--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't do abstract art because I don't…" description: "\"I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.\" — Claes Oldenburg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png" --- # I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as… ![“I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.” quote by Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png) > “I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.” [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers representational subjects over abstract forms because they engage him more. **In simple terms:** He likes subjects more than abstract art. Key Takeaway Focus on what captures your interest. Themes art preference representation Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal artistic When to use this quote - gallery c - personal art collection - art education Key Concepts aesthetic taste visual engagement Questions to Reflect On - What subjects inspire you most? - How does representation affect your perception? A Different Perspective Abstract art can also convey deep meaning for some viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-art/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [There's all kinds of depictions of black men. You have the Denzel Washingtons and the Will Smiths; that's wonderful, but that doesn't represent everyone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/there-s-all-kinds-of-depictions-of-black-men-you-have-the-denzel/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I want to be part of movies that have important and interesting subjects but are not depressing and are rather satirical and funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-lewis/i-want-to-be-part-of-movies-that-have-important-and-interesting/) [Terence Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-lewis/) > [There is no such thing as abstract art, or else all art is abstract, which amounts to the same thing. Abstract art no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/there-is-no-such-thing-as-abstract-art-or-else-all-art-is-abstract/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [The works of 'abstract' art are subtle creations of order out of simple contrasting elements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-tschichold/the-works-of-abstract-art-are-subtle-creations-of-order-out-of-simple/) [Jan Tschichold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-tschichold/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Among those born into chaos, some will imagine an order and become scientists; a few will recognize the chaos and become abstract artists; most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/among-those-born-into-chaos-some-will-imagine-an-order-and-become/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with 'reality,' next to the 'real' world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/abstract-art-places-a-new-world-which-on-the-surface-has-nothing-to/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Abstract art is a fundamental distrust of the theory of reality concocted by the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/abstract-art-is-a-fundamental-distrust-of-the-theory-of-reality/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The only thing I collect is art. I collect it because I like looking at it. A lot of it is really personal stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/the-only-thing-i-collect-is-art-i-collect-it-because-i-like-looking/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [I shall never forget what I saw at the Museum of Modern Art: in a spotless schoolroom, fifty little girls painting away at tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-shall-never-forget-what-i-saw-at-the-museum-of-modern-art-in-a/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [We are not talking about a new cognition in relation to abstract art, rather a new area of cognition...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/we-are-not-talking-about-a-new-cognition-in-relation-to-abstract-art/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/abstract-means-literally-to-draw-from-or-separate-in-this-sense-every/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/abstraction-allows-man-to-see-with-his-mind-what-he-cannot-physically/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [In abstract mathematics or abstract art, the purpose is to describe inner states of our mind, and to explore the limits of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/in-abstract-mathematics-or-abstract-art-the-purpose-is-to-describe/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) ## More by Claes Oldenburg > [I had no idea what art was. There was one art class in high school, but it didn't make a big impression on me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-had-no-idea-what-art-was-there-was-one-art-class-in-high-school-but/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am an immigrant in a sense. What happened was that my father was stationed in New York when my mother became pregnant, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-an-immigrant-in-a-sense-what-happened-was-that-my-father-was/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My mother warned me to avoid things colored red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-mother-warned-me-to-avoid-things-colored-red/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I started to draw buildings. I called them Proposed Colossal Monuments - they weren't for real, not for actual building. It was more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-started-to-draw-buildings-i-called-them-proposed-colossal-monuments/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Food is like clay; you can sculpt with it. Also it has an odor, and you can eat it. I don't eat a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/food-is-like-clay-you-can-sculpt-with-it-also-it-has-an-odor-and-you/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-tells-you-the-time-of-day-or-where-such-and-such/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-all-i-could-remember-was-that/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [“I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-imitates-the-human-that-is-comic-if-necessary-or/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [The art world was very small and the people got together at parties. There was less commercialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/the-art-world-was-very-small-and-the-people-got-together-at-parties/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [A life cycle can be imposed on an object. An object can be very energetic and active, and then it has a dying phase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/a-life-cycle-can-be-imposed-on-an-object-an-object-can-be-very/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Actually, New York is great for playing around. I made a lot of studies for New York-a big vacuum cleaner lying on the Battery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/actually-new-york-is-great-for-playing-around-i-made-a-lot-of-studies/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I'm always careful to say that I changed everything I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-m-always-careful-to-say-that-i-changed-everything-i-found/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [If you really want to be an artist, you search yourself, and you find a lot of it comes from earlier times. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/if-you-really-want-to-be-an-artist-you-search-yourself-and-you-find-a/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [ My work doesn't have the same rules as, say, Andy \[Warhol\]'s work. But it's gathered together for the simple reason that we all worked… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-work-doesn-t-have-the-same-rules-as-say-andy-warhol-s-work-but-it/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My struggle has been to return painting to the tangible object, which is like returning the personality to touching and feeling the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-struggle-has-been-to-return-painting-to-the-tangible-object-which/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) [Explore all 64 Claes Oldenburg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claes Oldenburg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/claes-oldenburg-10596_abstract_i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t_662772.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.” — Claes Oldenburg", "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": "Claes Oldenburg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't do abstract art because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/#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 } } ] } ```