--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A story is a really weird art object that…" description: "\"“A story is a really weird art object that should contain life but not be enslaved by the banality.”\" — George Saunders" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/george-saunders-317_art_a-story-is-a-really-weird-art-object-tha_1140285.jpg" --- # A story is a really weird art object that should contain… ![“A story is a really weird art object that should contain life but not be enslaved by the banality.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/george-saunders-317_art_a-story-is-a-really-weird-art-object-tha_1140285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/george-saunders-317_art_a-story-is-a-really-weird-art-object-tha_1140285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/george-saunders-317_art_a-story-is-a-really-weird-art-object-tha_1140285.jpg) > ““A story is a really weird art object that should contain life but not be enslaved by the banality.”” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should capture life's vitality without being constrained by ordinary expectations. **In simple terms:** Art must be alive, not trapped by banality. Key Takeaway Create authentic, vibrant work. Themes creativity authenticity art Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - performance - design Key Concepts aesthetic theory expressionism Questions to Reflect On - What makes a work feel alive to you? - How can you balance freedom and form? A Different Perspective It may undervalue the role of structure and discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [I love small weird art movies, and I love free mass entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-love-small-weird-art-movies-and-i-love-free-mass-entertainment/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [We''re all misfits here,” he says, almost proudly. “That's why I started this squat, after all. For people like us, who don't fit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/we-re-all-misfits-here-he-says-almost-proudly-that-s-why-i-started/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [This story never really had a point. It’s just a lull - a skip in the record. We are addresses in ghost towns. 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This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-specie-aeternitatis-and-the/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [A movie star is not an artist, he is an art object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schickel/a-movie-star-is-not-an-artist-he-is-an-art-object/) [Richard Schickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schickel/) > [“Art is not an object, but a way of looking at an object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-equi/art-is-not-an-object-but-a-way-of-looking-at-an-object/) [Elaine Equi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-equi/) > [ Through the last few decades it \[the art object\] has been ripped off the wall and twisted through every conceivable permutation, yet back to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-bickerton/through-the-last-few-decades-it-the-art-object-has-been-ripped-off/) Ashley Bickerton > [ “The work of art is the object seen sub specie aeternitatis \[i.e., under the aspect of eternity\]; and the good life is the world… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-work-of-art-is-the-object-seen-sub-specie-aeternitatis-i-e-under/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Each living art object, taken out of its native habitat so we can conveniently gaze at it, is like an animal in a zoo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/each-living-art-object-taken-out-of-its-native-habitat-so-we-can/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Thus art is not an object, it is an experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/thus-art-is-not-an-object-it-is-an-experience/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. 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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. 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