--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of art I have taught philosophy…" description: "\"Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique for me is a big word, I never have taught how to paint. All my doing was to make people to se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/josef-albers-9747_art_instead-of-art-i-have-taught-philosophy_458840.jpg" --- # Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique… ![“Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique for me is a big word, I never have taught how to paint. All my doing was to make people to see.” quote by Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/josef-albers-9747_art_instead-of-art-i-have-taught-philosophy_458840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/josef-albers-9747_art_instead-of-art-i-have-taught-philosophy_458840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/josef-albers-9747_art_instead-of-art-i-have-taught-philosophy_458840.jpg) > “Instead of art I have taught philosophy. Though technique for me is a big word, I never have taught how to paint. All my doing was to make people to see.” [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Albers emphasizes teaching perception over technique, aiming to make viewers truly see. **In simple terms:** Teach seeing, not just painting. Key Takeaway Focus on perception to deepen visual understanding. Themes perception education art Mood thoughtful instructive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - art education - design workshops - museum tours Key Concepts visual theory pedagogy Questions to Reflect On - How can perception be taught? - What does “making people see” mean to you? A Different Perspective May undervalue technical skill development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) ## Related quotes > [I'd been taught to paint like other people, and I thought, what's the use? I couldn't do any better than they, or even as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-d-been-taught-to-paint-like-other-people-and-i-thought-what-s-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [My father taught me to paint when I was young with watercolors and so I learned at a very young age the essential elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-modine/my-father-taught-me-to-paint-when-i-was-young-with-watercolors-and-so/) [Matthew Modine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-modine/) > [What if at school you had to take an 'art class' in which you were only taught how to paint a fence? What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-frenkel/what-if-at-school-you-had-to-take-an-art-class-in-which-you-were-only/) [Edward Frenkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-frenkel/) > [I taught myself to paint African-Americans, mostly people roughly my skin tone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-taught-myself-to-paint-african-americans-mostly-people-roughly-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [You know, I've taught philosophy for years and one argues in the hypothetical all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bennett/you-know-i-ve-taught-philosophy-for-years-and-one-argues-in-the/) [Bill Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bennett/) > [“Philosophy cannot be taught. Philosophy is the union of all acquired knowledge and the genius that applies it: philosophy is the shining cloud upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/philosophy-cannot-be-taught-philosophy-is-the-union-of-all-acquired/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Years should not be devoted to the acquisition of dead languages or to the study of history which, for the most part, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/years-should-not-be-devoted-to-the-acquisition-of-dead-languages-or/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I have taught Philosophy, Religious Studies, English Literature, Cultural Studies, Writing and Publishing Studies, Critical Thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/i-have-taught-philosophy-religious-studies-english-literature/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [Madonna taught me more philosophy than Ayn Rand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/madonna-taught-me-more-philosophy-than-ayn-rand/) [Lisa Kennedy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/) > [It is Nature who makes our artists for us, though it may be Art who taught them their right mode of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-nature-who-makes-our-artists-for-us-though-it-may-be-art-who/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The summit charms us, the steps to it do not; with the heights before our eyes, we like to linger in the plain. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-summit-charms-us-the-steps-to-it-do-not-with-the-heights-before/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Making art has taught me that the tiniest smidgen of progress is something to be cherished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/making-art-has-taught-me-that-the-tiniest-smidgen-of-progress-is/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [Photography was increasingly being seen as something outside the art world. As a sort of illustration. They just fired the director of photography at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-franklin/photography-was-increasingly-being-seen-as-something-outside-the-art/) [Stuart Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-franklin/) > [As great a picture can be made as one's mental capacity-no greater. Art cannot be taught; it must be self-inspiration, though the imagination may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/as-great-a-picture-can-be-made-as-one-s-mental-capacity-no-greater/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [You want to know how I think art should be taught to children? Take them to a museum and say, 'This is art, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/you-want-to-know-how-i-think-art-should-be-taught-to-children-take/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) ## More by Josef Albers > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I paint the way I spread butter on pumpernickel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-paint-the-way-i-spread-butter-on-pumpernickel/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I have taught my students not to apply rules or mechanical ways of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-have-taught-my-students-not-to-apply-rules-or-mechanical-ways-of/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [If one says 'Red' – the name of color – and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/if-one-says-red-the-name-of-color-and-there-are-fifty-people/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I do not like to be a prophet. I like better to paint than to predict what the next painters will do. Though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-do-not-like-to-be-a-prophet-i-like-better-to-paint-than-to-predict/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Therefore art means: you have to believe, to have faith, that is, cultivate vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/therefore-art-means-you-have-to-believe-to-have-faith-that-is/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-re-present-nature-not-represent-it/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [It was my family that wanted me to be a teacher. That was safe, you see. To be a painter was terrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/it-was-my-family-that-wanted-me-to-be-a-teacher-that-was-safe-you-see/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [We never really perceive what color really is, as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-really-is-as-it-physically-is/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [In order to use color effectively it is necessary to recognize that color deceives continually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/in-order-to-use-color-effectively-it-is-necessary-to-recognize-that/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Traditionally art is to create and not to revive. To revive: leave that to the historians, who are looking backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/traditionally-art-is-to-create-and-not-to-revive-to-revive-leave-that/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I want color and form to have contradictorily functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/i-want-color-and-form-to-have-contradictorily-functions/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Art is concerned with the HOW and not the WHAT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/art-is-concerned-with-the-how-and-not-the-what/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is - as it physically is. This fact makes color the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/in-visual-perception-a-color-is-almost-never-seen-as-it-really-is-as/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [What has been said does not simply belong to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/what-has-been-said-does-not-simply-belong-to-us/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) [Explore all 70 Josef Albers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) ## 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": "Instead of art I have taught philosophy. 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