--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Painting is like being a lawyer and…" description: "\"Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation.\" — John Currin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/john-currin-23505_artist_painting-is-like-being-a-lawyer-and-atta_1219697.png" --- # Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation. ![“Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation.” quote by John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/john-currin-23505_artist_painting-is-like-being-a-lawyer-and-atta_1219697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/john-currin-23505_artist_painting-is-like-being-a-lawyer-and-atta_1219697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/431/john-currin-23505_artist_painting-is-like-being-a-lawyer-and-atta_1219697.png) > “Painting is like being a lawyer and attacking a corporation.” [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Painting is compared to law, suggesting the artist attacks corporate subjects with the same aggression as a lawyer. **In simple terms:** Art can challenge powerful institutions. Key Takeaway Use art to critique and provoke thought. Themes art law critique corporate power Mood critical provocative Type artistic political When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public murals - political posters - media campaigns Key Concepts social commentary visual rhetoric activism Questions to Reflect On - How can visual art influence public opinion? - What responsibilities do artists have when confronting power? A Different Perspective Art may not always achieve legal impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [I actually don't want to be an actor for the rest of my life. I'd like to go on to be a lawyer or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gray-cabey/i-actually-don-t-want-to-be-an-actor-for-the-rest-of-my-life-i-d-like/) [Noah Gray-Cabey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gray-cabey/) > [“Divorced him—hired a fucking shark lawyer—excuse the language.” “No problem. Cops hear words like lawyer all the time.” Fanny”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/divorced-him-hired-a-fucking-shark-lawyer-excuse-the-language-no/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [You just got to be really logical when you're a comedian - to a fault. 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Something completely different, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-nesbitt/from-past-experience-i-wouldn-t-go-out-with-another-musician-with/) [Nina Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-nesbitt/) > [Like a lawyer, the human brain wants victory, not truth; and, like a lawyer, it is sometimes more admirable for skill than virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wright/like-a-lawyer-the-human-brain-wants-victory-not-truth-and-like-a/) [Robert Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wright/) > [I always dream a painting like that, with a group of lively figures of the pals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-always-dream-a-painting-like-that-with-a-group-of-lively-figures-of/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Art should be linked to abstract things - color, line, tone. It is not an instrument to improve social conditions and chase ugliness. Painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/art-should-be-linked-to-abstract-things-color-line-tone-it-is-not-an/) [Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/) ## More by John Currin > [There is a fascination with violence and power in all modernism, and I sort of saw classic modernism as being more similar to Wyndham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-a-fascination-with-violence-and-power-in-all-modernism-and-i/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [A lot of times maturing as an artist is just starting to do the things you like to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/a-lot-of-times-maturing-as-an-artist-is-just-starting-to-do-the/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I think a big problem with art school is that it makes people feel like they have to be interested in everything that's of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-think-a-big-problem-with-art-school-is-that-it-makes-people-feel/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [There is, literally and figuratively, not a gold standard. That's almost as big a problem in art as in the financial world. How do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-is-literally-and-figuratively-not-a-gold-standard-that-s-almost/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [Instead of last man standing, it'll be last man smiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/instead-of-last-man-standing-it-ll-be-last-man-smiling/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [There's nothing worse than people talking about theories and humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/there-s-nothing-worse-than-people-talking-about-theories-and-humor/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [Your style is who you are when you’re not trying to be clever or better than you actually are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/your-style-is-who-you-are-when-you-re-not-trying-to-be-clever-or/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I think a lot of people take a scholarly approach where they feel like you're supposed to study things that depress you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-think-a-lot-of-people-take-a-scholarly-approach-where-they-feel/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [When I went to college, and I went to art school, I started to realize that Warhol was cool and that pop art was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/when-i-went-to-college-and-i-went-to-art-school-i-started-to-realize/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I suppose the good artists, the righteous artists, somehow manage to be exuberant, and the embarrassed artist has this idea that everybody has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-suppose-the-good-artists-the-righteous-artists-somehow-manage-to-be/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I've always found paintings of nudes depressing because they can't compete with photographs. 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Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/you-have-to-like-everything-that-you-re-painting-maybe-on-a-narrative/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) > [I wonder whether there is such a thing as critical art. I suppose there are portraits of people who could destroy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-currin/i-wonder-whether-there-is-such-a-thing-as-critical-art-i-suppose/) [John Currin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) [Explore all 26 John Currin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-currin/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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