claim dismisses nuanced perspectives on authenticity and the role of content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Authenticity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authenticity/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [The authenticity thing has never been an issue for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-mumford/the-authenticity-thing-has-never-been-an-issue-for-me/) [Marcus Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-mumford/) > [I'm always looking for authenticity in my films. They're based in realism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-baker/i-m-always-looking-for-authenticity-in-my-films-they-re-based-in/) [Sean Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-baker/) > [There's this thing about authenticity when you rap, right? Whether or not it's real, it has to feel real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daveed-diggs/there-s-this-thing-about-authenticity-when-you-rap-right-whether-or/) [Daveed Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daveed-diggs/) > [Achievement is not the most important thing authenticity is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/achievement-is-not-the-most-important-thing-authenticity-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think the most important thing is authenticity, just being as real as I can be. But also flexible and open to change and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/i-think-the-most-important-thing-is-authenticity-just-being-as-real/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [The architecture of our future is not only unfinished; the scaffolding has hardly gone up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lamming/the-architecture-of-our-future-is-not-only-unfinished-the-scaffolding/) George Lamming > [The story is everything, so it always begins with a story.And research is a kind of scaffolding built underneath the story as I go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-story-is-everything-so-it-always-begins-with-a-story-and-research/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [To write music is to raise a ladder without a wall to lean it against. There is no scaffolding: the building under construction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-honegger/to-write-music-is-to-raise-a-ladder-without-a-wall-to-lean-it-against/) [Arthur Honegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-honegger/) > [All the scholastic scaffolding falls, as a ruined edifice, before a single word: faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/all-the-scholastic-scaffolding-falls-as-a-ruined-edifice-before-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The reason for the scaffolding on the tower of Saint Germain-des-Près is that a rich American has purchased it and is having it crated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-otis-skinner/the-reason-for-the-scaffolding-on-the-tower-of-saint-germain-des-pr-s/) [Cornelia Otis Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-otis-skinner/) > [Your thoughts construct patterns like scaffolding in your mind. You are really etching chemical patterns. 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They are indispensable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/hypotheses-are-the-scaffolds-which-are-erected-in-front-of-a-building/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A simile is just a metaphor with the scaffolding still up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-geary/a-simile-is-just-a-metaphor-with-the-scaffolding-still-up/) [James Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-geary/) > [Just saw an orthodox Jewish kid do 3 pull-ups on the scaffolding. Shattering the previous record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gulman/just-saw-an-orthodox-jewish-kid-do-3-pull-ups-on-the-scaffolding/) [Gary Gulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gulman/) ## More by Chris Abani > [“Story is powerful. Story is fluid and it belongs to nobody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/story-is-powerful-story-is-fluid-and-it-belongs-to-nobody/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“as his mother told Grandma Marie, there are no words for some”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/as-his-mother-told-grandma-marie-there-are-no-words-for-some/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I think it's an aggregation of all of the small acts that are really transformative. I think a group of small acts transform the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-think-it-s-an-aggregation-of-all-of-the-small-acts-that-are-really/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“... it's the agents of our imagination who really shape who we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/it-s-the-agents-of-our-imagination-who-really-shape-who-we-are/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“He too, it seemed, had come to believe that he could somehow escape history. That it was possible, and even desirable, to live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/he-too-it-seemed-had-come-to-believe-that-he-could-somehow-escape/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. 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I think we all know this, know that deeper truths can be approached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/fiction-is-more-dangerous-than-nonfiction-because-it-can-seduce/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [My grand uncle was a traditional priest, and he would always say to me as a kid, 'We stand in our own light,' which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-grand-uncle-was-a-traditional-priest-and-he-would-always-say-to-me/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Unlike other books or TV shows or sometimes life, my narrative worlds are stripped of implicit moral centers. There is only what you bring.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/unlike-other-books-or-tv-shows-or-sometimes-life-my-narrative-worlds/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Nigerians are everywhere. There's an old joke, particularly about the Ibos, that when you finally land on Mars, you're going to find a Nigerian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/nigerians-are-everywhere-there-s-an-old-joke-particularly-about-the/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/circuses-are-about-entertainment-and-juggling-and-animals-and-all/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [It takes me forever to actually finish something like a ten-page essay. But, when I do, I usually love what they are. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/it-takes-me-forever-to-actually-finish-something-like-a-ten-page/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I had amazing intellectual privilege as a kid. My mom taught me to read when I was two or three. When I was five,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-had-amazing-intellectual-privilege-as-a-kid-my-mom-taught-me-to/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [If you want to know about Africa, read our literature - and not just 'Things Fall Apart,' because that would be like saying, 'I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/if-you-want-to-know-about-africa-read-our-literature-and-not-just/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) [Explore all 91 Chris Abani quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) ## 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 > [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. 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