--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know I am making the choice most…" description: "\"I know I am making the choice most dangerous to an artist in valuing life above art,\" — James Agee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/james-agee-9167_art_i-know-i-am-making-the-choice-most-dange_2330359.jpg" --- # I know I am making the choice most dangerous to an artist… ![“I know I am making the choice most dangerous to an artist in valuing life above art,” quote by James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/james-agee-9167_art_i-know-i-am-making-the-choice-most-dange_2330359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/james-agee-9167_art_i-know-i-am-making-the-choice-most-dange_2330359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/james-agee-9167_art_i-know-i-am-making-the-choice-most-dange_2330359.jpg) > “I know I am making the choice most dangerous to an artist in valuing life above art,” [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing life over art is risky for an artist, as it may diminish creative drive. **In simple terms:** Prioritizing survival can threaten artistic passion. Key Takeaway Balance personal well‑being with creative work. Themes art life risk values Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - health crises - ethical dilemmas - financial pressures Key Concepts existentialism creative sacrifice humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect creativity while caring for yourself? - Can art thrive under hardship? A Different Perspective Art may suffer if life dominates focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Valuing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-valuing-5602602/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choice Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice-dangerous-1358014/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Dangerous Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-artist-1727822/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Making Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-choice/) [Valuing Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuing-life-219550/) ## Related quotes > [I think it's very dangerous as an artist to be comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitski/i-think-it-s-very-dangerous-as-an-artist-to-be-comfortable/) [Mitski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitski/) > [Choice was dangerous: you had to forgo all other possibilities when you chose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choice-was-dangerous-you-had-to-forgo-all-other-possibilities-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Average is always a safe choice, and it is the most dangerous choice you can make.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/average-is-always-a-safe-choice-and-it-is-the-most-dangerous-choice/) [Erwin Raphael McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-raphael-mcmanus/) > [I don't believe in total freedom for the artist. Left on his own, free to do anything he likes, the artist ends up doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-don-t-believe-in-total-freedom-for-the-artist-left-on-his-own-free/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [If within the last century art conceived as an autonomous activity has come to be invested with an unprecedented stature - the nearest thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/if-within-the-last-century-art-conceived-as-an-autonomous-activity/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [It's dangerous to be an artist and never change in a constantly changing world. The trick is to adapt without losing yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-dangerous-to-be-an-artist-and-never-change-in-a-constantly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think carrying moral baggage is very dangerous for an artist. 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She is smaller than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/kate-the-mother-of-thirteen-is-forty-nine-delicately-made-her-skin/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [ “The passion for vengeance is a terrifyingly strong one, very easily and probably inevitably wrought up by such evidence \[of atrocities\], even at our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/the-passion-for-vengeance-is-a-terrifyingly-strong-one-very-easily/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [It's kind of a test, Mary, and it's the only kind that amounts to anything. 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It's nice to learn fast but it's nice to take your time too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/well-now-some-people-learn-a-little-quicker-than-others-it-s-nice-to/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [The artist's task is not to alter the world as the eye sees it into a world of aesthetic reality, but to perceive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/the-artist-s-task-is-not-to-alter-the-world-as-the-eye-sees-it-into-a/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [Understanding, and action proceeding from understanding and guided by it, is one weapon against the world's bombardment, the one medicine, the one instrument by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/understanding-and-action-proceeding-from-understanding-and-guided-by/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [This continent, an open palm spread frank before the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/this-continent-an-open-palm-spread-frank-before-the-sky/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [You've got to bear it in mind that nobody that ever lived is specially privileged; the axe can fall at any moment, on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/you-ve-got-to-bear-it-in-mind-that-nobody-that-ever-lived-is/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [He used this great, sad, motionless face to suggest various related things: a one-track mind near the track's end of pure insanity; mulish imperturbability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/he-used-this-great-sad-motionless-face-to-suggest-various-related/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) [Explore all 75 James Agee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) ## 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. 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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. 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. 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