--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art can make the old surprising, and the…" description: "\"Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden soothing.\" — Eli Siegel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg" --- # Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden… ![“Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden soothing.” quote by Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg) > “Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden soothing.” [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art juxtaposes the familiar with the unfamiliar, offering surprise and comfort through contrast between old and new. **In simple terms:** Art can surprise and soothe by mixing old and new. Key Takeaway Use art to blend tradition with innovation for emotional impact. Themes art creativity contrast Mood reflective calming Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - creative projects - design work Key Concepts aesthetic experience emotional resonance innovation Questions to Reflect On - How does combining old and new affect your feelings? - When has art soothed you unexpectedly? A Different Perspective May not apply to all artistic tastes; surprise can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairness/) [Old Surprising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-surprising-5110111/) [Soothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soothing/) [Sudden Soothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sudden-soothing-5110112/) [Surprising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprising/) [Surprising New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprising-new-1484700/) ## Related quotes > [As I say, I have never in all these years thought of the matter in quite this way; but then it is perhaps in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/as-i-say-i-have-never-in-all-these-years-thought-of-the-matter-in/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Those evening bells! those evening bells! How many a tale their music tells Of youth and home, and that sweet time When last I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/those-evening-bells-those-evening-bells-how-many-a-tale-their-music/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Once again your mind explodes with a searing pain. A floodgate of memories bursts wide. Yet it is her face that keeps haunting you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-mcfarlane/once-again-your-mind-explodes-with-a-searing-pain-a-floodgate-of/) [Todd McFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-mcfarlane/) > [For pain is perhaps but a violent pleasure? Who could determine the point where pleasure becomes pain, where pain is still a pleasure? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/for-pain-is-perhaps-but-a-violent-pleasure-who-could-determine-the/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It is utterly soothing to fly fish for trout. All other considerations or worries drift away and you couldn't keep them close if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/it-is-utterly-soothing-to-fly-fish-for-trout-all-other-considerations/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [It's soothing to realize that my mind's processes are inherently uncontrollable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-rucker/it-s-soothing-to-realize-that-my-mind-s-processes-are-inherently/) [Rudy Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-rucker/) > [There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-millington-synge/there-is-no-language-like-the-irish-for-soothing-and-quieting/) [John Millington Synge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-millington-synge/) > [There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contrast of my vocal sounding very soothing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/there-s-this-one-song-called-final-warning-that-i-m-really-excited/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-statesmen-will-invent-cheap-lies-putting-the-blame-upon-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I like Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, as it's great for soothing dry skin and adding shine. I use it instead of balm, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/i-like-elizabeth-arden-eight-hour-cream-as-it-s-great-for-soothing/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant, or a frightened child, has a universally recognized power to ameliorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/soothing-touch-whether-it-be-applied-to-a-ruffled-cat-a-crying-infant/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [Soothing words can become just another drug we swallow to dull our pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/soothing-words-can-become-just-another-drug-we-swallow-to-dull-our/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Tea is soothing. I wish to be tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-giles/tea-is-soothing-i-wish-to-be-tense/) [Rupert Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-giles/) > [The reason I'm drawn to it is - both the off road racing and the motorcycles on the track - it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/the-reason-i-m-drawn-to-it-is-both-the-off-road-racing-and-the/) [Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/) ## More by Eli Siegel > [There is not one thing that music does which does not say something about how a person should organize himself, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/there-is-not-one-thing-that-music-does-which-does-not-say-something/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [“The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker…. Labor is the only source of wealth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is-the-person-who-does-the/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [There is a quality of murky grandeur we give ourselves in having our own feelings, recoiling, separate from other things... To feel that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/there-is-a-quality-of-murky-grandeur-we-give-ourselves-in-having-our/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The purpose of photography is to create an emotion about the world through what has been carefully seen and selected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-purpose-of-photography-is-to-create-an-emotion-about-the-world/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [To see the outside world as the same stuff as our most secret or unknown thoughts is a fine necessity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/to-see-the-outside-world-as-the-same-stuff-as-our-most-secret-or/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-world-art-and-self-explain-each-other-each-is-the-aesthetic/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [True individuality is the repose arising from the relation of a self to all it has to do with. Bad individuality has in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/true-individuality-is-the-repose-arising-from-the-relation-of-a-self/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [“The self can watch itself becoming lazy, or non-watchful; this is an asset that can make both for humor and profound well-being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-self-can-watch-itself-becoming-lazy-or-non-watchful-this-is-an/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [One of the things called forth by the Imagist movement in poetry was neatness; and when we say keenness, we mean neatness. A knife…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/one-of-the-things-called-forth-by-the-imagist-movement-in-poetry-was/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [Is there in every work of art something which shows reality as one and also something which shows reality as many and diverse? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/is-there-in-every-work-of-art-something-which-shows-reality-as-one/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [In reality opposites are one; art shows this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-reality-opposites-are-one-art-shows-this/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/all-beauty-is-a-making-one-of-opposites-and-the-making-one-of/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [In order to be deep, we sometimes have to cut through and cut apart. That is to be seen in the common phrase, 'Cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-order-to-be-deep-we-sometimes-have-to-cut-through-and-cut-apart/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The most important thing for you to do is see that in hoping to be affected by other things as fully as possible, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-most-important-thing-for-you-to-do-is-see-that-in-hoping-to-be/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [Art is a way of showing greater fairness to things than is customary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-is-a-way-of-showing-greater-fairness-to-things-than-is-customary/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) [Explore all 29 Eli Siegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) ## 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": "Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden soothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eli Siegel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the-new-and-sudden-soothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the-new-and-sudden-soothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b0/eli-siegel-21460_art_art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the_2245715.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art can make the old surprising, and the new and sudden soothing.” — Eli Siegel", "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": "Eli Siegel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art can make the old surprising,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the-new-and-sudden-soothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-can-make-the-old-surprising-and-the-new-and-sudden-soothing/#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 } } ] } ```