--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have bits of canvas that are…" description: "\"You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and you have these thick stretcher bars. So you see that a painting is an object; that it's not a window int..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/frank-stella-17787_artist_you-have-bits-of-canvas-that-are-unpaint_1535977.jpg" --- # You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and you have… ![“You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and you have these thick stretcher bars. So you see that a painting is an object; that it's not a window into something - you're not looking at a landscape, you're not looking at a portrait, but you're looking at a painting. It's basically: A painting is…” quote by Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/frank-stella-17787_artist_you-have-bits-of-canvas-that-are-unpaint_1535977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/frank-stella-17787_artist_you-have-bits-of-canvas-that-are-unpaint_1535977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c96/frank-stella-17787_artist_you-have-bits-of-canvas-that-are-unpaint_1535977.jpg) > “You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and you have these thick stretcher bars. So you see that a painting is an object; that it's not a window into something - you're not looking at a landscape, you're not looking at a portrait, but you're looking at a painting. It's basically: A painting is a painting is a painting. And it's what Frank Stella said famously: What you see is what you see.” [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A painting should be understood as a physical object, not a window to another scene; its reality is its own material presence. **In simple terms:** Paintings are objects, not windows. Key Takeaway Focus on the artwork itself. Themes art perception materiality Mood contemplative analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery viewing - studio practice - art education Key Concepts objecthood visual honesty Questions to Reflect On - How does treating a painting as an object change your appreciation? - What does “what you see is what you see” mean for interpretation? A Different Perspective It may ignore symbolic or narrative meanings that viewers bring. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Basically painting is total idiocy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/basically-painting-is-total-idiocy/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [“Or perhaps it is just that George has spent proper time looking at this one painting and that every single experience of looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/or-perhaps-it-is-just-that-george-has-spent-proper-time-looking-at/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [“For a while, for as long as you're looking at it, that painting is the world and you get to be in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/for-a-while-for-as-long-as-you-re-looking-at-it-that-painting-is-the/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [When they're looking at my work, they're looking at a painting and they're able to accept it better because it is also a quilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/when-they-re-looking-at-my-work-they-re-looking-at-a-painting-and/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [For years, I went around the world looking and then painting, but now I have to think first and then paint. It's driven me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milford-zornes/for-years-i-went-around-the-world-looking-and-then-painting-but-now-i/) Milford Zornes > [“Painted Things I love my work and take pains with it. But today I find the slow pace of composition discouraging. The weather has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantinos-p-cavafis/painted-things-i-love-my-work-and-take-pains-with-it-but-today-i-find/) [Constantinos P. Cavafis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantinos-p-cavafis/) > [The integrity of being an artist for Frank Stella means going into the unknown.A great artist is somebody who's not scared to reinvent themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-integrity-of-being-an-artist-for-frank-stella-means-going-into/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Once I really started to understand Frank Stella's work and follow it, there's a certain type of invention and playfulness and extreme rigor with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/once-i-really-started-to-understand-frank-stella-s-work-and-follow-it/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I realized that most people waste their lives earning a living, and I wanted to live. I love painting, so I keep painting. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-soulages/i-realized-that-most-people-waste-their-lives-earning-a-living-and-i/) [Pierre Soulages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-soulages/) > [I'm not just painting for painting's sake. I want to be truthful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-m-not-just-painting-for-painting-s-sake-i-want-to-be-truthful/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [All painting - the painting of the past as well as of the present - shows us that its essential plastic means were only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/all-painting-the-painting-of-the-past-as-well-as-of-the-present-shows/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [When you think of painting as painting it is rather absurd. The real world is before us - glorious sunlight and activity and fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/when-you-think-of-painting-as-painting-it-is-rather-absurd-the-real/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Pop Art is not painting because painting must have content and emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-hartigan/pop-art-is-not-painting-because-painting-must-have-content-and-emotion/) [Grace Hartigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-hartigan/) > [The older I get, the more I feel that color is what painting is. Painting is primarily color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-raffael/the-older-i-get-the-more-i-feel-that-color-is-what-painting-is/) [Joseph Raffael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-raffael/) ## More by Frank Stella > [Any artist can't get away from the way the world works, which is that it wants to know what you did, and you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/any-artist-can-t-get-away-from-the-way-the-world-works-which-is-that/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I want to make exalted art. A successful image has pictorial lift. I am looking for whatever is up there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-want-to-make-exalted-art-a-successful-image-has-pictorial-lift-i-am/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The aim of art is to create space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-aim-of-art-is-to-create-space/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [What you see is what you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/what-you-see-is-what-you-see/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I always get into arguments with people who want to retain the old values in painting - the humanistic values that they always find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-always-get-into-arguments-with-people-who-want-to-retain-the-old/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [Abstract paintings must be as real as those created by the 16th century Italians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/abstract-paintings-must-be-as-real-as-those-created-by-the-16th/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [When I'm painting the picture, I'm really painting a picture. I may have a flat-footed technique, or something like that, but still, to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/when-i-m-painting-the-picture-i-m-really-painting-a-picture-i-may/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [All I want anyone to get out of my paintings, and all I ever get out of them, is the fact that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/all-i-want-anyone-to-get-out-of-my-paintings-and-all-i-ever-get-out/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [You see what you know!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-see-what-you-know/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [The integrity of being an artist for Frank Stella means going into the unknown.A great artist is somebody who's not scared to reinvent themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-integrity-of-being-an-artist-for-frank-stella-means-going-into/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [You couldn't forget Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Joan Miro either. And it had to be, you know, at least as good or better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/you-couldn-t-forget-pablo-picasso-henri-matisse-and-joan-miro-either/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I never noticed competing with other generations. There's competition within your own generation, but that competition is good. Maybe you're annoyed that somebody's getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-never-noticed-competing-with-other-generations-there-s-competition/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [One learns about painting by looking at and imitating other painters. I can't stress enough how important it is, if you are interested at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/one-learns-about-painting-by-looking-at-and-imitating-other-painters/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I'm more of a house painter.That's the way I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-m-more-of-a-house-painter-that-s-the-way-i-work/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [I don't like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/i-don-t-like-to-say-i-have-given-my-life-to-art-i-prefer-to-say-art/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) [Explore all 36 Frank Stella quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You have bits of canvas that are unpainted and you have these thick stretcher bars. So you see that a painting is an object; that it's not a window into something - you're not looking at a landscape, you're not looking at a portrait, but you're looking at a painting. It's basically: A painting is a painting is a painting. 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