--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The message of great art is to disturb." description: "\"The message of great art is to disturb.\" — Elayne Boosler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg" --- # The message of great art is to disturb. ![“The message of great art is to disturb.” quote by Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg) > “The message of great art is to disturb.” [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great art aims to challenge comfort and provoke thought. **In simple terms:** Art should provoke. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort in art. Themes art provocation creativity Mood thoughtful challenging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery openings - public installations - media criticism Key Concepts Aesthetics social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does discomfort lead to insight? - When is provocation counterproductive? A Different Perspective Provocation can alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Disturb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-disturb-2883062/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Disturb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disturb/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) [Message Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message-great-1301755/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) ## Related quotes > [Art is made to disturb, science reassures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/art-is-made-to-disturb-science-reassures/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [Art is made to disturb. Science reassures. There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/art-is-made-to-disturb-science-reassures-there-is-only-one-valuable/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [The function of Art is to disturb. Science reassures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/the-function-of-art-is-to-disturb-science-reassures/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [I grew up on Public Enemy, which had a message with great music behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madlib/i-grew-up-on-public-enemy-which-had-a-message-with-great-music-behind/) [Madlib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madlib/) > [If you have a great message but no great way to entertain, people won't want to hear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-diaz/if-you-have-a-great-message-but-no-great-way-to-entertain-people-won/) [Jonny Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-diaz/) > [“Art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." -Unknown”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caddy-rowland/art-should-disturb-the-comfortable-and-comfort-the-disturbed-unknown/) [Caddy Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caddy-rowland/) > [If you can eliminate the yelling and listen to the message, there's a great message there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-galloway/if-you-can-eliminate-the-yelling-and-listen-to-the-message-there-s-a/) [Joey Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-galloway/) > [How many of you text message? It's a great way of not communicating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-giraldo/how-many-of-you-text-message-it-s-a-great-way-of-not-communicating/) [Greg Giraldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-giraldo/) > [Depend upon it, the first universal characteristic of all great art is Tenderness, as the second is Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/depend-upon-it-the-first-universal-characteristic-of-all-great-art-is/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [What makes for great art is the courage to speak and write and paint what you know and care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-flack/what-makes-for-great-art-is-the-courage-to-speak-and-write-and-paint/) [Audrey Flack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-flack/) > [At the heart of all great art is an essential melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-garc-a-lorca/at-the-heart-of-all-great-art-is-an-essential-melancholy/) [Federico Garcia Lorca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-garc-a-lorca/) > [Great art is an instant arrested in eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-huneker/great-art-is-an-instant-arrested-in-eternity/) [James Huneker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-huneker/) > [In war there is but one favorable moment; the great art is to seize it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-war-there-is-but-one-favorable-moment-the-great-art-is-to-seize-it/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The experiential test of whether this art is great or good, or minor or abysmal is the effect it has on your own sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-beckett/the-experiential-test-of-whether-this-art-is-great-or-good-or-minor/) [Wendy Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-beckett/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) ## More by Elayne Boosler > [Guys wake up at your place and they expect breakfast. They don't eat bagels and M&M's in the morning. They want things like toast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/guys-wake-up-at-your-place-and-they-expect-breakfast-they-don-t-eat/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I always had a running commentary in my head that was extremely funny and off-center, but I never said it to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-always-had-a-running-commentary-in-my-head-that-was-extremely-funny/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-have-six-locks-on-my-door-all-in-a-row-when-i-go-out-i-lock-every/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [The thing about breaking up when you get older, you just don't have the steam anymore. "Oh, that's it. I can't start shaving my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/the-thing-about-breaking-up-when-you-get-older-you-just-don-t-have/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I'd much rather see Richard Pryor or Jackie Mason in a theater than in a club.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-d-much-rather-see-richard-pryor-or-jackie-mason-in-a-theater-than/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [Now that the Court has declared money to be speech, I say we replace the current Court with some Ben Franklins, Thomas Jeffersons, George…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/now-that-the-court-has-declared-money-to-be-speech-i-say-we-replace/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [People are giving birth underwater now. They say it's less traumatic for the baby because it's under water. But it's certainly more traumatic for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/people-are-giving-birth-underwater-now-they-say-it-s-less-traumatic/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [President Reagan is a lot like E.T. He's cute, he's lovable, and he knows nothing about how Americans live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/president-reagan-is-a-lot-like-e-t-he-s-cute-he-s-lovable-and-he/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/when-women-are-depressed-they-eat-or-go-shopping/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I deliver very traditionally, and people aren't threatened. I think if I cursed or seemed wilder, I couldn't get away with the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-deliver-very-traditionally-and-people-aren-t-threatened-i-think-if/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [There's only one difference between Jews and Catholics. Jews are born with guilt, and Catholics have to go to school to learn it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/there-s-only-one-difference-between-jews-and-catholics-jews-are-born/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [Men put all kinds of expectations on you. They want you to scream 'You're the best' while swearing you've never done this with anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/men-put-all-kinds-of-expectations-on-you-they-want-you-to-scream-you/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I think when you take off that jacket and they see that ‘I LOVE GRANDMA’ T-shirt, they’re going to rip your heart out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-think-when-you-take-off-that-jacket-and-they-see-that-i-love/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [My breakup with AT&T is final, and I'm done with Skype as the rebound guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/my-breakup-with-at-t-is-final-and-i-m-done-with-skype-as-the-rebound/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [I love my parents and they're wonderful people, but they were strict, and I still look for ways to get even. When I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-love-my-parents-and-they-re-wonderful-people-but-they-were-strict/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) [Explore all 98 Elayne Boosler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) ## 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": "The message of great art is to disturb.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elayne Boosler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/elayne-boosler-6166_art_the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb-2_2359318.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The message of great art is to disturb.” — Elayne Boosler", "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": "Elayne Boosler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The message of great art is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/the-message-of-great-art-is-to-disturb/#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 } } ] } ```