--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had…" description: "\"I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had no interest in using paint, I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to without knowing about contem..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/cindy-sherman-11074_art_i-didn-t-want-to-make-high-art-i-had-no_1395666.jpg" --- # I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had no interest in… ![“I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had no interest in using paint, I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to without knowing about contemporary art. I wasn't thinking in terms of precious prints or archival quality; I didn't want the work to seem like a commodity.” quote by Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/cindy-sherman-11074_art_i-didn-t-want-to-make-high-art-i-had-no_1395666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/cindy-sherman-11074_art_i-didn-t-want-to-make-high-art-i-had-no_1395666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0b/cindy-sherman-11074_art_i-didn-t-want-to-make-high-art-i-had-no_1395666.jpg) > “I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had no interest in using paint, I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to without knowing about contemporary art. I wasn't thinking in terms of precious prints or archival quality; I didn't want the work to seem like a commodity.” [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She seeks universally relatable art, avoiding elitist or commercial framing, focusing on accessibility over traditional art market values. **In simple terms:** She wants art anyone can understand, not a commodity. Key Takeaway Create art that connects with everyday people. Themes accessibility anti‑elitism artistic intent Mood thoughtful critical Type statement philosophical When to use this quote - public installations - community workshops - educational programs - media outreach Key Concepts relatable content democratization of art artist intent Questions to Reflect On - Why is accessibility important in contemporary art? - How does avoiding commodification affect artistic value? A Different Perspective Risk of being perceived as lacking depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Contemporary art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-art/) [High art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-art/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't think of what I was doing as political. To me it was a way to make the best out of what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-didn-t-think-of-what-i-was-doing-as-political-to-me-it-was-a-way-to/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [One reason I was interested in photography was to get away from the preciousness of the art object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/one-reason-i-was-interested-in-photography-was-to-get-away-from-the/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [ \[My work is\] maybe about me maybe not wanting to be me and wanting to be all these other characters. Or at least try… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/my-work-is-maybe-about-me-maybe-not-wanting-to-be-me-and-wanting-to/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [If I knew what the picture was going to be like I wouldn’t make it. It was almost like it was made already.. the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/if-i-knew-what-the-picture-was-going-to-be-like-i-wouldn-t-make-it-it/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I am always surprised at all the things people read into my photos, but it also amuse me. That may be because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-am-always-surprised-at-all-the-things-people-read-into-my-photos/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [The work is what it is and hopefully it's seen as feminist work, or feminist-advised work, but I'm not going to go around espousing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/the-work-is-what-it-is-and-hopefully-it-s-seen-as-feminist-work-or/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [The way I see it, as soon as I make a piece I’ve lost control of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/the-way-i-see-it-as-soon-as-i-make-a-piece-i-ve-lost-control-of-it/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Rest assured that if you work every day at your art, using the materials nearest at hand, you will gradually discover such beauty in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-carlson/rest-assured-that-if-you-work-every-day-at-your-art-using-the/) [John F. Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-carlson/) > [I have found my voice again and the art of using it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-found-my-voice-again-and-the-art-of-using-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The beauty of a great idea lies in the art of using it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/the-beauty-of-a-great-idea-lies-in-the-art-of-using-it/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“Magick is an art; using reality and the world as its canvas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacha-avelin/magick-is-an-art-using-reality-and-the-world-as-its-canvas/) [Dacha Avelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacha-avelin/) > [Sometimes it is better not to talk about art by using the word "art". If we just act with awareness and integrity, our art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-it-is-better-not-to-talk-about-art-by-using-the-word-art-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In my view, art and the approach to life through art, using it as a vehicle for education and even for doing science is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/in-my-view-art-and-the-approach-to-life-through-art-using-it-as-a/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [Beauty, which is what is meant by art, using the word in its widest sense, is, I contend, no mere accident to human life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/beauty-which-is-what-is-meant-by-art-using-the-word-in-its-widest/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [There's a definite connection in terms of objects at hand - dealing with objects or material at hand. Pop art was very much enamored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-dwan/there-s-a-definite-connection-in-terms-of-objects-at-hand-dealing/) [Virginia Dwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-dwan/) ## More by Cindy Sherman > [I don't analyze what I'm doing. I've read convincing interpretations of my work, and sometimes I've noticed something that I wasn't aware of, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-don-t-analyze-what-i-m-doing-i-ve-read-convincing-interpretations/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I don't think I can see the world through other people's eyes, but I can capture an attitude or a look that makes others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-don-t-think-i-can-see-the-world-through-other-people-s-eyes-but-i/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I’m really just using the mirror to summon something I don't even know until I see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-m-really-just-using-the-mirror-to-summon-something-i-don-t-even/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Quite often, I will do something and think, 'Oh, no, she looks a little too much like me.' I have tried to learn not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/quite-often-i-will-do-something-and-think-oh-no-she-looks-a-little/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [The way I see it, as soon as I make a piece I’ve lost control of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/the-way-i-see-it-as-soon-as-i-make-a-piece-i-ve-lost-control-of-it/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [When I do work, I get so much done in such a concentrated time that once I’m through a series, I’m so drained I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/when-i-do-work-i-get-so-much-done-in-such-a-concentrated-time-that/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I didn't have any interest in traditional art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-didn-t-have-any-interest-in-traditional-art/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I always need to get away from whatever it is I've just finished, to feel a distance from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-always-need-to-get-away-from-whatever-it-is-i-ve-just-finished-to/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [My dad was such a bigot. He was a horrible, self-centred person. He was really racist and he'd talk about the Jews and blacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/my-dad-was-such-a-bigot-he-was-a-horrible-self-centred-person-he-was/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Some people have told me they remember the film that one of my images is derived from, but in fact I had no film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/some-people-have-told-me-they-remember-the-film-that-one-of-my-images/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [ I want\[ed\] to make a show of really big pictures, because you see male artists doing it all the time. It just seemed like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-want-ed-to-make-a-show-of-really-big-pictures-because-you-see-male/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I wonder how it is that I’m fooling so many people, I’m doing one of the most stupid things in the world…and people seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-wonder-how-it-is-that-i-m-fooling-so-many-people-i-m-doing-one-of/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I have had a lifelong fascination with horror movies, scary movies, how they work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-have-had-a-lifelong-fascination-with-horror-movies-scary-movies-how/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [Dreamers are those who have achieved in love and life, because it is a dream that got them there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/dreamers-are-those-who-have-achieved-in-love-and-life-because-it-is-a/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) > [I wanted pretty pictures of older women - women who are trying too hard but succeeding - pulling off an extreme look. What I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-wanted-pretty-pictures-of-older-women-women-who-are-trying-too-hard/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) [Explore all 62 Cindy Sherman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) ## 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": "I didn't want to make 'high' art, I had no interest in using paint, I wanted to find something that anyone could relate to without knowing about contemporary art. 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