--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel that works of art are an…" description: "\"I feel that works of art are an opportunity for people to construct meaning, so I don't usually tell what they mean. It conveys to people that they hav..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/jasper-johns-8447_art_i-feel-that-works-of-art-are-an-opportun_2205902.jpg" --- # I feel that works of art are an opportunity for people to… ![“I feel that works of art are an opportunity for people to construct meaning, so I don't usually tell what they mean. It conveys to people that they have to participate.” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/jasper-johns-8447_art_i-feel-that-works-of-art-are-an-opportun_2205902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/jasper-johns-8447_art_i-feel-that-works-of-art-are-an-opportun_2205902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d81/jasper-johns-8447_art_i-feel-that-works-of-art-are-an-opportun_2205902.jpg) > “I feel that works of art are an opportunity for people to construct meaning, so I don't usually tell what they mean. It conveys to people that they have to participate.” [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art invites viewers to create personal meaning rather than receive a fixed interpretation. **In simple terms:** Art asks you to find your own meaning. Key Takeaway Engage actively with art. Themes creativity interpretation participation Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - public installations - art education Key Concepts aesthetic experience subjective meaning Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what an artwork means to you? - What does participation add to your experience? A Different Perspective Some may feel lost without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [I think all children love art, but not all get the opportunity to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-ringgold/i-think-all-children-love-art-but-not-all-get-the-opportunity-to-do-it/) [Faith Ringgold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-ringgold/) > [“Tanacity is the dance within the art of opportunity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/tanacity-is-the-dance-within-the-art-of-opportunity/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [It is our art that has an opportunity to leave a footprint in the sand. They don't wrap fish in our work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-newell-jacobsen/it-is-our-art-that-has-an-opportunity-to-leave-a-footprint-in-the/) [Hugh Newell Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-newell-jacobsen/) > [The finest works of art are those in which there is the least matter. The closer expression comes to thought, the more the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-finest-works-of-art-are-those-in-which-there-is-the-least-matter/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [All works of art should begin... at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/all-works-of-art-should-begin-at-the-end/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Those works whose ideal has not as much living reality and, as it were, personality as the beloved one or a friend had better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/those-works-whose-ideal-has-not-as-much-living-reality-and-as-it-were/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [Can one make works which are not works of 'art'?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/can-one-make-works-which-are-not-works-of-art/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [In the vaunted works of Art, The master-stroke is Nature's part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-the-vaunted-works-of-art-the-master-stroke-is-nature-s-part/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The greatest works of art speak to us without knowing us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-greatest-works-of-art-speak-to-us-without-knowing-us/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Less disappointing than life, great works of art do not begin by giving us all their best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/less-disappointing-than-life-great-works-of-art-do-not-begin-by/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [But of works of art little can be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/but-of-works-of-art-little-can-be-said/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Leo's goals are works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rijkaard/leo-s-goals-are-works-of-art/) [Frank Rijkaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rijkaard/) > [They are works of art that can be considered works of art but don't have to be in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/they-are-works-of-art-that-can-be-considered-works-of-art-but-don-t/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) > [Beauty is not the purpose of creation, it is its reward. Its appearance, often late in the day, is no more than an indication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brassai/beauty-is-not-the-purpose-of-creation-it-is-its-reward-its-appearance/) [Brassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brassai/) > [We're all works of art in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/we-re-all-works-of-art-in-progress/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) ## More by Jasper Johns > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Make something, a kind of object, which as it changes or falls apart (dies as it were) or increases in its parts (grows as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/make-something-a-kind-of-object-which-as-it-changes-or-falls-apart/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [In my early work, I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotions. This was partly due to my feelings about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/in-my-early-work-i-tried-to-hide-my-personality-my-psychological/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have meant what I have done. Or I have often meant what I have done. Or I have sometimes meant what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-meant-what-i-have-done-or-i-have-often-meant-what-i-have-done/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art as a fantasy has been one of my earliest experiences. I suppose a lot of my childhood was a fantasy that involved getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-as-a-fantasy-has-been-one-of-my-earliest-experiences-i-suppose-a/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn't aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-was-raised-in-south-carolina-i-wasn-t-aware-of-any-art-in-south/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Sometime during the mid-50s I said, 'I am an artist.' Before that, for many years, I had said, 'I'm going to be an artist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/sometime-during-the-mid-50s-i-said-i-am-an-artist-before-that-for/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [That's what painting does; it organizes vision in a certain way or suggests that certain things be paid attention to and certain other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/that-s-what-painting-does-it-organizes-vision-in-a-certain-way-or/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I assumed that everything would lead to complete failure, but I decided that didn't matter – that would be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-assumed-that-everything-would-lead-to-complete-failure-but-i/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I tend to like things that already exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-tend-to-like-things-that-already-exist/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Bend color names which should be made of neon or copper tubing. Place an object on a surface - trace the object - then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/bend-color-names-which-should-be-made-of-neon-or-copper-tubing-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [My experience with life is that it's very fragmented. In one place certain kinds of thing occur, and in another place a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/my-experience-with-life-is-that-it-s-very-fragmented-in-one-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I never wish for critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-never-wish-for-critics/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art is either a complaint or appeasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-is-either-a-complaint-or-appeasement/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) [Explore all 80 Jasper Johns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## 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": "I feel that works of art are an opportunity for people to construct meaning, so I don't usually tell what they mean. 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