--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is a spirit seeking flesh but finding…" description: "\"Art is a spirit seeking flesh but finding words.\" — Joseph Brodsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc3/joseph-brodsky-1225_art_art-is-a-spirit-seeking-flesh-but-findin_2089419.png" --- # Art is a spirit seeking flesh but finding words. ![“Art is a spirit seeking flesh but finding words.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc3/joseph-brodsky-1225_art_art-is-a-spirit-seeking-flesh-but-findin_2089419.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc3/joseph-brodsky-1225_art_art-is-a-spirit-seeking-flesh-but-findin_2089419.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc3/joseph-brodsky-1225_art_art-is-a-spirit-seeking-flesh-but-findin_2089419.png) > “Art is a spirit seeking flesh but finding words.” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art strives to embody the intangible, ultimately expressing itself through language. **In simple terms:** Art seeks to become tangible via words. Key Takeaway Use language to convey deep feeling. Themes art expression language Mood poetic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - art criticism - teaching literature Key Concepts aesthetics literary theory Questions to Reflect On - What does “spirit” mean in art? - How does language shape artistic perception? A Different Perspective Words may limit non‑verbal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-spirit-870788/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Finding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Seeking Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking-flesh-4123434/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirit Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-seeking-2129992/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [...When a choice will make a real difference in our lives—obvious or not—and when we are living in tune with the Spirit and seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/when-a-choice-will-make-a-real-difference-in-our-lives-obvious-or-not/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [“But art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows Beauty, that has music in its being and the color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-art-is-not-simply-works-of-art-it-is-the-spirit-that-knows-beauty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Movies are art and the spirit of the movie depends on the creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-kaufman/movies-are-art-and-the-spirit-of-the-movie-depends-on-the-creators/) [Lloyd Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-kaufman/) > [To discover the mode of life or of art whereby my spirit could express itself in unfettered freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/to-discover-the-mode-of-life-or-of-art-whereby-my-spirit-could/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Man is ever searching for the source whence he has come, searching for the life which is upwelling within him, immortal, nay, eternal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/man-is-ever-searching-for-the-source-whence-he-has-come-searching-for/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [The sources of poetry are in the spirit seeking completeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/the-sources-of-poetry-are-in-the-spirit-seeking-completeness/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [PURPOSE is spirit seeking expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-cashman/purpose-is-spirit-seeking-expression/) [Kevin Cashman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-cashman/) > [“Art is a spirit and soul thing. 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You, O worthy one, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/seeking-means-to-have-a-goal-but-finding-means-to-be-free-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most people do surprisingly poorly when dealing with a relative who is hurting, depressed, or anxious - we get defensive and try to solve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/most-people-do-surprisingly-poorly-when-dealing-with-a-relative-who/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) ## More by Joseph Brodsky > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [For some odd reason, the expression 'death of a poet' always sounds somewhat more concrete than 'life of a poet.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-some-odd-reason-the-expression-death-of-a-poet-always-sounds/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [A poet is a combination of an instrument and a human being in one person, with the former gradually taking over the latter. 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Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) [Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## 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. 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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. 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