--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Its such a weird self-confidence that an…" description: "\"Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, Im going to really work hard for it an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg" --- # Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to… ![“Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, Im going to really work hard for it and give it and its just going to matter to people. You really have to believe it all on your own.” quote by Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg) > “Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, Im going to really work hard for it and give it and its just going to matter to people. You really have to believe it all on your own.” [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often pursue seemingly useless projects, driven by self‑belief that it will matter to others. **In simple terms:** Artists trust their vision despite uncertainty. Key Takeaway Believe in your creative purpose. Themes creativity self‑belief purpose Mood confident introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - exhibitions - public installations - personal projects Key Concepts artistic risk cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How do you test an idea’s relevance? - When should you abandon a project? A Different Perspective Not all projects resonate with audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Conceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-conceive-3504433/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Confidence Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-artist-822715/) [Function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/function/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-confidence/) [Weird Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird-self-845310/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [It's such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, 'I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/it-s-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an-artist-has-to-conceive-of/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [Bad artists always admire each other's work. They call it being large-minded and free from prejudice. But a truly great artist cannot conceive of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bad-artists-always-admire-each-other-s-work-they-call-it-being-large/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The artist must conceive with warmth yet execute with coolness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-townsend/the-artist-must-conceive-with-warmth-yet-execute-with-coolness/) [Robert Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-townsend/) > [Believing in yourself and what you do is so important. It took me a long time to find that confidence. If you're an artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-voegele/believing-in-yourself-and-what-you-do-is-so-important-it-took-me-a/) [Kate Voegele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-voegele/) > [The best confidence artist makes us feel not as if we're being taken for a ride but as if we are genuinely wonderful human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/the-best-confidence-artist-makes-us-feel-not-as-if-we-re-being-taken/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [Success gave me confidence as an artist. And now I'm able to do what I want without anybody thinking it's dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lee/success-gave-me-confidence-as-an-artist-and-now-i-m-able-to-do-what-i/) [Amy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lee/) > [I think if you feel weird and self-conscious about that kind of stuff - which happened to me at some points - that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-vernon/i-think-if-you-feel-weird-and-self-conscious-about-that-kind-of-stuff/) [Justin Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-vernon/) > [Maybe love is just about finding the person you can be your weird self with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-love-is-just-about-finding-the-person-you-can-be-your-weird/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I have this weird self-esteem issue where I hate myself, yet I think I'm better than everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-this-weird-self-esteem-issue-where-i-hate-myself-yet-i-think-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All my characters are like, weird people. Weird, un-self aware people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolly-adefope/all-my-characters-are-like-weird-people-weird-un-self-aware-people/) [Lolly Adefope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolly-adefope/) > [I think there's a weird self-affirmation thing that happens in popular music in general. It seems like every song I hear on the radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-think-there-s-a-weird-self-affirmation-thing-that-happens-in/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Most importantly, I strive for function above all in every house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-farr/most-importantly-i-strive-for-function-above-all-in-every-house/) [Hilary Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-farr/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I don't think I would ever have taken on professional acting roles if I hadn't had the ability to fly. I had quite low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jason/i-don-t-think-i-would-ever-have-taken-on-professional-acting-roles-if/) [David Jason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jason/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Dan Colen > [A lot of my work involves instilling objects with the power of touch - a transference of soul, spirit, energy through actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-involves-instilling-objects-with-the-power-of-touch/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [I think that artworks are like these spiritual objects: I think that they have energies and powers beyond what the eye can see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/i-think-that-artworks-are-like-these-spiritual-objects-i-think-that/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [A lot of my work is about what's abstract and what's pictorial. Is it bubblegum, or is it an abstract painting using bubblegum? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-is-about-what-s-abstract-and-what-s-pictorial-is-it/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [Art is kind of the lens through which I think about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/art-is-kind-of-the-lens-through-which-i-think-about-god/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [The different bodies of my work end themselves when there's no more discovery to be had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/the-different-bodies-of-my-work-end-themselves-when-there-s-no-more/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [Its such a paradox. You come from this place where you want fame; you dont want to be bourgeois, but you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/its-such-a-paradox-you-come-from-this-place-where-you-want-fame-you/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [It takes a lot of help - nature, friends, family, craftsmen - for me to make what I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/it-takes-a-lot-of-help-nature-friends-family-craftsmen-for-me-to-make/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [I try very hard to handle things equally: ideas, materials, and images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/i-try-very-hard-to-handle-things-equally-ideas-materials-and-images/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [It's such a paradox. You come from this place where you want fame; you don't want to be bourgeois, but you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/it-s-such-a-paradox-you-come-from-this-place-where-you-want-fame-you/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [Love is important. I didn't have the energy to be giving it to somebody else in a way that they deserved, and I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/love-is-important-i-didn-t-have-the-energy-to-be-giving-it-to/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [Art class was my thing, but not any other class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/art-class-was-my-thing-but-not-any-other-class/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [For all the drama we all have with our families and all the tension and hostility, I couldn't have done this without my family.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/for-all-the-drama-we-all-have-with-our-families-and-all-the-tension/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [I used to kind of go for it, right? Like, I'd be the one who would say, 'All right, there's Kate Moss. I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/i-used-to-kind-of-go-for-it-right-like-i-d-be-the-one-who-would-say/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [A lot of my work is about equalizing things and kind of destroying any barrier between what's high and low, or what's deep or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-is-about-equalizing-things-and-kind-of-destroying/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [At the end of the day, you can't have a vision; you have to have a hope. This is where the miracle comes in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/at-the-end-of-the-day-you-can-t-have-a-vision-you-have-to-have-a-hope/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) [Explore all 22 Dan Colen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) ## 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": "Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, Im going to really work hard for it and give it and its just going to matter to people. You really have to believe it all on your own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Colen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an-artist-has-to-conceive-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an-artist-has-to-conceive-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53a/dan-colen-25904_art_its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an_3042822.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and…” — Dan Colen", "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": "Dan Colen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Its such a weird self-confidence that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an-artist-has-to-conceive-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/its-such-a-weird-self-confidence-that-an-artist-has-to-conceive-of/#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 } } ] } ```