--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the theory… that anything that is…" description: "\"This is the theory… that anything that is art… is presumably about some certain thing, but is really always about something else, and it’s no good havi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg" --- # This is the theory… that anything that is art… is… ![“This is the theory… that anything that is art… is presumably about some certain thing, but is really always about something else, and it’s no good having one without the other, because if you just have the something it is boring and if you just have the something else it’s irritating.” quote by Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg) > “This is the theory… that anything that is art… is presumably about some certain thing, but is really always about something else, and it’s no good having one without the other, because if you just have the something it is boring and if you just have the something else it’s irritating.” [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must balance recognizable subject with deeper meaning; lacking either makes it dull or irritating. **In simple terms:** Good art mixes clear subject and hidden depth. Key Takeaway Blend surface and subtext. Themes art meaning balance Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery c - creative writing - education - critique - exhibition Key Concepts aesthetics interpretation duality Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure both clarity and depth? - What makes hidden meaning engaging? A Different Perspective If the subject dominates, depth suffers; if depth dominates, accessibility suffers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Presumably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-presumably-5888251/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-thing-635727/) [Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritating/) [Theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory/) [Theory Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theory-art-787186/) [Thing Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-really-232360/) ## Related quotes > [“The thing is, and here we come to E. Gorey's Great Simple Theory About Art (which he has never tried to communicate to anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/the-thing-is-and-here-we-come-to-e-gorey-s-great-simple-theory-about/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [You know, when you've established a certain thing, what can you do? You're stuck with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-shearing/you-know-when-you-ve-established-a-certain-thing-what-can-you-do-you/) [George Shearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-shearing/) > [Somehow, you realize you can kind of do anything in music. You don't have to be good at a certain thing; you can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berninger/somehow-you-realize-you-can-kind-of-do-anything-in-music-you-don-t/) [Matt Berninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berninger/) > [You get used to a certain thing, and you don't want to change. Because that's what's worked for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-coleman/you-get-used-to-a-certain-thing-and-you-don-t-want-to-change-because/) [Ronnie Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-coleman/) > [I can do whatever I want, because my career is a certain thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-n-ney/i-can-do-whatever-i-want-because-my-career-is-a-certain-thing/) [Edward N. Ney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-n-ney/) > [Sometimes a song indicates that it wants to be about a certain thing. And then if you write it, you find that it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-harris/sometimes-a-song-indicates-that-it-wants-to-be-about-a-certain-thing/) [Jesse Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-harris/) > [If you want to do a certain thing, you first have to be a certain person. Once you become that certain person, you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/if-you-want-to-do-a-certain-thing-you-first-have-to-be-a-certain/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [The oldest theory of art belongs to the Greeks, who regarded art as an imitation (mimesis) of reality. The strength of that theory is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-oldest-theory-of-art-belongs-to-the-greeks-who-regarded-art-as-an/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“Once, on a sleepless night, I elaborated a whole theory of art predicated on simply reminding the ever-forgetful mind of the most basic truths:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gordon/once-on-a-sleepless-night-i-elaborated-a-whole-theory-of-art/) [David Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gordon/) > [Ruskin's much-derided moral theory of art was part of an attempt to show that this human activity, which we value so highly, engaged the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/ruskin-s-much-derided-moral-theory-of-art-was-part-of-an-attempt-to/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [My whole theory about art is the disparity that exists between form, masses and movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-whole-theory-about-art-is-the-disparity-that-exists-between-form/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [All I know is that mine was a completely new theory about art, a new approach that made the pictures appear just like life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domenico-gnoli/all-i-know-is-that-mine-was-a-completely-new-theory-about-art-a-new/) [Domenico Gnoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domenico-gnoli/) > [It is not the poet's business to save man's soul but to make it worth saving . . . However, few poets have written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elroy-flecker/it-is-not-the-poet-s-business-to-save-man-s-soul-but-to-make-it-worth/) [James Elroy Flecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elroy-flecker/) > [The worst thing would be for them to find out who I really am, because that's where I hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-lynch/the-worst-thing-would-be-for-them-to-find-out-who-i-really-am-because/) [Kelly Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-lynch/) > [The key thing about me is that I'm really not very interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/the-key-thing-about-me-is-that-i-m-really-not-very-interesting/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) ## More by Edward Gorey > [I have given up considering happiness as relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-have-given-up-considering-happiness-as-relevant/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Interviewer: What is your greatest regret? Gorey: That I don't have one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/interviewer-what-is-your-greatest-regret-gorey-that-i-don-t-have-one/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I should like a parsley sandwich. To the best of my knowledge they are not in season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-should-like-a-parsley-sandwich-to-the-best-of-my-knowledge-they-are/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [There was a young lady named Mae Who smoked without stopping all day; As pack followed pack, Her lungs first turned black, And eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/there-was-a-young-lady-named-mae-who-smoked-without-stopping-all-day/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“Apropos of nothing at all except that it has been on my mind and I think I had better say it because it accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/apropos-of-nothing-at-all-except-that-it-has-been-on-my-mind-and-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Vice is nice, but a little virtue won't hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/vice-is-nice-but-a-little-virtue-won-t-hurt-you/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“How elegant! how choice! how gay! To think one doesn’t have to pay. There is sound of falling tears; It comes from nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/how-elegant-how-choice-how-gay-to-think-one-doesn-t-have-to-pay-there/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I just kind of conjured them up out of my subconscious and put them in order of ascending peculiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-just-kind-of-conjured-them-up-out-of-my-subconscious-and-put-them/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I've never had any intentions about anything. That's why I am where I am today, which is neither here nor there, in a literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-ve-never-had-any-intentions-about-anything-that-s-why-i-am-where-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [The Suicide, as she is falling, Illuminated by the moon, Regrets her act, and finds appalling The thought she will be dead so soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/the-suicide-as-she-is-falling-illuminated-by-the-moon-regrets-her-act/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“He presented it with a length of string and passed on to the statue of Corrupted Endeavor to await the arrival of Autumn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/he-presented-it-with-a-length-of-string-and-passed-on-to-the-statue/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I don't know what it is I'm doing. But it's not that. Despite all evidence to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-don-t-know-what-it-is-i-m-doing-but-it-s-not-that-despite-all/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I realize that homosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is - but then, of course, heterosexuality is a serious problem for anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-realize-that-homosexuality-is-a-serious-problem-for-anyone-who-is/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as-2/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) [Explore all 73 Edward Gorey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## 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": "This is the theory… that anything that is art… is presumably about some certain thing, but is really always about something else, and it’s no good having one without the other, because if you just have the something it is boring and if you just have the something else it’s irritating.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Gorey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is-art-is-presumably-about-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is-art-is-presumably-about-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/edward-gorey-9339_art_this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is_1566495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the theory… that anything that is art… is presumably about some certain thing, but is really always…” — Edward Gorey", "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": "Edward Gorey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is the theory… that anything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is-art-is-presumably-about-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/this-is-the-theory-that-anything-that-is-art-is-presumably-about-some/#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 } } ] } ```