--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know whether what I do is art…" description: "\"I don't know whether what I do is art. But making things out in the world and having as many conversations as possible.\" — Jonathon Keats" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/jonathon-keats-10822_art_i-don-t-know-whether-what-i-do-is-art-bu_1407820.jpg" --- # I don't know whether what I do is art. But making things… ![“I don't know whether what I do is art. But making things out in the world and having as many conversations as possible.” quote by Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/jonathon-keats-10822_art_i-don-t-know-whether-what-i-do-is-art-bu_1407820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/jonathon-keats-10822_art_i-don-t-know-whether-what-i-do-is-art-bu_1407820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/jonathon-keats-10822_art_i-don-t-know-whether-what-i-do-is-art-bu_1407820.jpg) > “I don't know whether what I do is art. But making things out in the world and having as many conversations as possible.” [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The creator questions whether his work qualifies as art, emphasizing process, dialogue, and interaction with the world as artistic criteria. **In simple terms:** Making things and talking about them may be art. Key Takeaway Value process and conversation as art. Themes artistic identity process dialogue Mood inquisitive thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - public installations - collaborative projects - social experiments Key Concepts aesthetics creative practice Questions to Reflect On - Do you consider everyday actions artistic? - How does audience interaction shape art? A Different Perspective Art definition is subjective and culturally dependent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-making/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations/) [Having Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-conversations-841385/) [Know Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-art/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Making Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-things/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I like having conversations: you learn a lot about how other people think. If I'm myself and confident, I don't get nervous easily. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/song-joong-ki/i-like-having-conversations-you-learn-a-lot-about-how-other-people/) [Song Joong-ki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/song-joong-ki/) > [I believe that having conversations about difficult things is a part of a process and that it should happen. You don't avoid it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-brennan/i-believe-that-having-conversations-about-difficult-things-is-a-part/) [Margaret Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-brennan/) > [When I'm around people having conversations about their day, I'm looking at them, like, 'What could they possibly be talking about? How are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indya-moore/when-i-m-around-people-having-conversations-about-their-day-i-m/) [Indya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indya-moore/) > [If you can give people happiness, you're in their hearts. Now you can just start having conversations with people that you would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-millington/if-you-can-give-people-happiness-you-re-in-their-hearts-now-you-can/) [June Millington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-millington/) > [I particularly like, with Indigenous characters, having conversations around gender fluidity, gender roles, and different worldviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-gladstone/i-particularly-like-with-indigenous-characters-having-conversations/) [Lily Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-gladstone/) > [I find myself having these conversations where I go...You know, the guy, in that place. The guy in the place with the thing, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-find-myself-having-these-conversations-where-i-go-you-know-the-guy/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [People are actually having conversations about "Is this sexist?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/people-are-actually-having-conversations-about-is-this-sexist/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [What I like is having a conversation that gets you on the right page. And, if that means having conversations in lieu of rehearsal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-edgerton/what-i-like-is-having-a-conversation-that-gets-you-on-the-right-page/) [Joel Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-edgerton/) > [“I wondered if having conversations with your dog was less crazy than babbling to yourself when no one else was around. I guess it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-baker/i-wondered-if-having-conversations-with-your-dog-was-less-crazy-than/) [Deb Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-baker/) > [Books are always obviously having conversations with other books, and some times they're amiable and sometimes not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/books-are-always-obviously-having-conversations-with-other-books-and/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [Communication is everything. Talking about our feelings, sharing about our feelings, sitting together and having conversations at a table. We used to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-brown/communication-is-everything-talking-about-our-feelings-sharing-about/) [Tabitha Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-brown/) > [When I do interviews, sometimes I'll just be like "Why the hell did I say that?" because after I hang up the phone I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-loveless/when-i-do-interviews-sometimes-i-ll-just-be-like-why-the-hell-did-i/) [Lydia Loveless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-loveless/) > [I think people are really talking about it. Having conversations about how to make change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-kaepernick/i-think-people-are-really-talking-about-it-having-conversations-about/) [Colin Kaepernick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-kaepernick/) > [I feel very open with people, and I'm good at disarming them and having conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-feel-very-open-with-people-and-i-m-good-at-disarming-them-and/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [“Why am I so weird all the time? Then again, having conversations with myself in my head doesn’t help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kia-carrington-russell/why-am-i-so-weird-all-the-time-then-again-having-conversations-with/) [Kia Carrington-Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kia-carrington-russell/) ## More by Jonathon Keats > [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller was an independent operator coming up with these madcap ways of combining things with absolutely no strings attached and the fact that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-was-an-independent-operator-coming-up-with-these/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ We clearly recognize the need for something that is what \[Buckminster Fuller\] represents and therefore it becomes really useful and really interesting to look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/we-clearly-recognize-the-need-for-something-that-is-what-buckminster/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I think that I feel that I have no choice but to operate under the illusion, which may be a delusion, that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-i-feel-that-i-have-no-choice-but-to-operate-under-the/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ \[Buckminster\] Fuller said that everything at the time was basically a horse and buggy in the form of an automobile and it had that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/buckminster-fuller-said-that-everything-at-the-time-was-basically-a/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I don't think that I am hopeful because I have some data that you don't, that I am going to share with you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-don-t-think-that-i-am-hopeful-because-i-have-some-data-that-you-don/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I would argue that search has made the world a better place. It has done so for reasons that arbitrarily could completely change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-argue-that-search-has-made-the-world-a-better-place-it-has/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ Architects in urban planning are talking about this but they're not talking about it yet I don't think at that level that \[Buckminster\] Fuller… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/architects-in-urban-planning-are-talking-about-this-but-they-re-not/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ I would certainly never want to inflict anything on the world exactly as \[Buckminster Fuller\] envisioned it because there is a technocratic worldview that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-certainly-never-want-to-inflict-anything-on-the-world-exactly/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [You have those who have been living and breathing Buckminster Fuller ever since he converted them to his cult and to be honest, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/you-have-those-who-have-been-living-and-breathing-buckminster-fuller/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ There were other auto manufacturers that were confabulating as much as \[Buckminster Fuller\] was, making claims about how cars resembled this or that aspect… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/there-were-other-auto-manufacturers-that-were-confabulating-as-much/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [On the other hand, the way in which that car fit into this whole very roundabout way of attempting to solve the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/on-the-other-hand-the-way-in-which-that-car-fit-into-this-whole-very/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I do not think that technology is our salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-do-not-think-that-technology-is-our-salvation/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [ Where Google and \[Buckminster\] Fuller overlap are in the potential for putting together disparate technologies in ways that can lead to something that might… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/where-google-and-buckminster-fuller-overlap-are-in-the-potential-for/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I set my life since then attempting to figure out how to do that, basically how to have a sort of public discourse in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-set-my-life-since-then-attempting-to-figure-out-how-to-do-that/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [I was totally taken in and totally taken by that myth starting in 1999, rather carelessly writing about this archive and starting to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-was-totally-taken-in-and-totally-taken-by-that-myth-starting-in/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) [Explore all 63 Jonathon Keats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) ## 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. 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