--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art must make you laugh a little and make…" description: "\"Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little afraid. Anything as long as it doesn't bore,\" — Jean Dubuffet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/jean-dubuffet-15341_art_art-must-make-you-laugh-a-little-and-mak_1822093.jpg" --- # Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little… ![“Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little afraid. Anything as long as it doesn't bore,” quote by Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/jean-dubuffet-15341_art_art-must-make-you-laugh-a-little-and-mak_1822093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/jean-dubuffet-15341_art_art-must-make-you-laugh-a-little-and-mak_1822093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/jean-dubuffet-15341_art_art-must-make-you-laugh-a-little-and-mak_1822093.jpg) > “Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little afraid. Anything as long as it doesn't bore,” [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should provoke both amusement and fear, avoiding boredom at all costs. **In simple terms:** Art must mix humor and fear. Key Takeaway Create engaging, unsettling art. Themes art emotion humor fear engagement Mood creative challenging Type artistic inspirational When to use this quote - gallery shows - public installations - interactive pieces - performance art Key Concepts aesthetic theory psychology of art creative risk Questions to Reflect On - How can you make art both funny and unsettling? - What techniques avoid boredom? A Different Perspective Balancing humor and fear is tricky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Dementia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dementia/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) ## Related quotes > [There is no art without intoxication. But I mean a mad intoxication! Let reason teeter! Delirium! The highest degree of delirium! Plunged in burning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/there-is-no-art-without-intoxication-but-i-mean-a-mad-intoxication-2/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I've always thought something that makes you laugh, it makes you laugh because there's a little bit of truth to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-ve-always-thought-something-that-makes-you-laugh-it-makes-you-laugh/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [“Some people make you laugh a little louder, your smile a little brighter, and your life a little better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/some-people-make-you-laugh-a-little-louder-your-smile-a-little/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger, and live just a little bit better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-some-people-in-life-that-make-you-laugh-a-little-louder/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Serious work gets done ... in congenial surroundings, which tend to make you laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdiarmid/serious-work-gets-done-in-congenial-surroundings-which-tend-to-make/) [Ian McDiarmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdiarmid/) > [If laughter is the best medicine, I promise to continue to make you laugh as my wife and I work together with the National…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lopez/if-laughter-is-the-best-medicine-i-promise-to-continue-to-make-you/) [George Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lopez/) > [Why should I waste my good time making a straight dramatic film? The people who can't make you laugh can do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/why-should-i-waste-my-good-time-making-a-straight-dramatic-film-the/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Is everything funny? For me, yes. There's a positive to every negative. Even my divorce? For me, yes. If you go back and look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/is-everything-funny-for-me-yes-there-s-a-positive-to-every-negative/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [I do love comedy, but I'm not brave enough to tackle a script whose goal is to make you laugh. That's tough. The ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-do-love-comedy-but-i-m-not-brave-enough-to-tackle-a-script-whose/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [People who can make you laugh can make you cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niecy-nash/people-who-can-make-you-laugh-can-make-you-cry/) [Niecy Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niecy-nash/) > [There are so many beautiful girls around that after a while you start looking for someone who can make you laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/there-are-so-many-beautiful-girls-around-that-after-a-while-you-start/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [That's actually a rare thing to be on a set full of people that you admire and make you laugh all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/that-s-actually-a-rare-thing-to-be-on-a-set-full-of-people-that-you/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [A poet or a comedian can say what's on the mind of people. They should be funny. They should make you laugh. It may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/a-poet-or-a-comedian-can-say-what-s-on-the-mind-of-people-they-should/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [As comedians, we have the opportunity to convey a message that will have an effect. The best can make you laugh and cry, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-pharoah/as-comedians-we-have-the-opportunity-to-convey-a-message-that-will/) [Jay Pharoah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-pharoah/) > [Anything with the power to make you laugh over thirty years later isn’t a waste of time. I think something like that is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/anything-with-the-power-to-make-you-laugh-over-thirty-years-later-isn/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Jean Dubuffet > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What seems interesting to me is to reproduce in the figurative representation of an object the whole complex system of impressions we receive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-seems-interesting-to-me-is-to-reproduce-in-the-figurative/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Caprice, independence and rebellion, which are opposed to the social order, are essential to the good health of an ethnic group. We shall measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/caprice-independence-and-rebellion-which-are-opposed-to-the-social/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Art should be born from the materials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/art-should-be-born-from-the-materials/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I associated it (the word 'Hourloupe', as title of his longest series of work he made exclusively from 1962 to 1974, fh) by assonance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-associated-it-the-word-hourloupe-as-title-of-his-longest-series-of/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I would like people to see my work as a rehabilitation of scorned values and, in any case, make no mistake about it, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-would-like-people-to-see-my-work-as-a-rehabilitation-of-scorned/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I have always been haunted by the feeling that the painter has much to gain from making use of the forces that tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-have-always-been-haunted-by-the-feeling-that-the-painter-has-much/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [There is no such thing as abstract art, or else all art is abstract, which amounts to the same thing. Abstract art no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/there-is-no-such-thing-as-abstract-art-or-else-all-art-is-abstract/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What I expect from any work of art is that it surprises me, that it violates my customary valuations of things and offers me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-i-expect-from-any-work-of-art-is-that-it-surprises-me-that-it/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [I have tried to draw the human effigy (and all the other subjects dealt with in my paintings) in an immediate and effective way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/i-have-tried-to-draw-the-human-effigy-and-all-the-other-subjects/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [“People have seen that I intend to sweep away everything we have been taught to consider - without question - as grace and beauty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/people-have-seen-that-i-intend-to-sweep-away-everything-we-have-been/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Normal means lack of imagination and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/normal-means-lack-of-imagination-and-creativity/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [What culture lacks is the taste for anonymous, innumerable germination. Culture is smitten with counting and measuring; it feels out of place and uncomfortable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/what-culture-lacks-is-the-taste-for-anonymous-innumerable-germination/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/for-me-insanity-is-super-sanity-the-normal-is-psychotic-normal-means/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [The things we truly love, the things forming the basis and roots of our being, are generally things we never look at. A huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/the-things-we-truly-love-the-things-forming-the-basis-and-roots-of/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Explore all 41 Jean Dubuffet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art must make you laugh a little and make you a little afraid. 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