--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great artist has a unique…" description: "\"A great artist has a unique vision...obsession. They are someone willing to fail flamboyantly.\" — Jerry Saltz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/jerry-saltz-1712_art_a-great-artist-has-a-unique-vision-obses_2323269.png" --- # A great artist has a unique vision...obsession. They are… ![“A great artist has a unique vision...obsession. They are someone willing to fail flamboyantly.” quote by Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/jerry-saltz-1712_art_a-great-artist-has-a-unique-vision-obses_2323269.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/jerry-saltz-1712_art_a-great-artist-has-a-unique-vision-obses_2323269.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f04/jerry-saltz-1712_art_a-great-artist-has-a-unique-vision-obses_2323269.png) > “A great artist has a unique vision...obsession. They are someone willing to fail flamboyantly.” [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that great artists possess a singular vision driven by obsessive passion, willing to fail dramatically in pursuit of originality. **In simple terms:** Obsessive passion fuels artistic breakthroughs despite risk. Key Takeaway Embrace bold, risky creativity. Themes art obsession risk creativity failure Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studio practice - exhibitions - art criticism - creative education Key Concepts visionary thinking risk tolerance creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does obsession shape artistic identity? - When is risk essential for innovation? A Different Perspective Failure can damage reputation and finances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-unique-2849454/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Great artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-artist/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsession Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession-willing-5561265/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) [Unique Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique-vision-502109/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) ## Related quotes > [I think every person is so unique. I think every woman is so unique, every man is so unique, every artist is so unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/i-think-every-person-is-so-unique-i-think-every-woman-is-so-unique/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [To me, what makes an artist is a unique personality that they're not afraid to let show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/to-me-what-makes-an-artist-is-a-unique-personality-that-they-re-not/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [Back in the day, even if they were singing about the same things, each artist was unique. That's why I try to stay away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sisqo/back-in-the-day-even-if-they-were-singing-about-the-same-things-each/) [Sisqo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sisqo/) > [The Gospel worldview equips the artist with a unique combination of optimism and realism about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-gospel-worldview-equips-the-artist-with-a-unique-combination-of/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [It's very hard for me to place myself alongside another artist. Everyone has something unique to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-wright/it-s-very-hard-for-me-to-place-myself-alongside-another-artist/) [Lizz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-wright/) > [I think historically there have always been new ways to find an artist. From seeing somebody in a club traditionally to running across them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-serletic/i-think-historically-there-have-always-been-new-ways-to-find-an/) [Matt Serletic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-serletic/) > [APA is another evolution in my career; they have unique vision and share my goals for the future. I look forward to expanding our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-oakenfold/apa-is-another-evolution-in-my-career-they-have-unique-vision-and/) [Paul Oakenfold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-oakenfold/) > [All these directors, and I would include the Coen brothers and Quentin, have a very unique vision of what they want. They listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/all-these-directors-and-i-would-include-the-coen-brothers-and-quentin/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Being unique seems more desirable than ever. People are exhausted by clichés, by platitudes, by mass-produced realities, by what's been done and done and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/being-unique-seems-more-desirable-than-ever-people-are-exhausted-by/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [“First, a unique vision must “ooze” from the leader’s life as well as the church’s leadership community. Second, this vision must create a stunningly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mancini/first-a-unique-vision-must-ooze-from-the-leader-s-life-as-well-as-the/) [Will Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mancini/) > [Commercial theater, in its agenda to appeal to everybody, is often at the expense of the unique vision of the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/commercial-theater-in-its-agenda-to-appeal-to-everybody-is-often-at/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [“Hold faithfully to your unique vision and your detractors will eventually tire and give-up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/hold-faithfully-to-your-unique-vision-and-your-detractors-will/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Once you can clarify your unique vision for the end goal—comfort, happiness, security, etc.— you can get started on the path toward the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-l-jenkins/once-you-can-clarify-your-unique-vision-for-the-end-goal-comfort/) [Curtis L. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-l-jenkins/) > [“We all see the world differently from each other; we all have unique vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/we-all-see-the-world-differently-from-each-other-we-all-have-unique/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [From time to time, there are people in the film industry who appear on the horizon with a unique vision. South African director Neill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/from-time-to-time-there-are-people-in-the-film-industry-who-appear-on/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) ## More by Jerry Saltz > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Kinkade estimated that one of his paintings hung in every twenty homes in America. Yet the art world unanimously ignores or reviles him. Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/kinkade-estimated-that-one-of-his-paintings-hung-in-every-twenty/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The German ueber-photographer Andreas Gursky was the perfect pre-9/11 artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-german-ueber-photographer-andreas-gursky-was-the-perfect-pre-9-11/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The debut show, “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” is supposed to be about how artists reuse humble or unusual materials. There’s good work here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-debut-show-second-lives-remixing-the-ordinary-is-supposed-to-be/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [While the space for artists and curators has increased enormously, maybe, just maybe, that's left room for too many people calling themselves artists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/while-the-space-for-artists-and-curators-has-increased-enormously/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Those who love him love that he sells the most art; they take it as a point of faith that this proves Kinkade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/those-who-love-him-love-that-he-sells-the-most-art-they-take-it-as-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > ['Untitled' is a time machine that can transport you to 1992, an edgy moment when the art world was crumbling, money was scarce, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/untitled-is-a-time-machine-that-can-transport-you-to-1992-an-edgy/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I love art dealers. In some ways, they're my favorite people in the art world. Really. I love that they put their money where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-love-art-dealers-in-some-ways-they-re-my-favorite-people-in-the-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [My nominee for Best Picture of the year - maybe the best picture ever, because it's essentially made up of and is an ecstatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/my-nominee-for-best-picture-of-the-year-maybe-the-best-picture-ever/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Many things happened in the sixties, but the period is no more significant, better, or more 'political' than today. It's time to turn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/many-things-happened-in-the-sixties-but-the-period-is-no-more/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [When people in stadiums do the Wave, it's the group-mind collective organism spontaneously organizing itself to express an emotion, pass time, and reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/when-people-in-stadiums-do-the-wave-it-s-the-group-mind-collective/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Few contemporary artists mined the space between the ordinary and the strange better than Orozco did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/few-contemporary-artists-mined-the-space-between-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [The giant white cube is now impeding rather than enhancing the rhythms of art. It preprograms a viewer's journey, shifts the emphasis from process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/the-giant-white-cube-is-now-impeding-rather-than-enhancing-the/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Art schools are partly the villain here. (Never mind that I teach in them.) This generation of artists is the first to have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-schools-are-partly-the-villain-here-never-mind-that-i-teach-in/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [There's one Baldessari work I genuinely love and would like to own, maybe because of my Midwestern roots and love of driving alone. 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/there-s-one-baldessari-work-i-genuinely-love-and-would-like-to-own/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) [Explore all 213 Jerry Saltz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) ## 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": "A great artist has a unique vision...obsession. 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