--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent…" description: "\"Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of feeling that it becomes the singular sign of life when every other aspect ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/jamake-highwater-26282_art_art-is-a-staple-of-mankind-so-urgent-so_2128467.png" --- # Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent, so utterly linked… ![“Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of feeling that it becomes the singular sign of life when every other aspect of civilization fails.” quote by Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/jamake-highwater-26282_art_art-is-a-staple-of-mankind-so-urgent-so_2128467.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/jamake-highwater-26282_art_art-is-a-staple-of-mankind-so-urgent-so_2128467.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c9/jamake-highwater-26282_art_art-is-a-staple-of-mankind-so-urgent-so_2128467.png) > “Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of feeling that it becomes the singular sign of life when every other aspect of civilization fails.” [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is essential to human existence, linking emotion and life when other cultural structures collapse. **In simple terms:** Art connects feeling and life when other fail. Key Takeaway Recognize art’s vital role in humanity. Themes art humanity emotion Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban decay - personal crisis - community rebuilding - education curricula Key Concepts existentialism cultural resilience Questions to Reflect On - How does art sustain societies in crisis? - What other needs can art fulfill? A Different Perspective Art may not solve material needs directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Aspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspect/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Fails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-fails-3449908/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Linked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linked/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mankind Urgent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind-urgent-4375940/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Pulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulse/) [Signs of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signs-of-life/) [Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staples/) [Urgent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgent/) [Urgent Utterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgent-utterly-3120498/) ## Related quotes > [Why does life feel, to us as we experience it, so desperately urgent and so utterly pointless at the same time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/why-does-life-feel-to-us-as-we-experience-it-so-desperately-urgent/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Civilization is to groups what intelligence is to individuals. It is a means of combining the intelligence of many to achieve ongoing group adaptation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/civilization-is-to-groups-what-intelligence-is-to-individuals-it-is-a-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember the only sign of life is motion and growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/remember-the-only-sign-of-life-is-motion-and-growth/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“No sooner were they drowsing pleasantly than the Magenpies would start the food call, one doing the hiccoughs while the other did the piping.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/no-sooner-were-they-drowsing-pleasantly-than-the-magenpies-would/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Ah come on, these streams of light are not so subtle. 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Only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/show-me-where-there-is-life-in-the-desert-only-those-who-can-see-such/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Strolling down a white-graveled walk to the cliff above the ocean, he let his eyes rove aimlessly over the expanse of sea and sand:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/strolling-down-a-white-graveled-walk-to-the-cliff-above-the-ocean-he/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jokes-about-chuck-norris/chuck-norris-has-already-been-to-mars-that-s-why-there-are-no-signs/) [Jokes About Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jokes-about-chuck-norris/) > [I am standing here in the shed, and I'm waiting to see if my seeds are going to poke out ofthe dirt. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-am-standing-here-in-the-shed-and-i-m-waiting-to-see-if-my-seeds-are/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“He must turn to something solid, because if he didn't, who knew where his mind or his soul could blow away to, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-stedman/he-must-turn-to-something-solid-because-if-he-didn-t-who-knew-where/) [M.L. Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-stedman/) > [Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this," said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-flopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yeah-she-shows-signs-of-life-if-you-do-this-said-ron-and-with-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jamake Highwater > [“I have spent most of my adult life in a ghetto among countless other outsiders who have also learned how to talk through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/i-have-spent-most-of-my-adult-life-in-a-ghetto-among-countless-other/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [The story of dance in the Western world is as much an alternative vision of the events of history as is the folk history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/the-story-of-dance-in-the-western-world-is-as-much-an-alternative/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [“The wall that separates insiders from outsiders is not born of human nature but methodically built, brick by brick, by tribal convention. The "wall"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/the-wall-that-separates-insiders-from-outsiders-is-not-born-of-human/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [Dance in this century has remained primarily a personal ritual operating, like most avant-garde art, as an idiosyncratic form rather than a tribal expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/dance-in-this-century-has-remained-primarily-a-personal-ritual/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [At the root of all the various manifestations of dancing lies the common impulse to resort to movement to externalize emotional states which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/at-the-root-of-all-the-various-manifestations-of-dancing-lies-the/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [What dance achieves, what play and sex achieve are the same thing that poetry achieves. They transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/what-dance-achieves-what-play-and-sex-achieve-are-the-same-thing-that/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [For Indians, images are a means of celebrating mystery and not a manner of explaining it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/for-indians-images-are-a-means-of-celebrating-mystery-and-not-a/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [Some of the most popular discos in America and Europe were started as gay establishments, which began to open their doors to anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/some-of-the-most-popular-discos-in-america-and-europe-were-started-as/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [In the New Hebrides, any dancer making a mistake was assaulted, wounded, and possibly killed by bowmen posted to keep careful watch for inaccuracies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/in-the-new-hebrides-any-dancer-making-a-mistake-was-assaulted-wounded/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [The nobility danced for the sake of social grace, to exhibit their finery...peasants danced to make themselves happy, to escape the routine of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/the-nobility-danced-for-the-sake-of-social-grace-to-exhibit-their/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [We often take for granted the notion that some people are insiders, while others are outsiders. But such a notion is a social contrivance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/we-often-take-for-granted-the-notion-that-some-people-are-insiders/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [For the Indian,dance is a personal form of prayer. When the Eagle Dancer puts on his costume,when he begins to dance to the music,he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/for-the-indian-dance-is-a-personal-form-of-prayer-when-the-eagle/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [“Not everyone has a voice. Many outsiders cannot speak through walls, and, as a consequence, they become silent and invisible. Some give up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/not-everyone-has-a-voice-many-outsiders-cannot-speak-through-walls/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [“People who exist at the margins of society are very much like Alice in Wonderland. They are not required to make the tough decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/people-who-exist-at-the-margins-of-society-are-very-much-like-alice/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) > [What outsiders discover in their adventures on the other side of the looking glass is the courage to repudiate self-contempt and recognise their “alienation”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/what-outsiders-discover-in-their-adventures-on-the-other-side-of-the/) [Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) [Explore all 22 Jamake Highwater quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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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": "Art is a staple of mankind... 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