--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole point about vision is that it's…" description: "\"The whole point about vision is that it's very individual, it's very personal, and it has to be confessional. It has to be something which hurts - the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/clive-barker-773_art_the-whole-point-about-vision-is-that-it_1282359.jpg" --- # The whole point about vision is that it's very individual… ![“The whole point about vision is that it's very individual, it's very personal, and it has to be confessional. It has to be something which hurts - the pulling out of it and putting it on the page hurts. Art can be about the individual writer's response to his or her condition, and if that response…” quote by Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/clive-barker-773_art_the-whole-point-about-vision-is-that-it_1282359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/clive-barker-773_art_the-whole-point-about-vision-is-that-it_1282359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/clive-barker-773_art_the-whole-point-about-vision-is-that-it_1282359.jpg) > “The whole point about vision is that it's very individual, it's very personal, and it has to be confessional. It has to be something which hurts - the pulling out of it and putting it on the page hurts. Art can be about the individual writer's response to his or her condition, and if that response comes out of a predigested belief about what the audience wants to hear about the writer's condition, then it has no truth, it has no validity. You either write with your own blood or nobody's. Otherwise it's just ink.” [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True art must be personal and painful; authenticity requires personal sacrifice, not audience‑pleasing. **In simple terms:** Authentic art is personal and painful. Key Takeaway Create from personal truth. Themes art authenticity creativity personal sacrifice Mood intense reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative retreats - personal journaling - art criticism Key Concepts creative integrity pain in expression truthfulness Questions to Reflect On - What personal pain fuels your creativity? - How do you balance truth with audience expectations? A Different Perspective May alienate audiences seeking comfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-individual-3306543/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Blood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-writer-4148273/) [Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ink/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Vision Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision-individual-3361099/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writer Condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-condition-4148275/) [Writer Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-response-4148274/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It's very strange: if you're a philosopher or musician or an artist, people automatically believe you can see the future. Even if they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-yansong/it-s-very-strange-if-you-re-a-philosopher-or-musician-or-an-artist/) [Ma Yansong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-yansong/) > [Organisations and institutions are, at the end of the day, manned by people who put their shared vision above individual interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-shah/organisations-and-institutions-are-at-the-end-of-the-day-manned-by/) [Amit Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-shah/) > [All art is an individual's expression of a culture. Cultures differ, so art looks different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-glassie/all-art-is-an-individual-s-expression-of-a-culture-cultures-differ-so/) [Henry Glassie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-glassie/) > [If you don't believe what I'm telling you, then ask yourself this: would any decent, kind-hearted individual become a writer? Of course not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/if-you-don-t-believe-what-i-m-telling-you-then-ask-yourself-this/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [The individual writer is a lonely figure in the wilderness of agents, editors, chain bookstores, and dwindling numbers of independents. The stronger MWA can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/the-individual-writer-is-a-lonely-figure-in-the-wilderness-of-agents/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [Playwriting is the last great bastion of the individual writer. It's exciting precisely because it's where the money isn't. Money goes to safety, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/playwriting-is-the-last-great-bastion-of-the-individual-writer-it-s/) [John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/) > [The way I grew up, I had a lot of personal issues with art. It's an individual thing, but I also think it's kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-porcellino/the-way-i-grew-up-i-had-a-lot-of-personal-issues-with-art-it-s-an/) [John Porcellino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-porcellino/) > [When one individual writer sings her song of beauty, she changes the lives of a million others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/when-one-individual-writer-sings-her-song-of-beauty-she-changes-the/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [Winners have the ability to step back from the canvas of their lives like an artist gaining perspective. They make their lives a work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/winners-have-the-ability-to-step-back-from-the-canvas-of-their-lives/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“All art is only done by the individual. The individual is all you ever have and all schools only serve to classify their members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-art-is-only-done-by-the-individual-the-individual-is-all-you-ever/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [It's a long, slow sunset for ink-on-paper magazines, but sunsets can produce vast sums of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/it-s-a-long-slow-sunset-for-ink-on-paper-magazines-but-sunsets-can/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Martha Stewart showed up at Manhattan FBI Headquarters to have her finger prints taken and pose for a mug shot. Then Martha explained how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/martha-stewart-showed-up-at-manhattan-fbi-headquarters-to-have-her/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [In a recent decision of the Supreme Court, not made, however, by the full court, and concurred in by only four justices, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bates-clark/in-a-recent-decision-of-the-supreme-court-not-made-however-by-the/) [John Bates Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bates-clark/) > [Whole scenes of your life slip away forever if you don't put them down in ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-house/whole-scenes-of-your-life-slip-away-forever-if-you-don-t-put-them/) [Silas House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-house/) ## More by Clive Barker > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Those old hypocrites. They talk about killing witches but the Good Book’s full of magic. Turning the Nile to blood and parting the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/those-old-hypocrites-they-talk-about-killing-witches-but-the-good/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I dreamt a limitless book, A book unbound, Its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance On every line there was a new horizon drawn, New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-dreamt-a-limitless-book-a-book-unbound-its-leaves-scattered-in/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Only when they have outrun the all-too-eager shadows of the Canyon and they are back in the glare of the billboards on Sunset Boulevard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/only-when-they-have-outrun-the-all-too-eager-shadows-of-the-canyon/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I firmly believe that a story is only as good as the villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-firmly-believe-that-a-story-is-only-as-good-as-the-villain/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Pleasure is a reward, given to the human system by evolution in return for services rendered to the preservation and increase of the species.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/pleasure-is-a-reward-given-to-the-human-system-by-evolution-in-return/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I love meeting people who've read my books. The prime reason to be on the planet is to make things I can show to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-love-meeting-people-who-ve-read-my-books-the-prime-reason-to-be-on/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Nothing happens carelessly. We’re not brought into the world without reason, even though we may never understand the reason. An infant that lives an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/nothing-happens-carelessly-we-re-not-brought-into-the-world-without/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Despite his intent, tears sprang to his eyes, and he went into her embrace, both of them sobbing freely, like enemies joined by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/despite-his-intent-tears-sprang-to-his-eyes-and-he-went-into-her/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [Always, worlds within worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/always-worlds-within-worlds/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“I'm an inclusionist. I've always divided up (very, very broadly, I admit) the artistic instincts into the inclusionist and the exclusionist. 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The books tend not to go on horror shelves any more, and when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-i-m-less-and-less-labelled-a-horror-writer-the-books-tend-not/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Horror shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely-illusory/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Explore all 365 Clive Barker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) ## 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. 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