--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As the thought comes to me to exorcise…" description: "\"As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become a surface.. .Now I have lost all fear, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg" --- # As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this… ![“As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become a surface.. .Now I have lost all fear, and begin to draw on the black surface.” quote by Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg) > “As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become a surface.. .Now I have lost all fear, and begin to draw on the black surface.” [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transforming a dark canvas into a white drawing eliminates fear, turning anxiety into creative action. **In simple terms:** Turning fear into art frees the mind. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown to create. Themes art psychology transformation courage Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Therapy sessions - art workshops - personal journaling - design brainstorming - mindfulness practice Key Concepts creative process fear reduction symbolic contrast Questions to Reflect On - What does the black represent for you? - How can you apply this shift beyond art? A Different Perspective May ignore underlying issues by focusing only on surface changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I feel as though I am on a desert island.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/here-beside-this-great-black-surface-that-is-my-desk-i-feel-as-though/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Not too many people draw black people as well as I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-adams/not-too-many-people-draw-black-people-as-well-as-i-do/) [Neal Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-adams/) > [The uncertain and imprecise way of constructing a drawing is sometimes a model of how to construct meaning... The ethical and moral questions...in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-uncertain-and-imprecise-way-of-constructing-a-drawing-is/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [I use the old Strathmore vellum surface paper, which is the best paper you can get in the Western world for ink line drawing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crumb/i-use-the-old-strathmore-vellum-surface-paper-which-is-the-best-paper/) [Robert Crumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crumb/) > [“After about 20 years of marriage, I think I'm finally starting to scratch the surface of what women want. And I think the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/after-about-20-years-of-marriage-i-think-i-m-finally-starting-to/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [My biggest advice would be to take the pictures you want to take. 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Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [“the surface. To begin to approach that goal, we need a new psychology that can help us get closer to each other than most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser-m-d/the-surface-to-begin-to-approach-that-goal-we-need-a-new-psychology/) [William Glasser M.D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser-m-d/) > [I've discovered special makeup by a company called M.A.C. You could wear it on the surface of the sun and it wouldn't move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/i-ve-discovered-special-makeup-by-a-company-called-m-a-c-you-could/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) ## More by Hans Arp > [“La mariposa disecada se convierte en una mamariposa disesecada la mamariposa disesecada se convierte en una granmamariposa grandisesecada”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/la-mariposa-disecada-se-convierte-en-una-mamariposa-disesecada-la/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Ever since my childhood, I was haunted by the search for perfection. An imperfectly cut paper literally made me ill. I would guillotine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/ever-since-my-childhood-i-was-haunted-by-the-search-for-perfection-an/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [In recent times, Surrealist painters have used descriptive illusionistic academic methods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/in-recent-times-surrealist-painters-have-used-descriptive/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Artists should work together like the artists of the Middle Ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/artists-should-work-together-like-the-artists-of-the-middle-ages/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Zurich in 1915,... While the thunder of the batteries rumbled in the distance, we pasted, we recited, we versified, we sang with all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/zurich-in-1915-while-the-thunder-of-the-batteries-rumbled-in-the/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [I like nature but not its substitutes... Mondrian opposed art to nature saying that art is artificial and nature is natural. I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/i-like-nature-but-not-its-substitutes-mondrian-opposed-art-to-nature/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [We attempted perfection; we wanted an object to be without flaw, so we cut the papers with a razor, pasted them down meticulously, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/we-attempted-perfection-we-wanted-an-object-to-be-without-flaw-so-we/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [The vertical and the horizontal are the extreme signs available to man for touching the beyond and his inwardness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/the-vertical-and-the-horizontal-are-the-extreme-signs-available-to/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [DaDa is beautiful like the night, who cradles the young day in her arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/dada-is-beautiful-like-the-night-who-cradles-the-young-day-in-her-arms/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [While guns rumbled in the distance, we sang, painted, made collages and wrote poems with all our might. We were seeking an art based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/while-guns-rumbled-in-the-distance-we-sang-painted-made-collages-and/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [In 1915 Sophie Tauber and I carried out our first works in the simplest forms, using painting, embroidery and pasted paper (without using oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/in-1915-sophie-tauber-and-i-carried-out-our-first-works-in-the/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Since the time of the cavemen, man has glorified himself, has made himself divine, and his monstrous vanity has caused human catastrophe. Art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/since-the-time-of-the-cavemen-man-has-glorified-himself-has-made/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [The man who speaks and writes about art should refrain from censuring or pontificating. He will thus avoid doing anything foolish, for in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/the-man-who-speaks-and-writes-about-art-should-refrain-from-censuring/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Each one of these bodies (art-works Arp made) certainly signifies something, but it is only once there is nothing left for me to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/each-one-of-these-bodies-art-works-arp-made-certainly-signifies/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) > [Already in 1915, Sophie Tauber divides the surface of her aquarelle into squares and rectangles which she then juxtaposes horizontally and perpendicularly as Mondrian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/already-in-1915-sophie-tauber-divides-the-surface-of-her-aquarelle/) [Hans Arp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) [Explore all 34 Hans Arp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become a surface.. .Now I have lost all fear, and begin to draw on the black surface.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hans Arp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-and-transform-this-black-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-and-transform-this-black-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/hans-arp-18152_artist_as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-a_1625245.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As the thought comes to me to exorcise and transform this black with a white drawing, it has already become…” — Hans Arp", "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": "Hans Arp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-arp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As the thought comes to me...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-and-transform-this-black-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-arp/as-the-thought-comes-to-me-to-exorcise-and-transform-this-black-with/#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 } } ] } ```