--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every work of art is about everything." description: "\"Every work of art is about everything.\" — Eli Siegel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg" --- # Every work of art is about everything. ![“Every work of art is about everything.” quote by Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg) > “Every work of art is about everything.” [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 reflects the totality of experience, encompassing all aspects of life. **In simple terms:** Art is about everything. Key Takeaway Explore diverse artistic expressions. Themes art holism expression Mood thoughtful wide‑ranging Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - music - literature - performance art Key Concepts aesthetics cultural studies Questions to Reflect On - What does “everything” mean to you in art? - How does art capture unseen aspects of life? A Different Perspective Specialization can limit perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairness/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [A great work of art is one that continues to repay attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ricks/a-great-work-of-art-is-one-that-continues-to-repay-attention/) [Christopher Ricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ricks/) > [A work of art is something produced by a person, but is not that person — it is of her, but is not her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-work-of-art-is-something-produced-by-a-person-but-is-not-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-work-of-art-is-the-trace-of-a-magnificent-struggle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One thing living in Japan did for me was to make me feel that what is left out of a work of art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/one-thing-living-in-japan-did-for-me-was-to-make-me-feel-that-what-is/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [A work of art is a work of order, and if the artist is to put the stamp of his own mind on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-peach-robinson/a-work-of-art-is-a-work-of-order-and-if-the-artist-is-to-put-the/) [Henry Peach Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-peach-robinson/) > [The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-supreme-question-about-a-work-of-art-is-out-of-how-deep-a-life/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The art is more important than the artist. The work is more important than the person who does it. You must be prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/the-art-is-more-important-than-the-artist-the-work-is-more-important/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-art-is-at-once-surface-and-symbol-those-who-go-beneath-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/the-ultimate-justification-of-the-work-of-art-is-to-help-the/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [If a work of art is to explore new environments, it is not to be regarded as a blueprint but rather as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/if-a-work-of-art-is-to-explore-new-environments-it-is-not-to-be/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Mystery is the essential element of every work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/mystery-is-the-essential-element-of-every-work-of-art/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [Art goes on in your head. If you said something interesting, that might be a title for a work of art and I'd write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/art-goes-on-in-your-head-if-you-said-something-interesting-that-might/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) ## 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 > [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": "Every work of art is about everything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eli Siegel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/every-work-of-art-is-about-everything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/every-work-of-art-is-about-everything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f76/eli-siegel-21460_art_every-work-of-art-is-about-everything-26_2674489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every work of art is about everything.” — 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": "Every work of art is about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/every-work-of-art-is-about-everything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/every-work-of-art-is-about-everything/#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 } } ] } ```