--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think words come between the spectator…" description: "\"I think words come between the spectator and the picture.\" — Howard Hodgkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg" --- # I think words come between the spectator and the picture. ![“I think words come between the spectator and the picture.” quote by Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg) > “I think words come between the spectator and the picture.” [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Words act as a bridge, separating the viewer from the visual artwork and influencing interpretation. **In simple terms:** Words separate viewer and art Key Takeaway Consider the impact of language on perception. Themes communication art perception interpretation Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical educational When to use this quote - gallery tours - art criticism - educational workshops - media reviews Key Concepts Semiotics mediated experience Questions to Reflect On - Does language clarify or obscure art? - When does description enrich viewing? A Different Perspective Words can also enhance connection, not just separate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Come Spectator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-spectator-1913513/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Spectator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectator/) [Spectator Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectator-picture-1913512/) [Spectators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spectators/) [Think Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-words-595922/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Words Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-come-339540/) ## Related quotes > [“And art has come to be a spectator of itself, the way it reacts, what newspapers write about it; the artist is a performer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/and-art-has-come-to-be-a-spectator-of-itself-the-way-it-reacts-what/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [I think that words are often extraneous to what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-that-words-are-often-extraneous-to-what-i-do/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I would always rather be in the arena fighting than be a spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/i-would-always-rather-be-in-the-arena-fighting-than-be-a-spectator/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [Life is too precious to be a spectator sport. We are no longer merely fans, rooting for the winning team. We are the team.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-robin/life-is-too-precious-to-be-a-spectator-sport-we-are-no-longer-merely/) [Vicki Robin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-robin/) > [When a spectator approaches a painting with his own particular set of filters or theories, be they historical, political, intellectual or whatever - he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-portway/when-a-spectator-approaches-a-painting-with-his-own-particular-set-of/) [Douglas Portway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-portway/) > [Pornography and cooking shows have created two new spectator sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/pornography-and-cooking-shows-have-created-two-new-spectator-sports/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [... I was merely a disinterested spectator at the Banquet of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-was-merely-a-disinterested-spectator-at-the-banquet-of-life/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [The canvas upon which the artist paints is the spectator's mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/okakura-kakuzo/the-canvas-upon-which-the-artist-paints-is-the-spectator-s-mind/) [Okakura Kakuzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/okakura-kakuzo/) > [I believe that the artist doesn't know what he does. I attach even more importance to the spectator than to the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-believe-that-the-artist-doesn-t-know-what-he-does-i-attach-even/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Don't live life as a spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-baumgartner/don-t-live-life-as-a-spectator/) [Felix Baumgartner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-baumgartner/) > [The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-creative-act-is-not-performed-by-the-artist-alone-the-spectator/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/the-ultimate-justification-of-the-work-of-art-is-to-help-the/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [My thinking was that today's spectator is so well-versed in film language that all theories about suspense, as argued by Dreyer and Hitchcock, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/my-thinking-was-that-today-s-spectator-is-so-well-versed-in-film/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-resnais/there-cannot-be-any-communication-except-through-form-if-there-is-no/) [Alain Resnais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-resnais/) ## More by Howard Hodgkin > [My pictures really finish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/my-pictures-really-finish-themselves/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [To be a painter now is to be part of a very small, endangered species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/to-be-a-painter-now-is-to-be-part-of-a-very-small-endangered-species/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [The only way an artist can communicate with the world at large is on the level of feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/the-only-way-an-artist-can-communicate-with-the-world-at-large-is-on/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I don't think you can lightly paint a picture. It's an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-don-t-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-it-s-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I never think that anything I do is courageous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-never-think-that-anything-i-do-is-courageous/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I dont think you can lightly paint a picture. Its an activity I take very seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-dont-think-you-can-lightly-paint-a-picture-its-an-activity-i-take/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [In the United States there has been a kind of a structure in the Modern art world. The New York School was nearly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/in-the-united-states-there-has-been-a-kind-of-a-structure-in-the/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm very envious of the few artists who are any good and still do portraits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-very-envious-of-the-few-artists-who-are-any-good-and-still-do/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I am isolated as an artist, not as a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-am-isolated-as-an-artist-not-as-a-person/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Matisse was very clear about saying that you have to blow your own trumpet and explain yourself, which I think has been slightly forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/matisse-was-very-clear-about-saying-that-you-have-to-blow-your-own/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [It takes a long time for the gleam in the eye to turn into something solid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/it-takes-a-long-time-for-the-gleam-in-the-eye-to-turn-into-something/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I fell through a crack for years. Historically, I am a nothing because I fit in no category. I can only be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-fell-through-a-crack-for-years-historically-i-am-a-nothing-because/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I find old copies of National Gallery catalogues, which are written in the dryest possible prose, infinitely soothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-find-old-copies-of-national-gallery-catalogues-which-are-written-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [Eventually, a collection ceases to be a personal indulgence and assumes its own identity. In fact, it becomes a thing in its own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/eventually-a-collection-ceases-to-be-a-personal-indulgence-and/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) > [I'm vulnerable to criticism. Any artist is, because you work alone in your studio and, until recently, critics were the only way you'd get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-m-vulnerable-to-criticism-any-artist-is-because-you-work-alone-in/) [Howard Hodgkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) [Explore all 37 Howard Hodgkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/) ## More Language quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) [Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think words come between the spectator and the picture.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Hodgkin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator-and-the-picture/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Language" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator-and-the-picture/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/howard-hodgkin-17509_language_i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator_977011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think words come between the spectator and the picture.” — Howard Hodgkin", "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": "Howard Hodgkin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-hodgkin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think words come between the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator-and-the-picture/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-hodgkin/i-think-words-come-between-the-spectator-and-the-picture/#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 } } ] } ```