--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Abstract Expressionism was invented by…" description: "\"Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.\" — Joni Mitchell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png" --- # Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks. ![“Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.” quote by Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png) > “Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.” [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement satizes the myth that Abstract Expressionism emerged from a chaotic, bohemian lifestyle in post‑war New York, implying its origins are more about cultural mythmaking than artistic intent. **In simple terms:** Critiques mythologized art origins. Key Takeaway Art movements are often romanticized. Themes Art history Cultural myth Urban bohemianism Post‑war America Art criticism Mood ironic skeptical wry Type satire observation When to use this quote - Art history lectures - Museum tours - Cultural commentary podcasts - University seminars Key Concepts Abstract Expressionism New York art scene Artist stereotypes Practical Applications - Teaching art history - Analyzing cultural narratives Questions to Reflect On - How does myth influence our perception of art? - What are the real factors behind Abstract Expressionism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract expressionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-expressionism/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Expressionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressionism/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) ## Related quotes > [I think more than writers, the major influences on me have been European movies, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-think-more-than-writers-the-major-influences-on-me-have-been/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Abstract expressionism was the first American art that was filled with anger as well as beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/abstract-expressionism-was-the-first-american-art-that-was-filled/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Abstract Expressionism - the first American movement to have a worldwide influence - was remarkably short-lived: It heated up after World War II and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/abstract-expressionism-the-first-american-movement-to-have-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I don't use the accident - 'cause I deny the accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-don-t-use-the-accident-cause-i-deny-the-accident/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When I was going to school and under the influence of Abstract Expressionism, I believed that if you had a give-and-take rapport with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/when-i-was-going-to-school-and-under-the-influence-of-abstract/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [There was something about the self-confession and self-confusion of Abstract expressionism - as though the man and the work were the same - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-was-something-about-the-self-confession-and-self-confusion-of/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I went to the Mary Lee Burbank School in Belmont. And it was a place where you, like, learned to go to the store?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-went-to-the-mary-lee-burbank-school-in-belmont-and-it-was-a-place/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [I wanted to be a painter, somewhere between Abstract Expressionism and Pop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-huey/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-somewhere-between-abstract-expressionism-and/) [Aaron Huey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-huey/) > [I was a student at Harvard, and that's where I learned about so-called avant-garde music. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism and painting were well known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-was-a-student-at-harvard-and-that-s-where-i-learned-about-so-called/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [The big shock of my life was Abstract Expressionism - Pollock, de Kooning, those guys. It changed my work. I was an academically trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/the-big-shock-of-my-life-was-abstract-expressionism-pollock-de/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [But no one, when you stop to think, has ever equated abstract expressionism as a movement with jazz music. It's based on improvisation. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/but-no-one-when-you-stop-to-think-has-ever-equated-abstract/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [We live in an age when the traditional great subjects - the human form, the landscape, even newer traditions such as abstract expressionism -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/we-live-in-an-age-when-the-traditional-great-subjects-the-human-form/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I would be constantly brought up on the carpet by these teachers who were brought up with Abstract Expressionism, saying, "You're too uptight, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-be-constantly-brought-up-on-the-carpet-by-these-teachers-who/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [With experience it seems to be possible to control the flow of paint, to a great extent, and I don't use - I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/with-experience-it-seems-to-be-possible-to-control-the-flow-of-paint/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When I began as an artist, I already did not like expressionism, or abstract expressionism, because abstract painting had already been done. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/when-i-began-as-an-artist-i-already-did-not-like-expressionism-or/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## More by Joni Mitchell > [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I have one piece of music, since 1997, and I don't see it having lyrics. Where does it go in this world? So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-have-one-piece-of-music-since-1997-and-i-don-t-see-it-having-lyrics/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Musically, I would never run dry. Any time I sit down to an instrument, I could write a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/musically-i-would-never-run-dry-any-time-i-sit-down-to-an-instrument/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [You snipe so steady, you snub so snide, so rip and ready to diminish and deride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-snipe-so-steady-you-snub-so-snide-so-rip-and-ready-to-diminish/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.' He gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-loved-debussy-stravinsky-chopin-tchaikovsky-anything-with-romantic/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [When the spirit of child's play enters into the creative process, it's a wonderful force and something to be nurtured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/when-the-spirit-of-child-s-play-enters-into-the-creative-process-it-s/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/americans-have-decided-to-be-stupid-and-shallow-since-1980/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I was young for my age. Not as naïve as they expected. I don't know why I seem to bring that out in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-was-young-for-my-age-not-as-na-ve-as-they-expected-i-don-t-know-why/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/this-is-a-nation-that-has-lost-the-ability-to-be-self-critical-and/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Land of snap decisions, land of short attention spans, nothing is savored long enough to really understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/land-of-snap-decisions-land-of-short-attention-spans-nothing-is/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I like my freedom. I like to do my own grocery shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-like-my-freedom-i-like-to-do-my-own-grocery-shopping/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I'm not a pitiable creature. It's just that I suffer very eloquently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-m-not-a-pitiable-creature-it-s-just-that-i-suffer-very-eloquently/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I can't remember anything I ever wrote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-can-t-remember-anything-i-ever-wrote/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [You can give me 400,000 hostile people and I won't even break sweat. If you give me 200 adoring people, my mouth will dry out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-can-give-me-400-000-hostile-people-and-i-won-t-even-break-sweat/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) [Explore all 281 Joni Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) > [Ethics is not just an abstract intellectual discipline. It is about the conflicts that arise in trying to meet real human needs and values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ziman/ethics-is-not-just-an-abstract-intellectual-discipline-it-is-about/) [John Ziman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ziman/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joni Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/606/joni-mitchell-1160_abstract_abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-n_18855.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.” — Joni Mitchell", "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": "Joni Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Abstract Expressionism was invented by New...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/#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 } } ] } ```