--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All one wants to do is make a small…" description: "\"All one wants to do is make a small, finished, polished, burnished, beautiful object . . . I mean, that's all one wants to do. One has nothing to say a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/john-banville-2532_art_all-one-wants-to-do-is-make-a-small-fini_1089491.jpg" --- # All one wants to do is make a small, finished, polished… ![“All one wants to do is make a small, finished, polished, burnished, beautiful object . . . I mean, that's all one wants to do. One has nothing to say about the world, or society, or morals or politics or anything else. One just wants to get the damn thing done, you know? Kafka had it right when he…” quote by John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/john-banville-2532_art_all-one-wants-to-do-is-make-a-small-fini_1089491.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/john-banville-2532_art_all-one-wants-to-do-is-make-a-small-fini_1089491.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69c/john-banville-2532_art_all-one-wants-to-do-is-make-a-small-fini_1089491.jpg) > “All one wants to do is make a small, finished, polished, burnished, beautiful object . . . I mean, that's all one wants to do. One has nothing to say about the world, or society, or morals or politics or anything else. One just wants to get the damn thing done, you know? Kafka had it right when he said that the artist is the man who has nothing to say. It's true. You get the thing done, but you don't actually have anything to communicate, apart from the object itself.” [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist’s primary goal is to perfect a tangible work, not to convey a broader message. **In simple terms:** Artists focus on the object, not on commentary. Key Takeaway Perfect the craft, let the object speak. Themes art craft silence Mood introspective serene Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - software development Key Concepts aesthetics object‑oriented creation minimalism Questions to Reflect On - Is silence a strength or a weakness? - How does a finished object convey meaning? A Different Perspective Neglecting context may limit audience connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-objects/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [As I have always said, an artist's existence and identity are only because of the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rubina-dilaik/as-i-have-always-said-an-artist-s-existence-and-identity-are-only/) [Rubina Dilaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rubina-dilaik/) > [Paul Robeson once said that the artist has the responsibility to either help liberate the community or further oppress it. 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The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) ## More by John Banville > [I've always been fascinated by physics and cosmology. It gets more and more scary the older you get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-physics-and-cosmology-it-gets-more-and/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“What did I brood on, sitting there in the classic pose with my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands? We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/what-did-i-brood-on-sitting-there-in-the-classic-pose-with-my-elbows/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Her own mother had died when Anna was twelve and since then father and daughter had faced the world like a pair of nineteenth-century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/her-own-mother-had-died-when-anna-was-twelve-and-since-then-father/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [The effect of prizes on one's career - if that is what to call it - is considerable, since they give one more clout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/the-effect-of-prizes-on-one-s-career-if-that-is-what-to-call-it-is/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Of all the things we fashioned for them that they might be comforted, dawn is the one that works. 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But I like to make that elephant dance on a quarter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/the-novel-is-a-kind-of-elephant-but-i-like-to-make-that-elephant/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Whom now would I love, and who would love me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/whom-now-would-i-love-and-who-would-love-me/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [Art is amoral, whether we accept this or not; it does not take sides. The finest fictions are cold at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/art-is-amoral-whether-we-accept-this-or-not-it-does-not-take-sides/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“At thee seaside all is narrow horizontals, the world reduced to a few long straight lines pressed between earth and sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/at-thee-seaside-all-is-narrow-horizontals-the-world-reduced-to-a-few/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“It seems to me a work of art is the evidence offered by a fantastically observant witness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/it-seems-to-me-a-work-of-art-is-the-evidence-offered-by-a/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [Everything we do is tinged with the knowledge that this may be the last time that we will do this, and that makes what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/everything-we-do-is-tinged-with-the-knowledge-that-this-may-be-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [I like ideas. I find them more exciting than human behavior for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-like-ideas-i-find-them-more-exciting-than-human-behavior-for-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) [Explore all 158 John Banville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## 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. 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