--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artist constructs a new symbol with…" description: "\"The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This symbol is not a recognizable form of anything which is already finished, already made, already ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg" --- # The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This… ![“The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This symbol is not a recognizable form of anything which is already finished, already made, already existing in the world - it is a symbol of a new world, which is being built upon and which exists by way of people.” quote by El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg) > “The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This symbol is not a recognizable form of anything which is already finished, already made, already existing in the world - it is a symbol of a new world, which is being built upon and which exists by way of people.” [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist creates a novel visual sign that does not copy existing objects but represents an emerging reality shaped by collective human activity. **In simple terms:** Artists invent new symbols for emerging societies. Key Takeaway Embrace originality that reflects shared futures. Themes creativity innovation collective identity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - design projects - public murals - branding - community workshops Key Concepts symbolism constructivism social theory Questions to Reflect On - How can art inspire communal vision? - What responsibilities do creators have to society? A Different Perspective New symbols may be misunderstood or rejected by audiences accustomed to familiar imagery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Graphic design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-design/) [New world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-world/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [It really is worth the trouble to invent a new symbol if we can thus remove not a few logical difficulties and ensure the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottlob-frege/it-really-is-worth-the-trouble-to-invent-a-new-symbol-if-we-can-thus/) [Gottlob Frege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottlob-frege/) > [ We \[Christians\] have the dilemma of using a symbol system that was not made for our worldview, to give our worldview... I think the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/we-christians-have-the-dilemma-of-using-a-symbol-system-that-was-not/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, Our Flag will be recognized throughout the World as a symbol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-marshall/we-are-determined-that-before-the-sun-sets-on-this-terrible-struggle/) [George C. Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-marshall/) > [“You’ll still need leaders, and stimulus, and a world symbol.” (That’s the basic emptiness in us today: we haven’t found a symbol. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poul-anderson/you-ll-still-need-leaders-and-stimulus-and-a-world-symbol-that-s-the/) [Poul Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poul-anderson/) > [“In this sorry world, the symbol is the thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/in-this-sorry-world-the-symbol-is-the-thing/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Share your smile with the world. It's a symbol of friendship and peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-brinkley/share-your-smile-with-the-world-it-s-a-symbol-of-friendship-and-peace/) [Christie Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-brinkley/) > [Typographical design should perform optically what the speaker creates through voice and gesture of his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/typographical-design-should-perform-optically-what-the-speaker/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [“A plain circular bullet is widely disdained for its banality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolina-de-bartolo/a-plain-circular-bullet-is-widely-disdained-for-its-banality/) Carolina de Bartolo > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [If you do good work for good clients, it will lead to other good work for other good clients. If you do bad work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/if-you-do-good-work-for-good-clients-it-will-lead-to-other-good-work/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Art uses many different styles, but his voice is very consistent. He's always concise and clever and funny. That's true of somebody like Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-mouly/art-uses-many-different-styles-but-his-voice-is-very-consistent-he-s/) [Francoise Mouly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-mouly/) > [When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-talk-i-realized-that-my-usual/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [I decided to go to school for advertising and graphic design. That was what I was gonna do but acting is that thing, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayo-okeniyi/i-decided-to-go-to-school-for-advertising-and-graphic-design-that-was/) [Dayo Okeniyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayo-okeniyi/) > [Good design encourages a viewer to want to learn more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-isley/good-design-encourages-a-viewer-to-want-to-learn-more/) [Alexander Isley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-isley/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) ## More by El Lissitzky > [“Let us summarize these three points more concisely: (a) The rejection of art as a mere emotional, individualistic, and romantic affair. (b) “Objective” work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/let-us-summarize-these-three-points-more-concisely-a-the-rejection-of/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [The purpose of architecture is to transmute the emptiness into space, that is into something which our minds can grasp as an organized unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-purpose-of-architecture-is-to-transmute-the-emptiness-into-space/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [Art can no longer be merely a mirror, it must act as the organizer of the people's consciousness... No form of representation is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/art-can-no-longer-be-merely-a-mirror-it-must-act-as-the-organizer-of/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [Typographical design should perform optically what the speaker creates through voice and gesture of his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/typographical-design-should-perform-optically-what-the-speaker/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [The room is there for the human being - not the human being for the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-room-is-there-for-the-human-being-not-the-human-being-for-the-room/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [The printed page transcends space and time. The printed page, the infinity of the book, must be transcended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-printed-page-transcends-space-and-time-the-printed-page-the/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [We believe that the elements in the chemical formula of our creative work, problem, invention, and art, correspond to the challenges of our age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/we-believe-that-the-elements-in-the-chemical-formula-of-our-creative/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) > [The sun as the expression of old world energy is torn down from the heavens by modern man, who by virtue of his technological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-sun-as-the-expression-of-old-world-energy-is-torn-down-from-the/) [El Lissitzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) [Explore all 9 El Lissitzky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/) ## 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": "The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This symbol is not a recognizable form of anything which is already finished, already made, already existing in the world - it is a symbol of a new world, which is being built upon and which exists by way of people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "El Lissitzky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with-his-brush-this-symbol-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with-his-brush-this-symbol-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/el-lissitzky-43285_art_the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with_2547167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The artist constructs a new symbol with his brush. This symbol is not a recognizable form of anything which…” — El Lissitzky", "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": "El Lissitzky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-lissitzky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The artist constructs a new symbol...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with-his-brush-this-symbol-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-lissitzky/the-artist-constructs-a-new-symbol-with-his-brush-this-symbol-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```