--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the term 'conceptual art' is a…" description: "\"I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for writers, a basket to put people in, like Pop Art or Impressionism or whatever.\" — John Baldessari" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png" --- # I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for… ![“I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for writers, a basket to put people in, like Pop Art or Impressionism or whatever.” quote by John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png) > “I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for writers, a basket to put people in, like Pop Art or Impressionism or whatever.” [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labeling art movements creates convenient categories but can limit creative freedom. **In simple terms:** Categories simplify but restrict. Key Takeaway Use labels wisely, but stay open to new forms. Themes art categorization creativity language Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative brainstorming - critical writing Key Concepts conceptual art taxonomy art history Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect your perception? - When might you discard a label? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on labels can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-useful-520625/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Baskets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baskets/) [Conceptual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual/) [Conceptual art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual-art/) [Impressionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impressionism/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pop art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-art/) [Pops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pops/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Term Conceptual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term-conceptual-5196651/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [Conceptual art is entirely word-bound. It is, in fact, the kind of art that is exhausted in its verbal description.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-stoddart/conceptual-art-is-entirely-word-bound-it-is-in-fact-the-kind-of-art/) [Alexander Stoddart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-stoddart/) > [The other great development has been in photography, but that too was influenced by Conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-other-great-development-has-been-in-photography-but-that-too-was/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Conceptual art, I don't even know what that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watkin-tudor-jones/conceptual-art-i-don-t-even-know-what-that-is/) [Watkin Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watkin-tudor-jones/) > [Im not trying to do conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sotos/im-not-trying-to-do-conceptual-art/) [Peter Sotos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sotos/) > [In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-conceptual-art-the-idea-or-concept-is-the-most-important-aspect-of/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I spent a lot of time on my own working out the physical vocabulary for how Gollum moved. As I say, I drew on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-my-own-working-out-the-physical-vocabulary/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I don’t work as a conceptualist. Let’s say the conceptual art model is that you have a project idea, or a set of concerns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gossage/i-don-t-work-as-a-conceptualist-let-s-say-the-conceptual-art-model-is/) [John Gossage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gossage/) > [What art is not processed? "Conceptual art." Somebody making a painting has to conceive of the size. I don't understand where these words came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/what-art-is-not-processed-conceptual-art-somebody-making-a-painting/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [It would be obvious for me to do conceptual art, and I think I've done it already with smashing bass guitars and whatever -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simonon/it-would-be-obvious-for-me-to-do-conceptual-art-and-i-think-i-ve-done/) [Paul Simonon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simonon/) > [When I go to galleries in New York, I feel like I'm in school. I know that there's good contemporary conceptual art, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyp-malone/when-i-go-to-galleries-in-new-york-i-feel-like-i-m-in-school-i-know/) [Kyp Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyp-malone/) > [I am particularly interested in creating a relationship between ideas of reception in conceptual art and theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crouch/i-am-particularly-interested-in-creating-a-relationship-between-ideas/) [Tim Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crouch/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I am not really interested in clothing as a conceptual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-am-not-really-interested-in-clothing-as-a-conceptual-art-form/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [Philosophy has a great sort of appeal in terms of an artistic or aesthetic organization of concepts. It's a conceptual art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/philosophy-has-a-great-sort-of-appeal-in-terms-of-an-artistic-or/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) ## More by John Baldessari > [It's human desire to be understood. And we always feel we're not understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/it-s-human-desire-to-be-understood-and-we-always-feel-we-re-not/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [Talent is cheap, you have to be possessed or obsessed, rather. You really have to feel like you cannot not do art, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/talent-is-cheap-you-have-to-be-possessed-or-obsessed-rather-you/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [The idea of vaudeville clowns and court jesters is always to show the flaw, to point out what's not working and why it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/the-idea-of-vaudeville-clowns-and-court-jesters-is-always-to-show-the/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [I will not make anymore boring art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-will-not-make-anymore-boring-art/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [Writing helped me understand what I was thinking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/writing-helped-me-understand-what-i-was-thinking-about/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [Probably one of the worst things that happened to photography is that cameras have viewfinders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/probably-one-of-the-worst-things-that-happened-to-photography-is-that/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [There's no such thing as a bad photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-photograph/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [I think I live such a boring life. But I can't imagine any other kind of life, so I guess it's the life I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-think-i-live-such-a-boring-life-but-i-can-t-imagine-any-other-kind/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [I was teaching live drawing in a community college and students started zoning in on the face and spending a couple of hours on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-was-teaching-live-drawing-in-a-community-college-and-students/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [Ideally I would like the work to be a hybrid between painting and photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/ideally-i-would-like-the-work-to-be-a-hybrid-between-painting-and/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [Most of my friends are women. I think women are more interesting to talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/most-of-my-friends-are-women-i-think-women-are-more-interesting-to/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [The idea was to take fine art and put it into the location of the movie scripts. The script itself is collage - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/the-idea-was-to-take-fine-art-and-put-it-into-the-location-of-the/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [If I saw the art around me that I liked, then I wouldn't do art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/if-i-saw-the-art-around-me-that-i-liked-then-i-wouldn-t-do-art/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [I could never figure out why photography and art had separate histories. So I decided to explore both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-could-never-figure-out-why-photography-and-art-had-separate/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) > [I go back and forth between wanting to be abundantly simple and maddeningly complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-go-back-and-forth-between-wanting-to-be-abundantly-simple-and/) [John Baldessari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) [Explore all 38 John Baldessari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/) ## 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": "I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for writers, a basket to put people in, like Pop Art or Impressionism or whatever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Baldessari" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-useful-term-for-writers-a-basket/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-useful-term-for-writers-a-basket/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/john-baldessari-16840_art_i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-use_2260018.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the term 'conceptual art' is a useful term for writers, a basket to put people in, like Pop Art or…” — John Baldessari", "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": "John Baldessari", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baldessari/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the term 'conceptual art'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-useful-term-for-writers-a-basket/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baldessari/i-think-the-term-conceptual-art-is-a-useful-term-for-writers-a-basket/#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 } } ] } ```