--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My paintings are loosely based on meta…" description: "\"My paintings are loosely based on meta narratives. The pictures float in and out of pictorial genres. Still life's become personified, portraits become..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/dana-schutz-39359_alive_my-paintings-are-loosely-based-on-meta-n_2898842.png" --- # My paintings are loosely based on meta narratives. The… ![“My paintings are loosely based on meta narratives. The pictures float in and out of pictorial genres. Still life's become personified, portraits become events, and landscapes become constructions. I embrace the area between which the subject is composed and decomposing, formed and formless…” quote by Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/dana-schutz-39359_alive_my-paintings-are-loosely-based-on-meta-n_2898842.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/dana-schutz-39359_alive_my-paintings-are-loosely-based-on-meta-n_2898842.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/386/dana-schutz-39359_alive_my-paintings-are-loosely-based-on-meta-n_2898842.png) > “My paintings are loosely based on meta narratives. The pictures float in and out of pictorial genres. Still life's become personified, portraits become events, and landscapes become constructions. I embrace the area between which the subject is composed and decomposing, formed and formless, inanimate and alive.” [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art blurs boundaries, merging genres and life states, creating fluid, ambiguous works. **In simple terms:** Art mixes genres and life. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity in creation. Themes creativity fluidity genre-bending Mood thoughtful experimental Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative workshops - visual storytelling Key Concepts postmodernism aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity affect viewer perception? - What boundaries can you challenge? A Different Perspective May confuse traditional audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Areas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/areas/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Floats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floats/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narratives Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narratives-pictures-4111200/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Paintings Loosely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings-loosely-4111197/) [Personified Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personified-portraits-4111199/) [Pictorial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictorial/) [Pictorial Genres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictorial-genres-4111198/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Still life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still-life/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) ## Related quotes > [I want to make exalted art. A successful image has pictorial lift. I am looking for whatever is up there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-want-to-make-exalted-art-a-successful-image-has-pictorial-lift-i-am/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The only pictorial matter that is of interest to me is the matter and sentiments brought about by the work itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-only-pictorial-matter-that-is-of-interest-to-me-is-the-matter-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Let's talk about the artist's desire to go beyond the pictorial or the representational and the desire to create the abstract - the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/let-s-talk-about-the-artist-s-desire-to-go-beyond-the-pictorial-or/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There is a clear acknowledgement all over the world that we should not teach people to read and then to leave them without literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-patel/there-is-a-clear-acknowledgement-all-over-the-world-that-we-should/) [A. D. Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-patel/) > [Self-painting is a further development of painting. The pictorial surface has lost its function as sole expressive support. It was led back to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-brus/self-painting-is-a-further-development-of-painting-the-pictorial/) [Gunter Brus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-brus/) > [The essential of painting is that 'something', that 'ethereal glue,' that 'intermediary product' which the artist exudes with all his creative being and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-klein/the-essential-of-painting-is-that-something-that-ethereal-glue-that/) [Yves Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-klein/) > [The art of pictorial creation is so complicated - it is so astronomical in its possibilities of relation and combination that it would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-hofmann/the-art-of-pictorial-creation-is-so-complicated-it-is-so-astronomical/) [Hans Hofmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-hofmann/) > [The pictorial work was born of movement, is itself recorded movement, and is assimilated through movement (eye muscles).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-pictorial-work-was-born-of-movement-is-itself-recorded-movement/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [The art of motion pictures is pictorial and language comes a distant second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-annaud/the-art-of-motion-pictures-is-pictorial-and-language-comes-a-distant/) [Jean-Jacques Annaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-annaud/) > [You can compare it to dreams: you have a very specific and individual pictorial language that you either accept or that you can translate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/you-can-compare-it-to-dreams-you-have-a-very-specific-and-individual/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Appalling numbers of youth have been led into a cynical ultra-sophisticated attitude which regards drinking as a badge of social aptitude, which makes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parker-yockey/appalling-numbers-of-youth-have-been-led-into-a-cynical-ultra/) [Francis Parker Yockey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parker-yockey/) > [Everyone will be compelled to see that which is optically true, is explicable in its own terms, is objective, before he can arrive at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-moholy-nagy/everyone-will-be-compelled-to-see-that-which-is-optically-true-is/) [Laszlo Moholy-Nagy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-moholy-nagy/) > [ \[Dada is\] perfectly kindhearted malice, alongside exact photography the only legitimate pictorial form of communication and balance in shared experience. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-hausmann/dada-is-perfectly-kindhearted-malice-alongside-exact-photography-the/) [Raoul Hausmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-hausmann/) > [The focus in the Western pictorial tradition is on the body of Christ, the bit you can paint, the Nativity and the infancy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-focus-in-the-western-pictorial-tradition-is-on-the-body-of-christ/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [Playboy magazine is now doing a 'Women of Enron' pictorial spread. ... Apparently the only thing these women have left to shred is their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/playboy-magazine-is-now-doing-a-women-of-enron-pictorial-spread/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) ## More by Dana Schutz > [I often use hypothetical situations to generate information and imagery for paintings and to create a fictional space where a subject can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-often-use-hypothetical-situations-to-generate-information-and/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [I'm mostly drawn to narratives that are difficult for me to visualize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-m-mostly-drawn-to-narratives-that-are-difficult-for-me-to-visualize/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [I like the feeling of not knowing where to look when you are only performing for one person or watching someone practice. It creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-like-the-feeling-of-not-knowing-where-to-look-when-you-are-only/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [The distinction between reality and fiction in America seems like it is becoming really blurry. With its religious fanaticism, reality TV programs and fake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/the-distinction-between-reality-and-fiction-in-america-seems-like-it/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [There are a lot of artists in Gowanus, and certain things come into your visual vocabulary from living there - the scale of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/there-are-a-lot-of-artists-in-gowanus-and-certain-things-come-into/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [You just have to work really hard and throw everything into it. ... It's really hard to be an artist, and even if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/you-just-have-to-work-really-hard-and-throw-everything-into-it-it-s/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [That's when I feel really excited about a painting. When it starts to feel real, when it feels like it has a personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/that-s-when-i-feel-really-excited-about-a-painting-when-it-starts-to/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [I just saw a clip of Maria Bamford. She has a comedy show that was filmed and performed from her bed - the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-just-saw-a-clip-of-maria-bamford-she-has-a-comedy-show-that-was/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [I'm never interested in the painting being a mirror to culture. I think that's really boring. What I'm interested in is painting as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-m-never-interested-in-the-painting-being-a-mirror-to-culture-i/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) > [I think that's just part of how it is with making art. Sometimes you're just flooded with ideas, and then other times you're questioning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-schutz/i-think-that-s-just-part-of-how-it-is-with-making-art-sometimes-you/) [Dana Schutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) [Explore all 11 Dana Schutz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-schutz/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My paintings are loosely based on meta narratives. The pictures float in and out of pictorial genres. Still life's become personified, portraits become events, and landscapes become constructions. 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