--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unless the work of art has wholly…" description: "\"Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its makers attention, it fails. This is why works of great significance are demanding and why they are infi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/guy-davenport-14485_art_unless-the-work-of-art-has-wholly-exhaus_2087978.png" --- # Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its makers… ![“Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its makers attention, it fails. This is why works of great significance are demanding and why they are infinitely rewarding.” quote by Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/guy-davenport-14485_art_unless-the-work-of-art-has-wholly-exhaus_2087978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/guy-davenport-14485_art_unless-the-work-of-art-has-wholly-exhaus_2087978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/guy-davenport-14485_art_unless-the-work-of-art-has-wholly-exhaus_2087978.png) > “Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its makers attention, it fails. This is why works of great significance are demanding and why they are infinitely rewarding.” [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. An artwork that still occupies the creator's mind is incomplete; great works demand effort and give deep reward. **In simple terms:** Incomplete art lacks depth; demanding art is rewarding. Key Takeaway Invest fully in creative work for lasting impact. Themes creativity effort reward completion mastery Mood inspirational reflective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - music composition - architectural design Key Concepts aesthetic theory philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to finish a piece? - How do you balance effort and satisfaction? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its maker's attention, it fails. This is why works of great significance are demanding and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/unless-the-work-of-art-has-wholly-exhausted-its-maker-s-attention-it/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [At school, I was a shy lad and still am. But acting gives me licence to be up there, demanding the focus. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emun-elliott/at-school-i-was-a-shy-lad-and-still-am-but-acting-gives-me-licence-to/) [Emun Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emun-elliott/) > [One can be very happy without demanding that others agree with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-gershwin/one-can-be-very-happy-without-demanding-that-others-agree-with-them/) [Ira Gershwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-gershwin/) > [Marvel fandom is demanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-vellani/marvel-fandom-is-demanding/) [Iman Vellani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-vellani/) > [I demand the highest standards in sleep, recovery and nutrition because that makes the difference if you can perform every third or fourth day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-ten-hag/i-demand-the-highest-standards-in-sleep-recovery-and-nutrition/) [Erik ten Hag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-ten-hag/) > [My father was a difficult and demanding man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-hepburn-ferrer/my-father-was-a-difficult-and-demanding-man/) [Sean Hepburn Ferrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-hepburn-ferrer/) > [I think it's the opportunity to continue breaking records, either set by other people or by myself. I think that's what pushes me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radamel-falcao/i-think-it-s-the-opportunity-to-continue-breaking-records-either-set/) [Radamel Falcao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radamel-falcao/) > [The first time I had a secretary, I was sheepish about being demanding or even asking questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-gordon/the-first-time-i-had-a-secretary-i-was-sheepish-about-being-demanding/) [Bing Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-gordon/) > [Engel & Voelkers has a long-standing reputation for providing excellence to a demanding clientele. Now we provide even more by offering our technologically-savvy customers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hitt/engel-voelkers-has-a-long-standing-reputation-for-providing/) [Anthony Hitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hitt/) > [When you hear people demanding that the Ten Commandments be displayed in courtrooms and schoolrooms, always be sure to ask which set. It works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/when-you-hear-people-demanding-that-the-ten-commandments-be-displayed/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I've grown as a person. The dynamics on this set are very demanding because we work a lot of hours, it's very sad material,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-rohm/i-ve-grown-as-a-person-the-dynamics-on-this-set-are-very-demanding/) [Elisabeth Rohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-rohm/) > [Sometimes being an actor is kind of demanding in very different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/sometimes-being-an-actor-is-kind-of-demanding-in-very-different-ways/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [“You know as well as I do, damn you. Like it or not I seem to have grown a heart. I have absolutely no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/you-know-as-well-as-i-do-damn-you-like-it-or-not-i-seem-to-have-grown/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) > [Life is demanding without understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-of-base/life-is-demanding-without-understanding/) Ace Of Base > [My mother was strong-willed, demanding, and very supportive all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/my-mother-was-strong-willed-demanding-and-very-supportive-all-at-the/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) ## 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. 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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. 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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. 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": "Unless the work of art has wholly exhausted its makers attention, it fails. 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