--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art produces ugly things which frequently…" description: "\"Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/jean-cocteau-1181_art_art-produces-ugly-things-which-frequentl_1856102.jpg" --- # Art produces ugly things which frequently become more… ![“Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.” quote by Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/jean-cocteau-1181_art_art-produces-ugly-things-which-frequentl_1856102.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/jean-cocteau-1181_art_art-produces-ugly-things-which-frequentl_1856102.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/jean-cocteau-1181_art_art-produces-ugly-things-which-frequentl_1856102.jpg) > “Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.” [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art creates initially unattractive works that can gain value and appeal over time, while fashion makes pleasing items that quickly lose relevance and desirability. **In simple terms:** Art ages into beauty; fashion fades. Key Takeaway Recognize lasting value over fleeting appeal. Themes beauty transience value culture aesthetics Mood reflective analytical Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - collecting art - investing in fashion - curating exhibitions - design education Key Concepts impermanence subjectivity societal trends Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess long‑term value in creative works? - Can fleeting beauty be as meaningful as enduring art? A Different Perspective Fashion trends can be cyclical, challenging the notion of inevitable decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-things/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Ugly things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugly-things/) ## Related quotes > [Art produces ugly things which frequently become beautiful with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/art-produces-ugly-things-which-frequently-become-beautiful-with-time/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“We live solely in our minds. If things are ugly there, things are ugly every where.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-fitchett/we-live-solely-in-our-minds-if-things-are-ugly-there-things-are-ugly/) [Garry Fitchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-fitchett/) > [“Behind every beautiful things there's an ugly situation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beta-lens/behind-every-beautiful-things-there-s-an-ugly-situation/) Beta Lens > [It is curious that nearly all the great fortunes are made by turning beautiful things into ugly ones. Making beauty out of ugliness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-nesbit/it-is-curious-that-nearly-all-the-great-fortunes-are-made-by-turning/) [E. Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) > [I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares, as opposed to ugly things. That's my intent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bass/i-want-to-make-beautiful-things-even-if-nobody-cares-as-opposed-to/) [Saul Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bass/) > [There are beautiful things about the sport of boxing and there are ugly things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thurman/there-are-beautiful-things-about-the-sport-of-boxing-and-there-are/) [Keith Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-thurman/) > [I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-have-found-that-all-ugly-things-are-made-by-those-who-strive-to/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In the '70s, if anything, it was a more interesting time in fashion. It was a time when things were changing, especially in London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/in-the-70s-if-anything-it-was-a-more-interesting-time-in-fashion-it/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [With time, fashion has become part of my DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-cavalli/with-time-fashion-has-become-part-of-my-dna/) [Roberto Cavalli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-cavalli/) > [When a popular phenomenon reaches the cover of 'Time,' it is already out of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holloway/when-a-popular-phenomenon-reaches-the-cover-of-time-it-is-already-out/) [Richard Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holloway/) > [I've never been in New York for the whole time of Fashion Week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-ve-never-been-in-new-york-for-the-whole-time-of-fashion-week/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [Once upon a time, fashion was complex, and ostentatious was considered better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaba-gupta/once-upon-a-time-fashion-was-complex-and-ostentatious-was-considered/) [Masaba Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaba-gupta/) > [Now is the most exciting time in fashion. Women are controlling their destiny now, the consumer is more knowledgeable, and I have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-de-la-renta/now-is-the-most-exciting-time-in-fashion-women-are-controlling-their/) [Oscar de la Renta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-de-la-renta/) > [This is a time where fashion and style go against what I would rather do myself. So I have to pick and choose from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/this-is-a-time-where-fashion-and-style-go-against-what-i-would-rather/) T.I > [I get told all the time that I'm a fashion icon now, but I don't really know what that means. I just get dressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-momsen/i-get-told-all-the-time-that-i-m-a-fashion-icon-now-but-i-don-t/) [Taylor Momsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-momsen/) ## More by Jean Cocteau > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I am happy to exhibit, but not to put myself on exhibition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-am-happy-to-exhibit-but-not-to-put-myself-on-exhibition/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you dislike?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-believe-in-luck-how-else-can-you-explain-the-success-of-those-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I have a piece of great and sad news to tell you: I am dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-have-a-piece-of-great-and-sad-news-to-tell-you-i-am-dead/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Fight any instinct to be humorless, for humorlessness is the worst of all absurdities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/fight-any-instinct-to-be-humorless-for-humorlessness-is-the-worst-of/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lying is the only art form that the public sanctions and instinctively prefers to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lying-is-the-only-art-form-that-the-public-sanctions-and/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain hours it haunts the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/the-dead-drug-leaves-a-ghost-behind-at-certain-hours-it-haunts-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“Vivre est une chute horizontale”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/vivre-est-une-chute-horizontale/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [I expect a black silence that is almost as violent as laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-expect-a-black-silence-that-is-almost-as-violent-as-laughter/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [My method is simple: not to bother about poetry. It must come of its own accord. Merely whispering its name drives it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/my-method-is-simple-not-to-bother-about-poetry-it-must-come-of-its/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [If a poet has a dream, it is not of becoming famous, but of being believed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/if-a-poet-has-a-dream-it-is-not-of-becoming-famous-but-of-being/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Lack of manners is the sign of a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/lack-of-manners-is-the-sign-of-a-hero/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [What the public criticizes in you, cultivate. It is you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-the-public-criticizes-in-you-cultivate-it-is-you/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Here I am trying to live, or rather, I am trying to teach the death within me how to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/here-i-am-trying-to-live-or-rather-i-am-trying-to-teach-the-death/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) [Explore all 255 Jean Cocteau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) ## 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": "Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. 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