--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am ready to rot in jail that art may…" description: "\"I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.\" — Gutzon Borglum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg" --- # I am ready to rot in jail that art may live. ![“I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.” quote by Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg) > “I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.” [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist is willing to endure personal hardship, even imprisonment, so that art may endure beyond his suffering. **In simple terms:** Art may require personal sacrifice. Key Takeaway Accept sacrifice for lasting art. Themes art sacrifice legacy freedom Mood determined somber Type political inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - prison reform - artistic creation - social movements Key Concepts existentialism martyrdom creative dedication Questions to Reflect On - What are the limits of personal sacrifice for art? - Is art worth enduring suffering? A Different Perspective Such extreme sacrifice may not be necessary or ethical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Jail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) ## Related quotes > [I am ready to rot in jail for the rest of my life rather than admit that my small-minded enemies are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-for-the-rest-of-my-life-rather-than-admit/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I am prepared to oppose a Jim Crow army till I rot in jail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-philip-randolph/i-am-prepared-to-oppose-a-jim-crow-army-till-i-rot-in-jail/) [A. Philip Randolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-philip-randolph/) > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [A good friend would bail you out of jail, but your best friend would be the one sitting next to you saying, "damn that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorgeous-girl/a-good-friend-would-bail-you-out-of-jail-but-your-best-friend-would/) Gorgeous\_girl > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) Mother Jones > [They would almost throw the cops in jail when they tried to arrest me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-taylor/they-would-almost-throw-the-cops-in-jail-when-they-tried-to-arrest-me/) [Lawrence Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-taylor/) > [Almost makes you want to go to jail out here, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/almost-makes-you-want-to-go-to-jail-out-here-doesn-t-it/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [“Do not fear ARREST. Why? Because, there is REST at the end of each AR"REST"; either in jail or in the grave. The wisest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opoong-amankwaa/do-not-fear-arrest-why-because-there-is-rest-at-the-end-of-each-ar/) Opoong Amankwaa > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [This is for all those disturbed females that are either with a guy that should be locked up, or crying over some dude in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adar-burks/this-is-for-all-those-disturbed-females-that-are-either-with-a-guy/) [Adar Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adar-burks/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) > [Jail is definitely not cool. Education is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/jail-is-definitely-not-cool-education-is/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) ## More by Gutzon Borglum > [Each succeeding civilization forgets its predecessor. Civilizations are ghouls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/each-succeeding-civilization-forgets-its-predecessor-civilizations/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Ten thousand years from now our civilization will have passed without leaving a trace. A new race of people will inhabit the earth. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/ten-thousand-years-from-now-our-civilization-will-have-passed-without/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Motherhood is heroism. It is God-given, and yet men treat women as though of similar common clay, when in fact they are but lower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/motherhood-is-heroism-it-is-god-given-and-yet-men-treat-women-as/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Beauty is like a soul that hovers over the surface of form. Its presence is unmistakable in art or in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/beauty-is-like-a-soul-that-hovers-over-the-surface-of-form-its/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Out of the west came Lincoln, and all that he had he gave to the preservation of the Union that had been bought so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/out-of-the-west-came-lincoln-and-all-that-he-had-he-gave-to-the/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I am ready to rot in jail for the rest of my life rather than admit that my small-minded enemies are right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-for-the-rest-of-my-life-rather-than-admit/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Art in America should be American, drawn from American sources, memorializing American achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/art-in-america-should-be-american-drawn-from-american-sources/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [Nothing in life is without cause and effect. Nothing is merely a shell. Everything has some motive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/nothing-in-life-is-without-cause-and-effect-nothing-is-merely-a-shell/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [You may go from the Battery to Harlem, and in our monuments and statues of public men you will see the slavish adherence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/you-may-go-from-the-battery-to-harlem-and-in-our-monuments-and/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [A monument's dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/a-monument-s-dimensions-should-be-determined-by-the-importance-to/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/the-purpose-of-the-memorial-is-to-communicate-the-founding-expansion/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I believe and find in my study of art that the real artist is nine-tenths of the time a craftsman, and it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-believe-and-find-in-my-study-of-art-that-the-real-artist-is-nine/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [I have labored to make the record of the great men of my time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-have-labored-to-make-the-record-of-the-great-men-of-my-time/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [You have here In New York one of the greatest and most picturesque and artistic structures in the world. I mean the Brooklyn Bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/you-have-here-in-new-york-one-of-the-greatest-and-most-picturesque/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) > [That is how America gets her art: Contracting firms get the contract and the honor. Starving artists do the work. The government pays for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/that-is-how-america-gets-her-art-contracting-firms-get-the-contract/) [Gutzon Borglum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) [Explore all 47 Gutzon Borglum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/) ## 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 > [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": "I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gutzon Borglum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-live/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-live/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3d/gutzon-borglum-14301_art_i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-l_695341.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am ready to rot in jail that art may live.” — Gutzon Borglum", "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": "Gutzon Borglum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gutzon-borglum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am ready to rot in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-live/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gutzon-borglum/i-am-ready-to-rot-in-jail-that-art-may-live/#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 } } ] } ```