--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We might say that both the artist and…" description: "\"We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an obje..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg" --- # We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off… ![“We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an external, active, work project...” quote by Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg) > “We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an external, active, work project...” [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists confront inner turmoil, externalizing it into work that they can examine and process. **In simple terms:** Art turns inner conflict into visible form. Key Takeaway Use art to process anxiety. Themes creativity psychology self‑reflection expression Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - writing - visual arts - personal growth Key Concepts symbolism objectification catharsis Questions to Reflect On - What does your creative work reveal about you? - Can externalizing pain lead to healing? A Different Perspective Art may not solve deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Exes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exes/) ## Related quotes > [“We might say that both the artist and the neurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-the-neurotic-bite-off-more-than/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [I dont care who you are as a musician or what you do as a musician, when they put that microphone in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasari/i-dont-care-who-you-are-as-a-musician-or-what-you-do-as-a-musician/) [Jasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasari/) > [It would be bypassing the issue to say that the artist's business is to work with this and that material or manipulate the findings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-haacke/it-would-be-bypassing-the-issue-to-say-that-the-artist-s-business-is/) [Hans Haacke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-haacke/) > [When I say artist I mean the one who is building things ¦ some with a brush some with a shovel some choose a pen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhatsprincess/when-i-say-artist-i-mean-the-one-who-is-building-things-some-with-a/) ZhatsPrincess > [Peter used to say that an artist’s job is to make order out of chaos. You collect details, look for a pattern, and organize.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/peter-used-to-say-that-an-artist-s-job-is-to-make-order-out-of-chaos/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [That's always the time to quit - when you have nothing to say as an artist and creative person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantastic-negrito/that-s-always-the-time-to-quit-when-you-have-nothing-to-say-as-an/) [Fantastic Negrito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantastic-negrito/) > [“I see many people who disguise themselves. I know some people who say, “I’m an artist, I’m very creative, I’m different from ordinary people.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-see-many-people-who-disguise-themselves-i-know-some-people-who-say/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I'm not sure I am a politician. I would say that I am still an artist, and I'm trying to use politics as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edi-rama/i-m-not-sure-i-am-a-politician-i-would-say-that-i-am-still-an-artist/) [Edi Rama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edi-rama/) > [I always say I'm an artist with the soul of a realtor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-always-say-i-m-an-artist-with-the-soul-of-a-realtor/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [My life is at least as intricate as my readers' lives. People say that 'The Artist's Way' changed their lives, but when they talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/my-life-is-at-least-as-intricate-as-my-readers-lives-people-say-that/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [I have a friend who's an artist, and he sometimes takes a view which I don't agree with. He'll hold up a flower and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-a-friend-who-s-an-artist-and-he-sometimes-takes-a-view-which-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As to what I would like to be, it is difficult to say. An artist of some kind. If nothing else I shall always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/as-to-what-i-would-like-to-be-it-is-difficult-to-say-an-artist-of/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [I would say to any artist: Don't be repressed in your work, dare to experiment, consider any urge, if in a new direction all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-would-say-to-any-artist-don-t-be-repressed-in-your-work-dare-to/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I would never dare say that I'm an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/france-gall/i-would-never-dare-say-that-i-m-an-artist/) France Gall > [It took a bit of talking through administrative people, but only once did an attorney try and get in the way of the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-shear/it-took-a-bit-of-talking-through-administrative-people-but-only-once/) [Jules Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-shear/) ## More by Ernest Becker > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“When we are young we are often puzzled by the fact that each person we admire seems to have a different version of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-are-young-we-are-often-puzzled-by-the-fact-that-each-person/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Relationship is thus always slavery of a kind, which leaves a residue of guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/relationship-is-thus-always-slavery-of-a-kind-which-leaves-a-residue/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“neurosis as a problem of character and have seen that it can be approached in two ways: as a problem of too much narrowness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/neurosis-as-a-problem-of-character-and-have-seen-that-it-can-be/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-understand-that-man-is-the-only-animal-who-must-create/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [What is the ideal for mental health, then? A lived, compelling illusion that does not lie about life, death, and reality; one honest enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-is-the-ideal-for-mental-health-then-a-lived-compelling-illusion/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“This is one of the reasons for bigotry and censorship of all kinds over personal morality: people fear that the standard morality will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/this-is-one-of-the-reasons-for-bigotry-and-censorship-of-all-kinds/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Civilized" society is a hopeful belief and protest that science, money and goods make man count for more than any other animal. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/civilized-society-is-a-hopeful-belief-and-protest-that-science-money/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We might say that psychoanalysis revealed to us the complex penalties of denying the truth of man's condition, what we might call the costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-psychoanalysis-revealed-to-us-the-complex-penalties/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Understanding this, Rank could take a great step beyond Freud. Freud thought that modern man’s moral dependence on another was a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/understanding-this-rank-could-take-a-great-step-beyond-freud-freud/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The world of human aspiration is largely fictitious and if we do not understand this we understand nothing about man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-world-of-human-aspiration-is-largely-fictitious-and-if-we-do-not/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“If the partner becomes God he can just as easily become the Devil; the reason is not far to seek. For one thing, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/if-the-partner-becomes-god-he-can-just-as-easily-become-the-devil-the/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The point is that if the love object is divine perfection, then one’s own self is elevated by joining one’s destiny to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-point-is-that-if-the-love-object-is-divine-perfection-then-one-s/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Explore all 95 Ernest Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an external, active, work project...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Becker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-theneurotic-bite-off-more-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Active" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-theneurotic-bite-off-more-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e1/ernest-becker-7036_active_we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-th_609453.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew, but the artist spews it…” — Ernest Becker", "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": "Ernest Becker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We might say that both the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-theneurotic-bite-off-more-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-both-the-artist-and-theneurotic-bite-off-more-than/#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 } } ] } ```