--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists should not look to the left or…" description: "\"Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art should be strong and nonconformist - and most importantly, art should always be personal.\" — Isa ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/isa-genzken-58454_art_artists-should-not-look-to-the-left-or-t_2465872.jpg" --- # Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art… ![“Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art should be strong and nonconformist - and most importantly, art should always be personal.” quote by Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/isa-genzken-58454_art_artists-should-not-look-to-the-left-or-t_2465872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/isa-genzken-58454_art_artists-should-not-look-to-the-left-or-t_2465872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/isa-genzken-58454_art_artists-should-not-look-to-the-left-or-t_2465872.jpg) > “Artists should not look to the left or the right. Art should be strong and nonconformist - and most importantly, art should always be personal.” [Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for art that is bold, unconventional, and deeply personal, rejecting conformity. **In simple terms:** Art must be bold, unique, personal. Key Takeaway Create authentic, daring work. Themes nonconformity personal expression boldness Mood defiant confident Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - gallery shows - public installations - artist statements Key Concepts avant‑garde authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal vision with audience reception? - What risks are you willing to take? A Different Perspective Personal art may alienate mainstream audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Nonconformist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonconformist/) ## Related quotes > [If I open a Batman book, and he doesn't look right, I can't do it. It has so much to do with the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/if-i-open-a-batman-book-and-he-doesn-t-look-right-i-can-t-do-it-it/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [Well, any time you do anything good, it's man versus himself, right? That's the art, the challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/well-any-time-you-do-anything-good-it-s-man-versus-himself-right-that/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [The public has a right to art … Art is for everybody,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-haring/the-public-has-a-right-to-art-art-is-for-everybody/) [Keith Haring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-haring/) > [“You have to feel what's right, and sometimes what's right in art is sad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-to-feel-what-s-right-and-sometimes-what-s-right-in-art-is-sad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Happy the man...with a natural gift for practising the right one \[art\] from the start-- poetry, say, or fishing; whose nights are dreamless; whose… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/happy-the-man-with-a-natural-gift-for-practising-the-right-one-art/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [If you're not trying to be real, you don't have to get it right. That's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/if-you-re-not-trying-to-be-real-you-don-t-have-to-get-it-right-that-s/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I just really care about what people see. I want them to know that I'm working hard for this. The artists that I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-mars/i-just-really-care-about-what-people-see-i-want-them-to-know-that-i-m/) [Bruno Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-mars/) > [Most artists look for something fresh to paint; frankly I find that quite boring. For me it is much more exciting to find fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/most-artists-look-for-something-fresh-to-paint-frankly-i-find-that/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [There are people that bring artists to me to look at it and it's a question of whether I like their music and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-people-that-bring-artists-to-me-to-look-at-it-and-it-s-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Artists should never look at pictures, but should stutter in a language of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winslow-homer/artists-should-never-look-at-pictures-but-should-stutter-in-a/) [Winslow Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winslow-homer/) > [You think about the artists I look at as icons, and you assume they were instantly embraced. That's usually not the case. In reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hunt/you-think-about-the-artists-i-look-at-as-icons-and-you-assume-they/) [Sam Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hunt/) > [To be an artist is a blessing and a privilege. Artists must never betray their true hearts. Artists must look beneath the surface and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-gaye/to-be-an-artist-is-a-blessing-and-a-privilege-artists-must-never/) [Marvin Gaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-gaye/) > [I come from a school of artists, the Mission School in San Francisco, and there are a lot of artists I look up to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devendra-banhart/i-come-from-a-school-of-artists-the-mission-school-in-san-francisco/) [Devendra Banhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devendra-banhart/) > [There are female artists I can look at that I find more in common with than the male artists, because they're blending the pop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/there-are-female-artists-i-can-look-at-that-i-find-more-in-common/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [The artists I look up to are the ones who push their own limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/the-artists-i-look-up-to-are-the-ones-who-push-their-own-limits/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) ## More by Isa Genzken > [I think my work is very difficult to understand. Sometimes people do and sometimes they don't. I can't do much about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-genzken/i-think-my-work-is-very-difficult-to-understand-sometimes-people-do/) [Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) > [I believe that even an airport can be an inspiring place for an artist. A Nobel Prize laureate once said something along the lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-genzken/i-believe-that-even-an-airport-can-be-an-inspiring-place-for-an/) [Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) > [In some parts of the world, you get scrutinized for saying the wrong thing about art and in other regions, you get scrutinized for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-genzken/in-some-parts-of-the-world-you-get-scrutinized-for-saying-the-wrong/) [Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) > [The entire art system urgently needs a vacation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-genzken/the-entire-art-system-urgently-needs-a-vacation/) [Isa Genzken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) [Explore all 5 Isa Genzken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-genzken/) ## 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": "Artists should not look to the left or the right. 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