--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Asked what role he believes art plays in…" description: "\"Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing more.\" — Georg Baselitz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png" --- # Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz… ![“Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing more.” quote by Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png) > “Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing more.” [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art's societal role is as functional and unremarkable as a good shoe. **In simple terms:** Art is practical, not lofty. Key Takeaway View art as everyday utility. Themes art society functionality Mood skeptical dry Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - public spaces - design - education - community projects Key Concepts aesthetics cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - Should art aim higher? - What is art's purpose? A Different Perspective Reduces art's transformative potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Baselitz Replied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baselitz-replied-4653647/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believes Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believes-art-3787274/) [Good Shoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-shoe-1147330/) [Good shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-shoes/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Role Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-good-575260/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Society Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-baselitz-4653648/) ## Related quotes > [As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/as-long-as-you-notice-and-have-to-count-the-steps-you-are-not-yet/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A good shoe is one that doesn't dress you but undresses you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/a-good-shoe-is-one-that-doesn-t-dress-you-but-undresses-you/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [The shoemaker makes a good shoe because he makes nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-shoemaker-makes-a-good-shoe-because-he-makes-nothing-else/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am one of the heretics who believes that art must be enjoyed first and analyzed later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristine-kathryn-rusch/i-am-one-of-the-heretics-who-believes-that-art-must-be-enjoyed-first/) [Kristine Kathryn Rusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristine-kathryn-rusch/) > [The Dancer believes that his art has something to say which cannot be expressed in words or in any other way than by dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-humphrey/the-dancer-believes-that-his-art-has-something-to-say-which-cannot-be-2/) [Doris Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-humphrey/) > [Very early in my life I took the question of the relation of art to truth seriously: even now I stand in holy dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/very-early-in-my-life-i-took-the-question-of-the-relation-of-art-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I think what makes a really good shoe is something that you can play ball in but also something that you can wear off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/i-think-what-makes-a-really-good-shoe-is-something-that-you-can-play/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [I would say that a good shoe is exactly like a good wine. These shoes are going to stay and last for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-louboutin/i-would-say-that-a-good-shoe-is-exactly-like-a-good-wine-these-shoes/) [Christian Louboutin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-louboutin/) > [I love a good shoe, it's the only item I'll splurge on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/i-love-a-good-shoe-it-s-the-only-item-i-ll-splurge-on/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) > [I think, on a surface level, people are surprised to see me playing such a passive role in 'Good.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/i-think-on-a-surface-level-people-are-surprised-to-see-me-playing/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [In families children tend to take on stock roles, as if there were hats hung up in some secret place, visible only to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-galinsky/in-families-children-tend-to-take-on-stock-roles-as-if-there-were/) [Ellen Galinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-galinsky/) > [A good role comes along, and a good role is a good role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-urie/a-good-role-comes-along-and-a-good-role-is-a-good-role/) [Michael Urie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-urie/) > [I don't mind playing even a grandfather provided the role is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/govinda/i-don-t-mind-playing-even-a-grandfather-provided-the-role-is-good/) [Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/govinda/) > [Whenever I play a role, whether it's good or bad, an evil person or nice person, I believe in being a purist and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kaufman/whenever-i-play-a-role-whether-it-s-good-or-bad-an-evil-person-or/) [Andy Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kaufman/) > [“I played my role as the good Christian girl and spared everyone the drama of an argument. But that decision to remain silent split…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-played-my-role-as-the-good-christian-girl-and-spared-everyone-the/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) ## More by Georg Baselitz > [When Michael Werner saw a painting of mine, such as Die grosse Nacht im Eimer, which back then nobody wanted and everybody thought was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/when-michael-werner-saw-a-painting-of-mine-such-as-die-grosse-nacht/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I paint German artists whom I admire. I paint their pictures, their work as painters, and their portraits too. But oddly enough, each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-paint-german-artists-whom-i-admire-i-paint-their-pictures-their/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Most of arts what comes from the States to Europe has something to do with entertainment. I can't imagine artists in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/most-of-arts-what-comes-from-the-states-to-europe-has-something-to-do/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Alfred Schnittke was an important contemporary composer, and he lived in Germany, but no one here has heard of him. Everyone has heard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/alfred-schnittke-was-an-important-contemporary-composer-and-he-lived/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I don't paint over my paintings with black paint. I paint black paintings. It isn't because I'm sad, just as I didn't paint red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-paint-over-my-paintings-with-black-paint-i-paint-black/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [A citizen sticks to conventions, does whatever is social. Artists, of course, must reject all conventions. I see no differently in reconciling the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/a-citizen-sticks-to-conventions-does-whatever-is-social-artists-of/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I do not have a philosophy about retrospectives. Of course, I cannot change what I have done. What I am doing today, this I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-do-not-have-a-philosophy-about-retrospectives-of-course-i-cannot/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [An object painted upside down is suitable for painting because it is unsuitable as an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/an-object-painted-upside-down-is-suitable-for-painting-because-it-is/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I don't know who made up this sort of greatest-hits list for artists. If one artist isn't moving forward anymore, then it's assumed another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-don-t-know-who-made-up-this-sort-of-greatest-hits-list-for-artists/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Women don't paint very well. It's a fact. There are, of course, exceptions. Agnes Martin or, from the past, Paula Modersohn-Becker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/women-don-t-paint-very-well-it-s-a-fact-there-are-of-course/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I would say for everyday I build buildings or houses like a bricklayer with canvas and paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-would-say-for-everyday-i-build-buildings-or-houses-like-a/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I had always loved expressionist painting, like every European. In fact I admired it all the more because these were precisely the paintings despised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-had-always-loved-expressionist-painting-like-every-european-in-fact/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I hang my work upside down to emphasize surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-hang-my-work-upside-down-to-emphasize-surface/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [Talent seduces us into interpretation. My sister could draw wonderfully, but she would never have hit upon the idea of becoming a painter. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/talent-seduces-us-into-interpretation-my-sister-could-draw/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) > [I have always had the feeling that other people are too stupid to discover interesting things. That's why I do it myself. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/i-have-always-had-the-feeling-that-other-people-are-too-stupid-to/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) [Explore all 59 Georg Baselitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## 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": "Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing more.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Georg Baselitz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in-society-baselitz-replied-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in-society-baselitz-replied-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b83/georg-baselitz-11545_art_asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in_1360355.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Asked what role he believes art plays in society, Baselitz replied, 'The same role as a good shoe, nothing…” — Georg Baselitz", "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": "Georg Baselitz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Asked what role he believes art...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in-society-baselitz-replied-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/asked-what-role-he-believes-art-plays-in-society-baselitz-replied-the/#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 } } ] } ```