--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's quite obvious my work is…" description: "\"I think it's quite obvious my work is made by a woman, because I have never wanted to make anything that is not ephemeral. But I definitely want to be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/cornelia-parker-4217_art_i-think-it-s-quite-obvious-my-work-is-ma_750137.jpg" --- # I think it's quite obvious my work is made by a woman… ![“I think it's quite obvious my work is made by a woman, because I have never wanted to make anything that is not ephemeral. But I definitely want to be thought of as an artist first.” quote by Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/cornelia-parker-4217_art_i-think-it-s-quite-obvious-my-work-is-ma_750137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/cornelia-parker-4217_art_i-think-it-s-quite-obvious-my-work-is-ma_750137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/cornelia-parker-4217_art_i-think-it-s-quite-obvious-my-work-is-ma_750137.jpg) > “I think it's quite obvious my work is made by a woman, because I have never wanted to make anything that is not ephemeral. But I definitely want to be thought of as an artist first.” [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She sees her work as fleeting, emphasizing ephemerality, yet wants recognition as an artist first. **In simple terms:** She values temporary art but seeks artistic identity. Key Takeaway Prioritize artistic identity over medium. Themes art identity ephemerality recognition Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public talks - artist statements Key Concepts temporary art artist status public perception Questions to Reflect On - How does temporality affect artistic legacy? - What defines an artist beyond medium? A Different Perspective Ephemeral focus may limit lasting impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Ephemeral Definitely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ephemeral-definitely-5838187/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Obvious Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious-work-5838188/) [Thought Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-artist-596094/) [Wanted Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-make/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-woman-495111/) ## Related quotes > [When I was younger I thought I was an artist, and inspiration would just come to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockard-channing/when-i-was-younger-i-thought-i-was-an-artist-and-inspiration-would/) [Stockard Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockard-channing/) > [“I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. A year ago, six months ago, I thought that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-have-no-money-no-resources-no-hopes-i-am-the-happiest-man-alive-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [My only concern about art collaborations is that I never thought of myself as an Artist. My tax forms say Musician/Songwriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/my-only-concern-about-art-collaborations-is-that-i-never-thought-of/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [“I remember the first time I saw my favorite painting, how its fragile beauty caught my breath. And I thought if the artist had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lang-leav/i-remember-the-first-time-i-saw-my-favorite-painting-how-its-fragile/) [Lang Leav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lang-leav/) > [Thought that can merge wholly into feeling, feeling that can merge wholly into thought - these are the artist's highest joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/thought-that-can-merge-wholly-into-feeling-feeling-that-can-merge/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [I thought that I was an artist. I no longer think about it, I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-desalvo/i-thought-that-i-was-an-artist-i-no-longer-think-about-it-i-am/) [Louise DeSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-desalvo/) > [To give a body and a perfect form to one's thought, this - and only this - is to be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/to-give-a-body-and-a-perfect-form-to-one-s-thought-this-and-only-this/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [Too often in the past, we have thought of the artist as an idler and dilettante and of the lover of arts as somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/too-often-in-the-past-we-have-thought-of-the-artist-as-an-idler-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [It is now the fall of my second year in Paris. I was sent here for a reason I have not yet been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/it-is-now-the-fall-of-my-second-year-in-paris-i-was-sent-here-for-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [It was not my dream to be an artist. How could it have been? I thought, artist, much like a leader, was something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-was-not-my-dream-to-be-an-artist-how-could-it-have-been-i-thought/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [I always thought being an artist was a lazy job. I was wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/i-always-thought-being-an-artist-was-a-lazy-job-i-was-wrong/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [When I was in high school, I thought I might be an artist. I was very good at drawing and painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-downey/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-thought-i-might-be-an-artist-i-was-very/) [Roma Downey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-downey/) > [No ordinary work done by a man is either as hard or as responsible as the work of a woman who is bringing up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-ordinary-work-done-by-a-man-is-either-as-hard-or-as-responsible-as/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The import is not the kind of work woman does, but rather the quality of the work she furnishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-import-is-not-the-kind-of-work-woman-does-but-rather-the-quality-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [But, when the goddess' work is done,The woman's still remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/but-when-the-goddess-work-is-done-the-woman-s-still-remains/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) ## More by Cornelia Parker > [People often want the big dramatic works, not the smaller quieter ones, but I don't worry about how it fits together anymore; I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/people-often-want-the-big-dramatic-works-not-the-smaller-quieter-ones/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I like the idea of taking three-dimensional objects and making them two-dimensional so that they look like cartoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-like-the-idea-of-taking-three-dimensional-objects-and-making-them/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As you get older, things don't work as well. I do Pilates, and that helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-you-get-older-things-don-t-work-as-well-i-do-pilates-and-that-helps/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I'm from a working-class background - I had free school meals all my life and then spent six years in art school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-m-from-a-working-class-background-i-had-free-school-meals-all-my/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Violence is part of everybody's life, whether you like or express it or not. My work utilises all the energies that I have, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/violence-is-part-of-everybody-s-life-whether-you-like-or-express-it/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Dust, in the end, settles on everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/dust-in-the-end-settles-on-everything/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [If I'm not doing the work I want, I usually suffer a psychological allergic reaction and get ill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/if-i-m-not-doing-the-work-i-want-i-usually-suffer-a-psychological/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [After leaving college, I was in a show called Sculpture by Women where I was asked to talk about my history of victimisation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/after-leaving-college-i-was-in-a-show-called-sculpture-by-women-where/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I think my work is like a spiral: you keep coming back on yourself, but you're at a different place. It's like reading 'Nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-my-work-is-like-a-spiral-you-keep-coming-back-on-yourself-but/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I think your subconscious knows far more than your conscious, so I trust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-your-subconscious-knows-far-more-than-your-conscious-so-i/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Paul Auster is my favourite writer, and I'm sure he'd be a very interesting person to share a journey with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/paul-auster-is-my-favourite-writer-and-i-m-sure-he-d-be-a-very/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Heaven grants the human being who has learned to live alone a deep measure of such rewards that verily would one hesitate to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/heaven-grants-the-human-being-who-has-learned-to-live-alone-a-deep/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I was very physical as a child - we lived on a smallholding, and I was always outside making mud pies or building structures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-was-very-physical-as-a-child-we-lived-on-a-smallholding-and-i-was/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As a working-class girl, receiving free school dinners, I studied art history. Having never had the chance to visit art galleries, I devoured the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-a-working-class-girl-receiving-free-school-dinners-i-studied-art/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) [Explore all 114 Cornelia Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## 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. 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 think it's quite obvious my work is made by a woman, because I have never wanted to make anything that is not ephemeral. 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