--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I really don't like being referred to as…" description: "\"I really don't like being referred to as a folk artist.\" — John Martyn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg" --- # I really don't like being referred to as a folk artist. ![“I really don't like being referred to as a folk artist.” quote by John Martyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg) > “I really don't like being referred to as a folk artist.” John Martyn ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being labeled a folk artist feels limiting and misrepresents his broader musical identity. **In simple terms:** Labels can mischaracterize an artist’s work. Key Takeaway Define yourself beyond genre constraints. Themes identity genre artistic freedom Mood thoughtful defiant Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - album marketing - concert programming - media interviews Key Concepts self‑definition musical hybridity industry labeling Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel genre labels help or hinder? - How can artists communicate their full range? A Different Perspective Genre labels may restrict audience expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Folk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk/) [Folk art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk-art/) ## Related quotes > [People still kind of think of me as like a folk artist, but on the first record, I truly was deferring to other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-bridgers/people-still-kind-of-think-of-me-as-like-a-folk-artist-but-on-the/) [Phoebe Bridgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-bridgers/) > [Folk rock was my real roots. I did a few gigs as a folk artist, in the style of Fairport Convention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-parsons/folk-rock-was-my-real-roots-i-did-a-few-gigs-as-a-folk-artist-in-the/) [Alan Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-parsons/) > [I'm not a go-out-with-a-band artist. I'm an intimate, storytelling folk artist. It guides the writing and makes for a concert that I'm proud of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/i-m-not-a-go-out-with-a-band-artist-i-m-an-intimate-storytelling-folk/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I would like to be referred to as 'The Big Aristotle'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-would-like-to-be-referred-to-as-the-big-aristotle/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [The novel is the first art form that is an honest-to-god commodity. That's what makes it different from both high art and folk art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/the-novel-is-the-first-art-form-that-is-an-honest-to-god-commodity/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Hip-hop is the last true folk art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/hip-hop-is-the-last-true-folk-art/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [Folk art has never been much about politics; it's about action and utility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-mccombs/folk-art-has-never-been-much-about-politics-it-s-about-action-and/) [Cass McCombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-mccombs/) > [I absolutely love American folk art, can't get enough of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-spencer/i-absolutely-love-american-folk-art-can-t-get-enough-of-it/) [Lara Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-spencer/) > [As artists, we must not go down to the level of the masa; we should bring them up, intellectualize our languages, create classics out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/as-artists-we-must-not-go-down-to-the-level-of-the-masa-we-should/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [I would love to do something with Mohit Chauhan and other folk artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-bhasin/i-would-love-to-do-something-with-mohit-chauhan-and-other-folk-artists/) [Neha Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-bhasin/) > [Real popular culture is folk art - coalminers' songs and so forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/real-popular-culture-is-folk-art-coalminers-songs-and-so-forth/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Everything that has ever been called folk art has always reflected domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/everything-that-has-ever-been-called-folk-art-has-always-reflected/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [I'm actually really obsessed with folk art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bastian/i-m-actually-really-obsessed-with-folk-art/) [Michael Bastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bastian/) > [Photography is the dominant and fascinating and only authentic folk art of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rothenstein/photography-is-the-dominant-and-fascinating-and-only-authentic-folk/) John Rothenstein > [In spite of their obvious differences, folk art and popular art have much in common; they are easy to understand, they are romantic, patriotic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-seldes/in-spite-of-their-obvious-differences-folk-art-and-popular-art-have/) [Gilbert Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-seldes/) ## More by John Martyn > [You can't live in the past, musically if you do, you are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/you-can-t-live-in-the-past-musically-if-you-do-you-are-dead/) John Martyn > [I never really expected any of the music business to happen, but I'm glad it did. It was a very cool thing to happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/i-never-really-expected-any-of-the-music-business-to-happen-but-i-m/) John Martyn > [May you never lay your head down, without a hand to hold. May you never make your bed out in the cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/may-you-never-lay-your-head-down-without-a-hand-to-hold-may-you-never/) John Martyn Explore all 4 John Martyn quotes ## 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 > [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 really don't like being referred to as a folk artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Martyn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as-a-folk-artist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as-a-folk-artist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/661/john-martyn-73616_art_i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as_752970.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I really don't like being referred to as a folk artist.” — John Martyn", "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 Martyn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-martyn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I really don't like being referred...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as-a-folk-artist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-martyn/i-really-don-t-like-being-referred-to-as-a-folk-artist/#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 } } ] } ```