--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All art needs to be funny, sad and a…" description: "\"“All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing simultaneously or else it's not art.”\" — Ezekiel Tyrus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg" --- # All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing… ![“All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing simultaneously or else it's not art.” quote by Ezekiel Tyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg) > ““All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing simultaneously or else it's not art.”” Ezekiel Tyrus ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art must simultaneously be funny, sad, and disturbing; otherwise it isn’t art. **In simple terms:** Art requires a blend of humor, sorrow, and provocation. Key Takeaway Combine contrasting emotions in creative work. Themes art emotion humor sadness disturbance Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type definition philosophical When to use this quote - painting - film - performance - writing Key Concepts aesthetics creative theory emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - Which artworks blend these emotions successfully? - How can artists balance conflict with coherence? A Different Perspective The definition is narrow, excluding many art forms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [“Funny + sad is what I'm pitching for, every time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/funny-sad-is-what-i-m-pitching-for-every-time/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I've seen so much: good and bad, funny and sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harwell/i-ve-seen-so-much-good-and-bad-funny-and-sad/) [Steve Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harwell/) > [My mother and father were very strange people. They tried to be funny which is always very sad to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/my-mother-and-father-were-very-strange-people-they-tried-to-be-funny/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) > [“Happiness does not create humor. There's nothing funny about being happy. Sadness creates humor. Krazy Kat getting hit on the head by a brick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/happiness-does-not-create-humor-there-s-nothing-funny-about-being/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [It's both funny and sad which seem to me to be the two basic ingredients of good comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hancock/it-s-both-funny-and-sad-which-seem-to-me-to-be-the-two-basic/) [Tony Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hancock/) > [When you are 15, everything is such high stakes, even tiny things. I think because of that, it is funny but sad at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-wu/when-you-are-15-everything-is-such-high-stakes-even-tiny-things-i/) Sophie Wu > [I think I was born with a natural way of looking at something and trying to find the ways in which it was odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/briga-heelan/i-think-i-was-born-with-a-natural-way-of-looking-at-something-and/) [Briga Heelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/briga-heelan/) > [There's a rule of writing: if everything is funny, nothing is funny; if everything is sad, nothing is sad. You want that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-michael-straczynski/there-s-a-rule-of-writing-if-everything-is-funny-nothing-is-funny-if/) [J. Michael Straczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-michael-straczynski/) > [“I’m a horrible person. But so is Elisabeth, so I think it’s okay.” I bumped my shoulder with hers as I laughed even louder.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aly-martinez/i-m-a-horrible-person-but-so-is-elisabeth-so-i-think-it-s-okay-i/) [Aly Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aly-martinez/) > [David Mamet's writing is pretty spectacular, obviously. I like the honesty of it; I like how funny it is and how sad it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-knight/david-mamet-s-writing-is-pretty-spectacular-obviously-i-like-the/) [T. R. Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-knight/) > [We all die at the end, but does that nullify everything? Would most people rather say, "I wish I hadn't been born?" Once you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/we-all-die-at-the-end-but-does-that-nullify-everything-would-most/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [We try to... we are, I suppose to a certain extent all affected and erm, that is both funny and sad I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hancock/we-try-to-we-are-i-suppose-to-a-certain-extent-all-affected-and-erm/) [Tony Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hancock/) > [We need to have profound compassion for the people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/we-need-to-have-profound-compassion-for-the-people-who-are-dealing/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [There are two ways to tell the story. Funny or sad. Guys like it funny, with lots of gore and a grin on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-klay/there-are-two-ways-to-tell-the-story-funny-or-sad-guys-like-it-funny/) [Phil Klay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-klay/) > [When I was in college, I had a friend who was an artist and her theory was that all the best art in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/when-i-was-in-college-i-had-a-friend-who-was-an-artist-and-her-theory/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) ## More by Ezekiel Tyrus > [“It's easy to let the assholes, the jerks, the bullies, the green-eyed monsters occupy all your mental headlines but look around, you've got friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-tyrus/it-s-easy-to-let-the-assholes-the-jerks-the-bullies-the-green-eyed/) Ezekiel Tyrus Explore all 2 Ezekiel Tyrus quotes ## 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. 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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": "“All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing simultaneously or else it's not art.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezekiel Tyrus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-tyrus/all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-little-disturbing-simultaneously/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-tyrus/all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-little-disturbing-simultaneously/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecb/ezekiel-tyrus-91332_art_all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-litt_2185891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All art needs to be funny, sad and a little disturbing simultaneously or else it's not art.” — Ezekiel Tyrus", "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": "Ezekiel Tyrus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-tyrus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All art needs to be funny,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-tyrus/all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-little-disturbing-simultaneously/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-tyrus/all-art-needs-to-be-funny-sad-and-a-little-disturbing-simultaneously/#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 } } ] } ```