--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All great contemporary artists, schooled…" description: "\"All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy.\" — Jerry Saltz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/jerry-saltz-1712_art_all-great-contemporary-artists-schooled_1997866.png" --- # All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are… ![“All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy.” quote by Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/jerry-saltz-1712_art_all-great-contemporary-artists-schooled_1997866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/jerry-saltz-1712_art_all-great-contemporary-artists-schooled_1997866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/530/jerry-saltz-1712_art_all-great-contemporary-artists-schooled_1997866.png) > “All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy.” [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. Contemporary artists often learn independently, bypassing formal training, leading to rapid skill deconstruction. **In simple terms:** Artists teach themselves and unlearn quickly. Key Takeaway Embrace self-directed learning. Themes creativity self‑education skill decay artistic autonomy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - art school - personal studio - career transition Key Concepts DIY learning de‑skillization innovation Questions to Reflect On - How does unlearning shape artistic identity? - What risks arise without formal guidance? A Different Perspective Self‑teaching may lack critical feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists Schooled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-schooled-3104910/) [Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary/) [Contemporary art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-art/) [Contemporary Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-artists-443709/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Great Contemporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-contemporary-3499154/) [Proficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proficiency/) [Schooled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schooled/) [Schooled Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schooled-essentially-3499153/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-taught/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) ## Related quotes > [All great contemporary artists, schooled or not, are essentially self-taught and are de-skilling like crazy. 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But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [I've never been at odds with the world of contemporary artists. If there is any animosity, it's one-sided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/i-ve-never-been-at-odds-with-the-world-of-contemporary-artists-if/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [The artistic formulae wear thin quickly and yet daily the artist - when developing his own foundation - must enter his own time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/the-artistic-formulae-wear-thin-quickly-and-yet-daily-the-artist-when/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Most contemporary artists are behind the bubble in time. They're making videos that are so incredibly boring compared to a good movie. 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She's one of the first contemporary artists I knew about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martine-syms/pipilotti-rist-is-a-swiss-video-artist-i-learned-about-pretty-early/) [Martine Syms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martine-syms/) > [Some comic artists I've known are better than most contemporary artists with work hanging in Tate Modern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/some-comic-artists-i-ve-known-are-better-than-most-contemporary/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [The most important ingredient of leadership is character. 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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. 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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. 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