--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art-making is not about telling the truth…" description: "\"Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt\" — Christian Boltanski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg" --- # Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the… ![“Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt” quote by Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg) > “Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt” [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art aims to evoke feeling rather than state factual truth. **In simple terms:** Art makes truth emotional, not factual. Key Takeaway Create emotive experiences. Themes art emotion perception Mood thoughtful evocative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - creative workshops - education curricula Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - How does feeling shape truth? - What role does art play in perception? A Different Perspective May blur factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is not an assertion of truth, but the making of that truth more fully real to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/poetry-is-not-an-assertion-of-truth-but-the-making-of-that-truth-more/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Telling the truth and making someone to cry is better than telling a lie and to making someone smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkemjika-linus/telling-the-truth-and-making-someone-to-cry-is-better-than-telling-a/) [Nkemjika Linus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkemjika-linus/) > [There are two ways of lying. One, not telling the truth and the other, making up statistics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josefina-vazquez-mota/there-are-two-ways-of-lying-one-not-telling-the-truth-and-the-other/) [Josefina Vazquez Mota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josefina-vazquez-mota/) > [Telling the truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/telling-the-truth-and-making-someone-cry-is-better-than-telling-a-lie/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are two ways of lying. One, not telling the truth and the other, making up statistics. ~ Josefina Vazquez Mota”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-jacobs/there-are-two-ways-of-lying-one-not-telling-the-truth-and-the-other-2/) [Mara Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-jacobs/) > [Telling the truth and making someone cry is better then telling a lie and making someone smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/telling-the-truth-and-making-someone-cry-is-better-then-telling-a-lie/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Movie-making is telling a story with the best technology at your disposal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/movie-making-is-telling-a-story-with-the-best-technology-at-your/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [Logic is the art of making truth prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/logic-is-the-art-of-making-truth-prevail/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Making the truth public is a form of justice. This is a moral universe and you've got to take account of the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/making-the-truth-public-is-a-form-of-justice-this-is-a-moral-universe/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I thought, 'Anyone can make up a lie, but making the truth funny is really hard.' But I actually had more problems with people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-acaster/i-thought-anyone-can-make-up-a-lie-but-making-the-truth-funny-is/) [James Acaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-acaster/) > [And I believe what I believe / Is what makes me what I am / I did not make it, no it is making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/and-i-believe-what-i-believe-is-what-makes-me-what-i-am-i-did-not/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [God has come again and again in various Forms, has spoken again and again in different words and different languages the Same One Truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/god-has-come-again-and-again-in-various-forms-has-spoken-again-and/) [Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/) > [“I like them to talk nonsense. That's man's one privilege over all creation. Through error you come to the truth. I am a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crime-and-punishment-by-fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-like-them-to-talk-nonsense-that-s-man-s-one-privilege-over-all/) Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky > [Some people a capable of running away from the truth by making you as if you are wrong and stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-a-capable-of-running-away-from-the-truth-by-making-you-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One finds the truth by making a hypothesis and comparing observations with the hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-douglass/one-finds-the-truth-by-making-a-hypothesis-and-comparing-observations/) [David Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-douglass/) ## More by Christian Boltanski > [We all die twice - once when we actually die and once when no one on earth recognizes our photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/we-all-die-twice-once-when-we-actually-die-and-once-when-no-one-on/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [When I was four or five years old, I heard a lot of stories about the Holocaust because both my parents were survivors. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/when-i-was-four-or-five-years-old-i-heard-a-lot-of-stories-about-the/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [... in the eyes of its visitors, Venice has no reality of its own. Anyone visiting the place has already seen so many pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/in-the-eyes-of-its-visitors-venice-has-no-reality-of-its-own-anyone/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [The more you work, the less you exist. I believe (at least, I used to believe, because I no longer think this is entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/the-more-you-work-the-less-you-exist-i-believe-at-least-i-used-to/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [There are very few times in creation in your life. One time is when you become an adult, one time is when your parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/there-are-very-few-times-in-creation-in-your-life-one-time-is-when/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [I think it is very important to know that we are going to die. Now we refuse the fact of dying. There was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/i-think-it-is-very-important-to-know-that-we-are-going-to-die-now-we/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [In most of my photographic pieces I have manipulated the quality of the evidence that people assign to photography, in order to subvert it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/in-most-of-my-photographic-pieces-i-have-manipulated-the-quality-of/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [The fact that you were born means that there are no other children born because of you – you’ve killed them in a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/the-fact-that-you-were-born-means-that-there-are-no-other-children/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [I never take photographs myself. I don’t feel like a photographer, more like a recycler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/i-never-take-photographs-myself-i-don-t-feel-like-a-photographer-more/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [The sole fact of having a school to train creative people is absolute lunacy... The idea of 'pedagogical vision' is ignoble, it has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/the-sole-fact-of-having-a-school-to-train-creative-people-is-absolute/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [It's pretentious to say, but my art is like a little Zen story, a story with a question mark at the end. People can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/it-s-pretentious-to-say-but-my-art-is-like-a-little-zen-story-a-story/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [We're painting the same people all our life - it's just the way we look at them that changes. If you experience trauma, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/we-re-painting-the-same-people-all-our-life-it-s-just-the-way-we-look/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [I like looking at the finger of God. Why it takes one and not another, why this one or that one, why now or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/i-like-looking-at-the-finger-of-god-why-it-takes-one-and-not-another/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [Photography is used to give evidence, and the evidence is always deceiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/photography-is-used-to-give-evidence-and-the-evidence-is-always/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) > [I think that all human activity is stupid. Artistic activity is also stupid, but you can see it more clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/i-think-that-all-human-activity-is-stupid-artistic-activity-is-also/) [Christian Boltanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) [Explore all 25 Christian Boltanski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/) ## 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. 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-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Boltanski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-truth-but-making-the-truth-felt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-truth-but-making-the-truth-felt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23c/christian-boltanski-23691_art_art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-trut_3048340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art-making is not about telling the truth but making the truth felt” — Christian Boltanski", "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": "Christian Boltanski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-boltanski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art-making is not about telling the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-truth-but-making-the-truth-felt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-boltanski/art-making-is-not-about-telling-the-truth-but-making-the-truth-felt/#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 } } ] } ```