--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists talk about art in sort of…" description: "\"Artists talk about art in sort of straightforward terms, more like the way you talk about plumbing fixtures. Does it function well? Does it bring the h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/david-salle-11131_art_artists-talk-about-art-in-sort-of-straig_2988683.jpg" --- # Artists talk about art in sort of straightforward terms… ![“Artists talk about art in sort of straightforward terms, more like the way you talk about plumbing fixtures. Does it function well? Does it bring the hot water up from the cellar efficiently, or does it lose too much thermodynamic energy in the process? Artists are also very ruthless with each…” quote by David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/david-salle-11131_art_artists-talk-about-art-in-sort-of-straig_2988683.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/david-salle-11131_art_artists-talk-about-art-in-sort-of-straig_2988683.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/david-salle-11131_art_artists-talk-about-art-in-sort-of-straig_2988683.jpg) > “Artists talk about art in sort of straightforward terms, more like the way you talk about plumbing fixtures. Does it function well? Does it bring the hot water up from the cellar efficiently, or does it lose too much thermodynamic energy in the process? Artists are also very ruthless with each other and can be very brutal in evaluating each other's work because their criteria is almost more mechanistic. Does it do what it's supposed to be doing in an efficient way? That doesn't mean that intention is not part of the conversation, but it's not the foreground.” [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists evaluate work based on functional efficiency, often treating art like plumbing, while also acknowledging intent behind the creation. **In simple terms:** Artists judge art by function and intention, like evaluating a system. Key Takeaway Balance technical criteria with artistic intent. Themes art critique functionality Mood thoughtful critical Type aesthetic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery reviews - art education - curatorial decisions Key Concepts aesthetic theory mechanistic evaluation creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does efficiency influence artistic value? - Can art be both functional and expressive? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on function can neglect emotional resonance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [When I first came to New York, I knew some painters older than myself. I was kind of the kid who was allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/when-i-first-came-to-new-york-i-knew-some-painters-older-than-myself/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Men talk about art, and artists make art, but should artists talk?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leos-carax/men-talk-about-art-and-artists-make-art-but-should-artists-talk/) [Leos Carax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leos-carax/) > [“People assume that artists must talk about art and beauty and the sublime whenever we get together, but no, we usually talk about money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bram/people-assume-that-artists-must-talk-about-art-and-beauty-and-the/) [Christopher Bram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bram/) > [Artists talk in 'art speak.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-loeb/artists-talk-in-art-speak/) [Damian Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-loeb/) > [Artists don't talk about art. Artists talk about work. If I have anything to say to young writers, it's stop thinking of writing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/artists-don-t-talk-about-art-artists-talk-about-work-if-i-have/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [When bankers get together they talk about art. When artists get together, they talk about money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/when-bankers-get-together-they-talk-about-art-when-artists-get/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Rather than having to draw every single frame by hand—which can be likened here to modeling every tiny step in the evolutionary process—artists nowadays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/rather-than-having-to-draw-every-single-frame-by-hand-which-can-be/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Art is sort of an experimental station in which one tries out living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/art-is-sort-of-an-experimental-station-in-which-one-tries-out-living/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Art is not some sort of guideline for understanding. It's a thing unto itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-zvyagintsev/art-is-not-some-sort-of-guideline-for-understanding-it-s-a-thing-unto/) [Andrey Zvyagintsev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-zvyagintsev/) > [People talk about this often in the art world. The press releases have reached a level of absurdity and creativity - creative absurdity -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-talk-about-this-often-in-the-art-world-the-press-releases-have/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [A lot of artists talk about getting out of their comfort zones and being the most proud of their newest album. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/a-lot-of-artists-talk-about-getting-out-of-their-comfort-zones-and/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [I like the idea of the museum world and the university-academic situation where artists talk to each other or where artists or art students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/i-like-the-idea-of-the-museum-world-and-the-university-academic/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [The problem of making artists talk about their work is that when they're making their work the left-brain is shut off. So if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/the-problem-of-making-artists-talk-about-their-work-is-that-when-they/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-art-critics-get-together-they-talk-about-form-and-structure-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [All the big artists I talk to say that they are trapped in a formula and they are looking for the music of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guetta/all-the-big-artists-i-talk-to-say-that-they-are-trapped-in-a-formula/) [David Guetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guetta/) ## More by David Salle > [What most paintings do is give you a path for your eye to move around. The painting actually tells your eye, go here, now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-most-paintings-do-is-give-you-a-path-for-your-eye-to-move-around/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I've always read, I've always admired writers and was lucky really to meet some extraordinary ones and become friends. Certain times you just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-ve-always-read-i-ve-always-admired-writers-and-was-lucky-really-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Truth is, I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I got out of Cal Arts. I think I wasted a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/truth-is-i-didn-t-know-what-the-hell-i-was-doing-when-i-got-out-of/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel that the only thing that really matters in art and life is to go against the tidal wave of literalism and literal-mindedness-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-that-the-only-thing-that-really-matters-in-art-and-life-is-to/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [Since I moved six or seven times the first year I was in New York, I had to be able to roll up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/since-i-moved-six-or-seven-times-the-first-year-i-was-in-new-york-i/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [People are still making paintings. People are still enjoying paintings, looking at paintings. Paintings still have something to tell us. There's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/people-are-still-making-paintings-people-are-still-enjoying-paintings/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I feel like all the American artists are aesthetically not very interesting and mired in a complaining relationship to its own culture, whereas the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-feel-like-all-the-american-artists-are-aesthetically-not-very/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I think people have to be given - or take - the permission to say that something is nothing. Just because it's in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-think-people-have-to-be-given-or-take-the-permission-to-say-that/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [There are so many different ways to talk and think about art. We just spoke about when attitude becomes form. But when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/there-are-so-many-different-ways-to-talk-and-think-about-art-we-just/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I started when I was nine. Really, everything I know about color theory, composition, drawing, and painting, I learned when I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-started-when-i-was-nine-really-everything-i-know-about-color-theory/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [If you go to a concert, you will notice, is it loud? Is the music fast? Is it predominately strings or brass? There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/if-you-go-to-a-concert-you-will-notice-is-it-loud-is-the-music-fast/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [I was actually dumbfounded by how some artists talked to each other. For example, it was a normal night at a bar, nothing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/i-was-actually-dumbfounded-by-how-some-artists-talked-to-each-other/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [What if everything in a museum is crap? It's entirely possible; it's not the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/what-if-everything-in-a-museum-is-crap-it-s-entirely-possible-it-s/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“good art illustrates anything at all, it’s likely to be a story you didn’t even know needed telling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/good-art-illustrates-anything-at-all-it-s-likely-to-be-a-story-you/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) > [“How a painter treats this edge is the real subject of realist painting; how the brush behaves in the vicinity of an edge gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-salle/how-a-painter-treats-this-edge-is-the-real-subject-of-realist/) [David Salle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) [Explore all 61 David Salle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-salle/) ## 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 > [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": "Artists talk about art in sort of straightforward terms, more like the way you talk about plumbing fixtures. Does it function well? Does it bring the hot water up from the cellar efficiently, or does it lose too much thermodynamic energy in the process? Artists are also very ruthless with each other and can be very brutal in evaluating each other's work because their criteria is almost more mechanistic. Does it do what it's supposed to be doing in an efficient way? 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