---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While I know that the beautiful, the…"
description: "\"While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the sublime are suspect today, I have begun to stop resisting the constant urge to deny that beauty ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg"
---

#  While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the…

![“While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the sublime are suspect today, I have begun to stop resisting the constant urge to deny that beauty has a valid right to exist in contemporary art.” quote by Ian Hornak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg)

> “While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the sublime are suspect today, I have begun to stop resisting the constant urge to deny that beauty has a valid right to exist in contemporary art.”

Ian Hornak

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Beauty in art is often dismissed, yet it deserves a rightful place in modern expression.

**In simple terms:** Beauty belongs in modern art.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for beauty’s role in contemporary art.

Themes

art beauty modernism

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

critical artistic

When to use this quote

- gallery curating
- art education
- public installations

Key Concepts

aesthetic theory cultural critique creativity

Questions to Reflect On

- Why is beauty important in today’s art?
- How can artists balance beauty with concept?

A Different Perspective

Some view beauty as superficial in critical discourse.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Contemporary art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-art/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Sublime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sublime/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/)

## Related quotes

> [The curvy community has really given me a voice because people want to see someone who looks like they do. They want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philomena-kwao/the-curvy-community-has-really-given-me-a-voice-because-people-want/)

[Philomena Kwao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philomena-kwao/)

> [Not even hatred can deny beauty of its true design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/not-even-hatred-can-deny-beauty-of-its-true-design/)

[Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/)

> [Beauty is present in all creation, but the danger lies in the fact that we allow ourselves to be influenced by what people think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/beauty-is-present-in-all-creation-but-the-danger-lies-in-the-fact/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“You do not insist that I love you but how can I help it when I hear your unbridled laughter? How can I deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/you-do-not-insist-that-i-love-you-but-how-can-i-help-it-when-i-hear/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [“she has craters but only a fool can deny her beauty. She silently stare sun whole night &amp; reflects his light his love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lokesh-fouzdar/she-has-craters-but-only-a-fool-can-deny-her-beauty-she-silently/)

Lokesh Fouzdar

> [Quite simply, when we deny our children nature, we deny them beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/quite-simply-when-we-deny-our-children-nature-we-deny-them-beauty/)

[Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/)

> [“Beautiful people make even those of us who proudly consider ourselves unmoved by another’s appearance dumb with admiration and fear and delight, and struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/beautiful-people-make-even-those-of-us-who-proudly-consider-ourselves/)

[Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/)

> [I would love to say there was some contemporary artist who's work really got me thinking, but lately I have just been trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-arcangel/i-would-love-to-say-there-was-some-contemporary-artist-who-s-work/)

[Cory Arcangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-arcangel/)

> [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/)

[Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/)

> [The problem with contemporary art is that no one bothers to do the research necessary to give people what they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/the-problem-with-contemporary-art-is-that-no-one-bothers-to-do-the/)

[Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/)

> [A contemporary artist can use the findings of all epochs and all styles, from the most primitive literary expressions up to the most refined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-goytisolo/a-contemporary-artist-can-use-the-findings-of-all-epochs-and-all/)

[Juan Goytisolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-goytisolo/)

> [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/)

[Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/)

> [We have created indoor installations inside museums, like the Wrapped Floor at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1968, and not monumental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/we-have-created-indoor-installations-inside-museums-like-the-wrapped/)

[Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/)

> [The boundaries between contemporary art and cinema are so rigid. It's unbelievable. The film critics don't know my artwork and the art world doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/the-boundaries-between-contemporary-art-and-cinema-are-so-rigid-it-s/)

[Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/)

> [“Looking at and 'appreciating' art has been understood as an instrument (or at best a result) of upward mobility, in which owning art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-r-lippard/looking-at-and-appreciating-art-has-been-understood-as-an-instrument/)

[Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/)

## More by Ian Hornak

> [What I so like about Poussin and Cezanne is their sense of organization. Ilike the way in which they develop space and shape in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/what-i-so-like-about-poussin-and-cezanne-is-their-sense-of/)

Ian Hornak

> [My idea of a perfect surrealist painting is one in which every detail is perfectly realistic, yet filled with a surrealistic, dreamlike mood. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/my-idea-of-a-perfect-surrealist-painting-is-one-in-which-every-detail/)

Ian Hornak

Explore all 3 Ian Hornak quotes

## 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": "While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the sublime are suspect today, I have begun to stop resisting the constant urge to deny that beauty has a valid right to exist in contemporary art.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ian Hornak"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spiritual-and-the-sublime-are/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spiritual-and-the-sublime-are/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9d/ian-hornak-87194_art_while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spir_2465439.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“While I know that the beautiful, the spiritual and the sublime are suspect today, I have begun to stop…” — Ian Hornak",
                "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": "Ian Hornak",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hornak/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "While I know that the beautiful,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spiritual-and-the-sublime-are/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hornak/while-i-know-that-the-beautiful-the-spiritual-and-the-sublime-are/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
