--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artist brings something into the…" description: "\"“The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg" --- # The artist brings something into the world that didn't… ![“The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg) > ““The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.”” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art creates new existence without destroying anything, embodying a joyful defiance of material conservation. **In simple terms:** Art adds something new, preserving all else. Key Takeaway Create without destroying. Themes creativity joy materialism innovation Mood celebratory inspirational Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - artistic practice - educational curricula - public installations Key Concepts aesthetic philosophy ontological creation cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How does art truly avoid destruction? - What responsibilities do creators have? A Different Perspective Art may still rely on existing resources, challenging the notion of pure creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ## Related quotes > [“My first thought, as a child, was that the artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/my-first-thought-as-a-child-was-that-the-artist-brings-something-into/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and he does it without destroying something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-artist-brings-something-into-the-world-that-didn-t-exist-before-2/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“An artist brings words to life through images, while an author creates living images using words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/an-artist-brings-words-to-life-through-images-while-an-author-creates/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [“A woman brings so much more to the world than birth, for she can birth discovery, intelligence, invention, art, just as well as any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-celebi/a-woman-brings-so-much-more-to-the-world-than-birth-for-she-can-birth/) [Shannon Celebi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-celebi/) > [I expected it to be overwhelming and all-encompassing, but having a kid brings you into the world in a whole different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/i-expected-it-to-be-overwhelming-and-all-encompassing-but-having-a/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [For all the thoughtful things that you so often say and do, this brings a world of special thanks to you..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soliel-jabellana/for-all-the-thoughtful-things-that-you-so-often-say-and-do-this/) Soliel Jabellana > [Music is what brings the world together...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-goetting/music-is-what-brings-the-world-together/) Kristi Goetting > [“Sometimes it seems like a little moment brings a whole world with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/sometimes-it-seems-like-a-little-moment-brings-a-whole-world-with-it/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Love is what brings us into this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/love-is-what-brings-us-into-this-world/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [The eye takes a person into the world. The ear brings the world into a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenz-oken/the-eye-takes-a-person-into-the-world-the-ear-brings-the-world-into-a/) [Lorenz Oken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenz-oken/) > [“There are some lives He brings into this world neither to do great work nor to bear great burdens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-b-e-cowman/there-are-some-lives-he-brings-into-this-world-neither-to-do-great/) [L. B. E. Cowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-b-e-cowman/) > [“Literature, sharing a wonderful story, is what brings the world together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-spann-craig/literature-sharing-a-wonderful-story-is-what-brings-the-world-together/) Elizabeth Spann Craig > [The seed of your next artwork lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections are your guides - valuable, objective, non-judgmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/the-seed-of-your-next-artwork-lies-embedded-in-the-imperfections-of-2/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [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/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## 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": "“The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-artist-brings-something-into-the-world-that-didn-t-exist-before/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-artist-brings-something-into-the-world-that-didn-t-exist-before/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/john-updike-396_art_the-artist-brings-something-into-the-wor_3142129.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying…” — John Updike", "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 Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The artist brings something into the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-artist-brings-something-into-the-world-that-didn-t-exist-before/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-artist-brings-something-into-the-world-that-didn-t-exist-before/#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 } } ] } ```