--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've reached a point where we are not a…" description: "\"We've reached a point where we are not a very empathetic people, and art without empathy is art without an audience. My basic viewpoint is that without..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jamake-highwater-26282_art_we-ve-reached-a-point-where-we-are-not-a_2793429.jpg" --- # We've reached a point where we are not a very empathetic… ![“We've reached a point where we are not a very empathetic people, and art without empathy is art without an audience. My basic viewpoint is that without art we're alone.” quote by Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jamake-highwater-26282_art_we-ve-reached-a-point-where-we-are-not-a_2793429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jamake-highwater-26282_art_we-ve-reached-a-point-where-we-are-not-a_2793429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/jamake-highwater-26282_art_we-ve-reached-a-point-where-we-are-not-a_2793429.jpg) > “We've reached a point where we are not a very empathetic people, and art without empathy is art without an audience. My basic viewpoint is that without art we're alone.” [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. Empathy is essential for art to connect with audiences; without it, art feels isolated and fails to engage. **In simple terms:** Art needs empathy to reach people. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy in creative work. Themes art empathy audience connection Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - painting workshops - music collaborations - theatre productions - community art projects Key Concepts human experience emotional intelligence creative expression Questions to Reflect On - How does empathy influence your artistic choices? - Can art exist without audience connection? A Different Perspective Some art thrives on provocation rather than empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-empathy-3397341/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Empathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathetic/) [Empathetic People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathetic-people-439184/) [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Empathy Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy-art-3330431/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-art-265190/) [Viewpoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewpoints/) ## Related quotes > [Growing older has helped me become empathetic to other people and their reasons for making choices. I used to think there was a definitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/growing-older-has-helped-me-become-empathetic-to-other-people-and/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) > [It's weird, but I'm so empathetic; when I see people dying on hot sauce, I do feel for them. And I'm a Midwestern guy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-evans/it-s-weird-but-i-m-so-empathetic-when-i-see-people-dying-on-hot-sauce/) [Sean Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-evans/) > [“It is time to teach society on how to be empathetic with people grieving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-himmelrich/it-is-time-to-teach-society-on-how-to-be-empathetic-with-people/) [Nathalie Himmelrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-himmelrich/) > [Empathetic people are superb at recognizing and meeting the needs of clients, customers, or subordinates. 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It is not 'cool' to laugh at the shape of their body, color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/we-all-need-to-be-more-empathetic-towards-other-people-it-is-not-cool/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [And after my mother's death I became more open to and empathetic about other people's struggles and losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-o-rourke/and-after-my-mother-s-death-i-became-more-open-to-and-empathetic/) [Meghan O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-o-rourke/) > [Human beings are created with empathy. Art serves that purpose. So why should I be disinterested in a character who's a man, and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyne-brochu/human-beings-are-created-with-empathy-art-serves-that-purpose-so-why/) [Evelyne Brochu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyne-brochu/) > [It's not a very nice thing to not have empathy. I would like to have empathy. 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Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [People would rather have art or gold instead of paper money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/people-would-rather-have-art-or-gold-instead-of-paper-money/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [My dark little secret is that I don't actually believe many people in the art world have much feeling for art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/my-dark-little-secret-is-that-i-don-t-actually-believe-many-people-in/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [But I think you have to - whatever the environment looks like, it does enter into people's art work one way or another; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/but-i-think-you-have-to-whatever-the-environment-looks-like-it-does/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [Art is not an elitist gift for a few select people. Art is for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attenborough/art-is-not-an-elitist-gift-for-a-few-select-people-art-is-for-everyone/) [Richard Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attenborough/) ## 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/) > [Art is a staple of mankind... So urgent, so utterly linked with the pulse of feeling that it becomes the singular sign of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/art-is-a-staple-of-mankind-so-urgent-so-utterly-linked-with-the-pulse/) [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/) [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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