--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is always the replacement of…" description: "\"Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention.\" — Guy Davenport" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png" --- # Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention. ![“Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention.” quote by Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png) > “Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention.” [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art replaces indifference with focused attention. **In simple terms:** Art turns neglect into focus. Key Takeaway Cultivate attention through art. Themes creativity attention meaning Mood inspired thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - education - therapy - personal development Key Concepts aesthetics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does art sustain attention? - What forms of art best engage you? A Different Perspective Attention can be fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Replacement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-replacement-3210028/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Indifference Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference-attention-3210026/) [Replacement Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replacement-indifference-3210027/) [Replacements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replacements/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the attention we pay to the wholeness of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-the-attention-we-pay-to-the-wholeness-of-the-world/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [Yeah, once we decided to use that replacement animation, and the seams are a function of that animation, and other movies paint those out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/yeah-once-we-decided-to-use-that-replacement-animation-and-the-seams/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [The replacement of negative thought with positive thought brings about a spiritual and physical change that can heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-shine/the-replacement-of-negative-thought-with-positive-thought-brings/) [Betty Shine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-shine/) > [I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-foreman/i-see-within-us-all-myself-included-the-replacement-of-complex-inner/) [Richard Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-foreman/) > [Science is wonderful at destroying metaphysical answers, but incapable of providing substitute ones. Science takes away foundations without providing a replacement. Whether we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/science-is-wonderful-at-destroying-metaphysical-answers-but-incapable/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [I'm suspicious of full-replacement programs - that is, pronouncements that one way of doing something will entirely supplant another, and that in fact we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-m-suspicious-of-full-replacement-programs-that-is-pronouncements/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I have gone into town to buy a few last things we need for the expedition: Peruvian wasp repellent, toothbrushes, canned peaches, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-gone-into-town-to-buy-a-few-last-things-we-need-for-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I didn't wake up one morning and not be in the Replacements. We're all that forever, and I've just grown older. I mean, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-westerberg/i-didn-t-wake-up-one-morning-and-not-be-in-the-replacements-we-re-all/) [Paul Westerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-westerberg/) > [Also in the new constitution, we want to lower the voting age from 20 years to 18 years and also gradually implement a voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/also-in-the-new-constitution-we-want-to-lower-the-voting-age-from-20/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [The first step toward the management of disease was replacement of demon theories and humours theories by the germ theory. That very step, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-brooks/the-first-step-toward-the-management-of-disease-was-replacement-of/) [Fred Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-brooks/) > [I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-now-suspect-that-just-as-a-deer-herd-lives-in-mortal-fear-of-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My aging body transmits an ageless life stream. Molecular and atomic replacement change life's composition. Molecules take part in structure and in training, countless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/my-aging-body-transmits-an-ageless-life-stream-molecular-and-atomic/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Always hire people who are better than you. Hiring dummies is shortsighted. You can't move up the ladder until everyone is comfortable with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-wyse/always-hire-people-who-are-better-than-you-hiring-dummies-is/) [Lois Wyse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-wyse/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I find in working always the disturbing intrusion of elements not a part of my most interested vision, and the inevitable obliteration and replacement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/i-find-in-working-always-the-disturbing-intrusion-of-elements-not-a/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) ## More by Guy Davenport > [Art knows neither doctrine nor idea; its nature is to show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-knows-neither-doctrine-nor-idea-its-nature-is-to-show/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [I was thought to be retarded as a child, and all the evidence indicates that I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/i-was-thought-to-be-retarded-as-a-child-and-all-the-evidence/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“Sometimes when reading Goethe I have a paralyzing suspicion that he is trying to be funny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/sometimes-when-reading-goethe-i-have-a-paralyzing-suspicion-that-he/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [The poet is at the edge of our consciousness of the world, finding beyond the suspected nothingness which we imagine limits our perception another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/the-poet-is-at-the-edge-of-our-consciousness-of-the-world-finding/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“The poet and poetess have always had a rough time of it in the Republic. It has ever been their endemic luck to starve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/the-poet-and-poetess-have-always-had-a-rough-time-of-it-in-the/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [Something of the previous state, however, survives every change. This is called in the language of cybernetics (which took it form the language of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/something-of-the-previous-state-however-survives-every-change-this-is/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [I’ve carved the puppet, and I manipulate the strings, but while it’s on stage, the show belongs to the puppet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/i-ve-carved-the-puppet-and-i-manipulate-the-strings-but-while-it-s-on/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [Art is the attention we pay to the wholeness of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-the-attention-we-pay-to-the-wholeness-of-the-world/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“I God, a very Gomorry on wheels! You lead the most exciting life I know of, and complain more about it than any two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/i-god-a-very-gomorry-on-wheels-you-lead-the-most-exciting-life-i-know/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“Man was first a hunter, and an artist: his early vestiges tell us that alone. But he must always have dreamed, and recognized and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/man-was-first-a-hunter-and-an-artist-his-early-vestiges-tell-us-that/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [It is worthwhile adding that the power of the poem to teach not only sensibilities and the subtle movements of the spirit but knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/it-is-worthwhile-adding-that-the-power-of-the-poem-to-teach-not-only/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [nothing now exists that is so valuable as whatever theoretically might replace it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/nothing-now-exists-that-is-so-valuable-as-whatever-theoretically/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [Originality houses many rooms, and the views from the windows are all different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/originality-houses-many-rooms-and-the-views-from-the-windows-are-all/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [My view, as one who taught it, is that the whole purpose of a literary education should be to tell people that these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/my-view-as-one-who-taught-it-is-that-the-whole-purpose-of-a-literary/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [“Bonnie Jean (who thinks all philosophers are idiots) has this quarrel with Wittgenstein, who in several places says that reddish green is inconceivable. Yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/bonnie-jean-who-thinks-all-philosophers-are-idiots-has-this-quarrel/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) [Explore all 46 Guy Davenport quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) ## 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": "Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guy Davenport" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indifference-by-attention/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indifference-by-attention/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/guy-davenport-14485_art_art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indiffe_2766384.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is always the replacement of indifference by attention.” — Guy Davenport", "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": "Guy Davenport", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is always the replacement of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indifference-by-attention/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/art-is-always-the-replacement-of-indifference-by-attention/#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 } } ] } ```