--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst that being an artist could do…" description: "\"“The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”\" — Joanna Rakoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg" --- # The worst that being an artist could do to you would be… ![“The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.” quote by Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg) > ““The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”” [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often experience a lingering, low‑grade discontent that fuels creativity but can also cause chronic unhappiness. **In simple terms:** Being an artist can bring constant mild sadness. Key Takeaway Embrace the melancholy as creative fuel, but seek balance. Themes creativity mental health artist life Mood reflective melancholic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing - painting - performing arts - daily practice Key Concepts existential angst creative drive Questions to Reflect On - How do you channel unhappiness into art? - What practices keep you grounded? A Different Perspective The sadness may become overwhelming without self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [The worst thing that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/the-worst-thing-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [The worst scientist is he who is not an artist; the worst artist is he who is no scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armand-trousseau/the-worst-scientist-is-he-who-is-not-an-artist-the-worst-artist-is-he/) [Armand Trousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armand-trousseau/) > [Sometimes when I write lyrics there are images in them, usually on a quite simplistic level, like colors. 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Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-d-lang/) ## More by Joanna Rakoff > [“was so out of place that I disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/was-so-out-of-place-that-i-disappeared/) [Joanna Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/) > [“She’d never spent entire days lying on her bed reading, entire nights making up complicated stories in her head. 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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 > [The house has to serve comfort. 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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 worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanna Rakoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/051/joanna-rakoff-31943_art_the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do_667103.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.” — Joanna Rakoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joanna Rakoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-rakoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The worst that being an artist...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-rakoff/the-worst-that-being-an-artist-could-do-to-you-would-be-that-it-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```