--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only logical thing I can think of is…" description: "\"The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there were such things as artists, and I knew there were none where I lived. So I knew that to be ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jasper-johns-8447_art_the-only-logical-thing-i-can-think-of-is_1928949.jpg" --- # The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there… ![“The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there were such things as artists, and I knew there were none where I lived. So I knew that to be an artist you had to be somewhere else. And I very much wanted to be somewhere else.” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jasper-johns-8447_art_the-only-logical-thing-i-can-think-of-is_1928949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jasper-johns-8447_art_the-only-logical-thing-i-can-think-of-is_1928949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/jasper-johns-8447_art_the-only-logical-thing-i-can-think-of-is_1928949.jpg) > “The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there were such things as artists, and I knew there were none where I lived. So I knew that to be an artist you had to be somewhere else. And I very much wanted to be somewhere else.” [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. Artistic identity often feels tied to place; feeling out of place can drive the desire to become an artist elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Artists may feel they belong elsewhere. Key Takeaway Seek environments that nurture artistic growth. Themes identity place artistry Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational personal When to use this quote - relocating for inspiration - community building - creative workshops Key Concepts displacement longing selfdiscovery Questions to Reflect On - What environment best supports your artistic practice? - Can you create “elsewhere” within your current setting? A Different Perspective Physical relocation may not guarantee artistic fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Artists Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-knew-2375481/) [Else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/else/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew/) [Knew Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-artist-2370389/) [Knew Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-lived-653817/) [Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived/) [Logical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logical/) [Logical Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logical-thing-2761952/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [None](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/none/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Somewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhere/) [Somewhere else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhere-else/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-knew/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [A few of the artists knew my name, because I have an unusual name, from Rolling Stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jancee-dunn/a-few-of-the-artists-knew-my-name-because-i-have-an-unusual-name-from/) [Jancee Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jancee-dunn/) > [I had really nice parents, and a very smart mother, but they weren't into art or anything. I didn't know what art school was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches/i-had-really-nice-parents-and-a-very-smart-mother-but-they-weren-t/) [Peaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches/) > [“...he knew of the innermost danger of all artists, he knew the utter loneliness of the man destined to be an artist, he knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-broch/he-knew-of-the-innermost-danger-of-all-artists-he-knew-the-utter/) [Hermann Broch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-broch/) > [“. . . and in the end the logical thing would be to give up and I would give up if I were laboring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-in-the-end-the-logical-thing-would-be-to-give-up-and-i-would-give/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [You don't love someone because it's the logical thing to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-love-someone-because-it-s-the-logical-thing-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The logical thing is to implement the Arab Defense Agreement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/the-logical-thing-is-to-implement-the-arab-defense-agreement/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [“It’s the sensible, logical thing to do, of course, which is why we don’t do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-the-sensible-logical-thing-to-do-of-course-which-is-why-we-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never knew Artist was going to get this big. When I was making it, I put my all into it. But you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie/i-never-knew-artist-was-going-to-get-this-big-when-i-was-making-it-i/) [A Boogie wit da Hoodie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie/) > [“I can’t overstate how little I knew about myself at 22, or how little I’d thought about what I was doing. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-can-t-overstate-how-little-i-knew-about-myself-at-22-or-how-little/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I always knew that I was an artist. I never expected to be able to make a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-always-knew-that-i-was-an-artist-i-never-expected-to-be-able-to/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [I never knew I was an artist until I did 'Last of the Mohicans'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/i-never-knew-i-was-an-artist-until-i-did-last-of-the-mohicans/) [Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/) > [I always knew I was an artist, and even more importantly, a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-hunt/i-always-knew-i-was-an-artist-and-even-more-importantly-a-star/) [Van Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-hunt/) > [Who knew that being an artist was a glamour job?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/who-knew-that-being-an-artist-was-a-glamour-job/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [“He only knew that he had lived up to his best impulse, and that is all any one can do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter/he-only-knew-that-he-had-lived-up-to-his-best-impulse-and-that-is-all/) [Gene Stratton-Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-stratton-porter/) > [“She knew she lived in a man’s world, and she reacted accordingly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/she-knew-she-lived-in-a-man-s-world-and-she-reacted-accordingly/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) ## 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](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. 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": "The only logical thing I can think of is that I knew there were such things as artists, and I knew there were none where I lived. 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