--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Labels only confuse people. The smarter…" description: "\"Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize artists who transcend categories. But I always try to entertain. It's in my nature; writers ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg" --- # Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize… ![“Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize artists who transcend categories. But I always try to entertain. It's in my nature; writers are born to entertain. If that means working ostensibly within a genre, fine.” quote by John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg) > “Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize artists who transcend categories. But I always try to entertain. It's in my nature; writers are born to entertain. If that means working ostensibly within a genre, fine.” [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) ## 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 blur genre lines, but entertaining audiences remains a core drive; working within a genre is acceptable if it serves that goal. **In simple terms:** Artists transcend categories but aim to entertain. Key Takeaway Embrace genre fluidity while focusing on audience engagement. Themes creativity entertainment genre artistic identity flexibility Mood inspired critical curious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - publishing - performance art - media production Key Concepts genre fluidity audience engagement creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel constrained by genre labels? - How can you balance entertainment with artistic depth? A Different Perspective Strict genre expectations can limit innovation, and focusing solely on entertainment may sacrifice depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Categories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categories/) [Confuse People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confuse-people-770480/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Labels Confuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels-confuse-4765106/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Recognize Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognize-artists-1832243/) [Smarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smarter/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Artists recognize other artists as soon as the pencil begins to move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/artists-recognize-other-artists-as-soon-as-the-pencil-begins-to-move/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Never confuse people who are always around you, with people who are always there for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gee-linder/never-confuse-people-who-are-always-around-you-with-people-who-are/) [Gee Linder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gee-linder/) > [Don't confuse the people who are always around with the ones who are always there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-confuse-the-people-who-are-always-around-with-the-ones-who-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every now and then I like to do as I'm told, just to confuse people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamora-pierce/every-now-and-then-i-like-to-do-as-i-m-told-just-to-confuse-people/) [Tamora Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamora-pierce/) > [I never want to confuse people or go over their heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/i-never-want-to-confuse-people-or-go-over-their-heads/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [I always want to confuse people in terms of any kind of image and be unpredictable in any kind of movie I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/i-always-want-to-confuse-people-in-terms-of-any-kind-of-image-and-be/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [No, I don't make my work in order to challenge or confuse other people's expectations - I only do what I find natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hamilton-finlay/no-i-don-t-make-my-work-in-order-to-challenge-or-confuse-other-people/) [Ian Hamilton Finlay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hamilton-finlay/) > [Jesus' philosophy in life seemed to be, "Let's confuse as many people for as long as we can". He was an enigma. I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-coates/jesus-philosophy-in-life-seemed-to-be-let-s-confuse-as-many-people/) [Gerald Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-coates/) > [I never confuse the people who just been around me with the people who've actually been there for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-confuse-the-people-who-just-been-around-me-with-the-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always think it's far more admirable to confuse people than it is to reassure them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-sheff/i-always-think-it-s-far-more-admirable-to-confuse-people-than-it-is/) [Will Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-sheff/) > [I do so many things it has a tendency to confuse people. They didn't know where to put me. So they put me nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-uggams/i-do-so-many-things-it-has-a-tendency-to-confuse-people-they-didn-t/) [Leslie Uggams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-uggams/) > [I immediately split the crowd. I thought about coming on every night and shouting, 'Gay pride, white power!' just to confuse people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/i-immediately-split-the-crowd-i-thought-about-coming-on-every-night/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [I guess it's human nature, as every group breaks into factions, yet at a time when we are trying to be taken seriously, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/i-guess-it-s-human-nature-as-every-group-breaks-into-factions-yet-at/) [Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/) > [You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/you-might-have-more-talent-than-me-you-might-be-smarter-than-me-you/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I push back against a deeply-entrenched tendency in American culture to label quickly and no longer even examine the labels that were initially stamped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fady-joudah/i-push-back-against-a-deeply-entrenched-tendency-in-american-culture/) [Fady Joudah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fady-joudah/) ## More by John Shirley > [I do try to be of some use in the world. I sometimes do volunteer work with kids, and manage to help some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/i-do-try-to-be-of-some-use-in-the-world-i-sometimes-do-volunteer-work/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/weekends-are-a-bit-like-rainbows-they-look-good-from-a-distance-but/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“If the modern world were a patient in my care... I would diagnose it suicidal." - Dr. Sofia Lamb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/if-the-modern-world-were-a-patient-in-my-care-i-would-diagnose-it/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“Almost anyone could be Fascist under the right circumstances. If they get scared enough. It's because, you see, most people live their lives like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/almost-anyone-could-be-fascist-under-the-right-circumstances-if-they/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“The greater the scope in implementing an activity, the greater the need for strict attention to small details.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/the-greater-the-scope-in-implementing-an-activity-the-greater-the/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“When you serve a beer-cock an ear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/when-you-serve-a-beer-cock-an-ear/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [I'm just the kind of person who seems designed, probably by nature, to try to make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/i-m-just-the-kind-of-person-who-seems-designed-probably-by-nature-to/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“from the end of John Shirley's Black Glass, something like: "the Singularity guys don't understand, they aren't copying us, our brains, just the noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/from-the-end-of-john-shirley-s-black-glass-something-like-the/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [A man must make of his life a ladder that he never ceases to climb -- if you're not rising, you are slipping down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/a-man-must-make-of-his-life-a-ladder-that-he-never-ceases-to-climb-if/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [I'm not quite pompous enough to think of myself as an educator or a man capable of definitive refutation of falsehoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/i-m-not-quite-pompous-enough-to-think-of-myself-as-an-educator-or-a/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [As far as I know Misha wrote the first cyberpunk poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/as-far-as-i-know-misha-wrote-the-first-cyberpunk-poetry/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“It was like the Iran/Contra hearings in the last century; then, too, the investigators had looked just so far and no further.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/it-was-like-the-iran-contra-hearings-in-the-last-century-then-too-the/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [“He liked living simply. And he liked living alone. He had grown to dislike physical affection. It was intrusive, and it bullied his self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/he-liked-living-simply-and-he-liked-living-alone-he-had-grown-to/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [Innocence could be considered a discrete state of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/innocence-could-be-considered-a-discrete-state-of-mind/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) > [People in extreme conditions are suddenly naked, realer than normal, perhaps even more alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/people-in-extreme-conditions-are-suddenly-naked-realer-than-normal/) [John Shirley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) [Explore all 27 John Shirley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/) ## 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": "Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize artists who transcend categories. But I always try to entertain. It's in my nature; writers are born to entertain. If that means working ostensibly within a genre, fine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shirley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-people-recognize-artists-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-people-recognize-artists-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/506/john-shirley-22620_art_labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-p_2189814.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Labels only confuse people. The smarter people recognize artists who transcend categories. But I always try…” — John Shirley", "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 Shirley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shirley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Labels only confuse people. The smarter...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-people-recognize-artists-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shirley/labels-only-confuse-people-the-smarter-people-recognize-artists-who/#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 } } ] } ```