--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is an expression of joy and awe. It…" description: "\"Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg" --- # Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt… ![“Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg) > “Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art serves as a pure, selfless expression of wonder rather than a showcase of personal virtue. **In simple terms:** Art expresses joy, not ego. Key Takeaway Create without seeking praise. Themes creativity humility joy Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - gallery openings - personal journaling - community murals - educational workshops Key Concepts selfless expression aesthetic experience Questions to Reflect On - How can you share art without ego? - What does joy look like in your work? A Different Perspective May be misinterpreted as self-indulgence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-expression/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Awe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awe/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Selfless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfless/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [And while we stand with conviction and courage, we must live with compassion. Amid a world with massive social needs around us, ranging from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/and-while-we-stand-with-conviction-and-courage-we-must-live-with/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [In ancient days the Pythagoreans were used to change names with each other,--fancying that each would share the virtues they admired in the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-ancient-days-the-pythagoreans-were-used-to-change-names-with-each/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I can't expect others to share my virtues. It's good enough for me if they share my vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-can-t-expect-others-to-share-my-virtues-it-s-good-enough-for-me-if/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Drinking the cup is an act of selfless love, an act of immense trust, an act of surrender to a God who will give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/drinking-the-cup-is-an-act-of-selfless-love-an-act-of-immense-trust/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [Each smallest act of kindness, reverberates across great distances and spans of time --affecting lives unknown to the one who’s generous spirit, was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/each-smallest-act-of-kindness-reverberates-across-great-distances-and-2/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [But I do love horses. They are such an expression of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-lane/but-i-do-love-horses-they-are-such-an-expression-of-joy/) [Diane Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-lane/) > [Actions done as expression of joy, with no expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/actions-done-as-expression-of-joy-with-no-expectations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was by music that the ancient kings gave elegant expression to their joy. By their armies and axes they gave the same to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/it-was-by-music-that-the-ancient-kings-gave-elegant-expression-to/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [There is nothing more marvelous than doing something you love to do and getting paid for it. It ceases to become work, money, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/there-is-nothing-more-marvelous-than-doing-something-you-love-to-do/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) > [I am a black man dedicated to expression; expression of the joy and pride of blackness. I consider myself neither poet, composer, or musician.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/i-am-a-black-man-dedicated-to-expression-expression-of-the-joy-and/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [Find expression for a sorrow, and it will become dear to you. Find expression for a joy, and you will intensify its ecstasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/find-expression-for-a-sorrow-and-it-will-become-dear-to-you-find/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The Smile for some is an expression of joy, but for others it's a whole world of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdel-halim-boudekhana/the-smile-for-some-is-an-expression-of-joy-but-for-others-it-s-a/) [Abdel Halim Boudekhana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdel-halim-boudekhana/) > [Art is man's expression of his joy in labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/art-is-man-s-expression-of-his-joy-in-labor/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Laughing is not the first expression of joy. ... A person laughs in idleness, for fun, not for joy. Joy has nothing, nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-oliphant/laughing-is-not-the-first-expression-of-joy-a-person-laughs-in/) [Margaret Oliphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-oliphant/) > [Clothing is art. It's an expression of how you feel. I think that it's not so much a question of a certain style or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/clothing-is-art-it-s-an-expression-of-how-you-feel-i-think-that-it-s/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Accomplishment quotes > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-most-important-rules-for-success-is-this-every-great/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home - pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlie-russell-hochschild/for-many-of-us-work-is-the-one-place-where-we-feel-appreciated-the/) [Arlie Russell Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlie-russell-hochschild/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [I'm not always right, but I learn from my mistakes and make it a productive experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-kolhoff/i-m-not-always-right-but-i-learn-from-my-mistakes-and-make-it-a/) [Carson Kolhoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-kolhoff/) > [Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/suffering-in-life-can-uncover-untold-depths-of-character-and-unknown/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/there-is-no-limit-to-the-amount-of-good-you-can-do-if-you-don-t-care/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“One man accomplishment Is another mans failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-sargent/one-man-accomplishment-is-another-mans-failure/) Anthony Sargent > [I expected college to feel like a major accomplishment. I walked across the stage, eight months pregnant with my almost seven-year-old daughter watching in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-expected-college-to-feel-like-a-major-accomplishment-i-walked/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [Our purpose on this earth is not one single event, an accomplishment we can check off a list. There is no test. No passing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-hand/our-purpose-on-this-earth-is-not-one-single-event-an-accomplishment/) [Cynthia Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-hand/) > [An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/an-untrained-or-uneducated-marine-deployed-to-the-combat-zone-is-a/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) [Browse all 1,598 Accomplishment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplishment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with the audience, but an act of selfless spirit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mamet" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-is-not-an-attempt-to-share-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accomplishment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-is-not-an-attempt-to-share-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/david-mamet-1178_accomplishment_art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-i_2327834.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is an expression of joy and awe. It is not an attempt to share one's virtues and accomplishments with…” — David Mamet", "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": "David Mamet", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is an expression of joy...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-is-not-an-attempt-to-share-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/art-is-an-expression-of-joy-and-awe-it-is-not-an-attempt-to-share-one/#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 } } ] } ```