--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anything can be art. Art is the relations…" description: "\"Anything can be art. Art is the relations between relations, not the relations between objects.\" — Joseph Kosuth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/joseph-kosuth-35811_art_anything-can-be-art-art-is-the-relations_191197.jpg" --- # Anything can be art. Art is the relations between… ![“Anything can be art. Art is the relations between relations, not the relations between objects.” quote by Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/joseph-kosuth-35811_art_anything-can-be-art-art-is-the-relations_191197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/joseph-kosuth-35811_art_anything-can-be-art-art-is-the-relations_191197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/joseph-kosuth-35811_art_anything-can-be-art-art-is-the-relations_191197.jpg) > “Anything can be art. Art is the relations between relations, not the relations between objects.” [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that art is defined by relationships among concepts, not by objects themselves. **In simple terms:** Art is relational, not object‑based. Key Takeaway Focus on conceptual connections. Themes art theory philosophy relations concepts Mood intellectual provocative Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curating - education - digital media - public installations Key Concepts ontology semiotics Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience relational art? - Can object‑free art convey emotion? A Different Perspective Purely relational art may alienate audiences seeking visual appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-relations-2019281/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Conceptualization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptualization/) [Famous artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-artist/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Relate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relate/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations/) [Relations Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations-objects-923115/) [Relations Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations-relations-2019282/) ## Related quotes > [Mathematicians do not study objects, but the relations between objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematicians-do-not-study-objects-but-the-relations-between-objects/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [Mathematicians do not deal in objects, but in relations between objects; thus, they are free to replace some objects by others so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematicians-do-not-deal-in-objects-but-in-relations-between/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [Mathematicians do not study objects, but relations between objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/mathematicians-do-not-study-objects-but-relations-between-objects/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [“Basically, a case conceptualization is a method for understanding and explaining a client's concerns and for guiding the treatment process. It functions like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sperry/basically-a-case-conceptualization-is-a-method-for-understanding-and/) [Jonathan Sperry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sperry/) > [Science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgements of all kinds remain necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/science-can-only-ascertain-what-is-but-not-what-should-be-and-outside/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I believe that the development of language - of naming, categorization, conceptualization - destroys our ability to see as we age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-believe-that-the-development-of-language-of-naming-categorization/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Without perceiving things through the old filter of past conditioning and conceptualization, one can sense the universe is intensely alive. Even so-called inanimate objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/without-perceiving-things-through-the-old-filter-of-past-conditioning/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [To describe the animate life of particular things is simply the most precise and parsimonious way to articulate the things as we spontaneously experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-abram/to-describe-the-animate-life-of-particular-things-is-simply-the-most/) [David Abram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-abram/) > [Concepts vs. self-actualization. - Instead of dedicating your life to actualize a concept of what you should be like, ACTUALIZE YOURSELF. The process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/concepts-vs-self-actualization-instead-of-dedicating-your-life-to/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [We are caught up in a paradox, one which might be called the paradox of conceptualization. The proper concepts are needed to formulate a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kaplan/we-are-caught-up-in-a-paradox-one-which-might-be-called-the-paradox/) [Abraham Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kaplan/) > [“There are underwater cables that seem to emerge and interweave the various objects drifting and rotating in space. I can imagine their intersections and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/there-are-underwater-cables-that-seem-to-emerge-and-interweave-the/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [As we come to know, accept, and explore our feelings, they will become sanctuaries and fortresses and spawning grounds for the most radical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/as-we-come-to-know-accept-and-explore-our-feelings-they-will-become/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [In my own research, teaching and consulting experience I have to combine lessons from the field in a relatively inductive and open fashion with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-doz/in-my-own-research-teaching-and-consulting-experience-i-have-to/) [Yves Doz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-doz/) > [To put it boldly, it is the attempt at a posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-put-it-boldly-it-is-the-attempt-at-a-posterior-reconstruction-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I think there are times when human beings open our psychic field: when they're in love, when they're with another person that they resonate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/i-think-there-are-times-when-human-beings-open-our-psychic-field-when/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) ## More by Joseph Kosuth > [Seeing is not as simple as looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/seeing-is-not-as-simple-as-looking/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [That celebrated marriage of science and art, photography, seemed at the time to join together how we look at the world, art, with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/that-celebrated-marriage-of-science-and-art-photography-seemed-at-the/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [Forget your ideas about art. Make a shopping list of everything you like about what you've done. Include qualities that you've seen in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/forget-your-ideas-about-art-make-a-shopping-list-of-everything-you/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [I am only describing language, not explaining anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/i-am-only-describing-language-not-explaining-anything/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [I liked that the work itself was something other than simply what you saw It meant you could have an art work which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/i-liked-that-the-work-itself-was-something-other-than-simply-what-you/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [Making something new to look at is a futile and empty act if its only audience is the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/making-something-new-to-look-at-is-a-futile-and-empty-act-if-its-only/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [Unlike the marks of a painting, the photo seems to organize its 'opinions' in relation to the world; even when the photographs have clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/unlike-the-marks-of-a-painting-the-photo-seems-to-organize-its/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [When objects are presented within the context of art (and until recently objects always have been used) they are as eligible for aesthetic consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/when-objects-are-presented-within-the-context-of-art-and-until/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [Photography, as an invention, was both art and science. The view it gave us of the world was in some measure acceptable because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/photography-as-an-invention-was-both-art-and-science-the-view-it-gave/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [“The 'value' of particular artists after Duchamp can be weighed according to how much they questioned the nature of art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/the-value-of-particular-artists-after-duchamp-can-be-weighed/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [All art (after Duchamp) is conceptual (in nature) because art only exists conceptually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/all-art-after-duchamp-is-conceptual-in-nature-because-art-only-exists/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) > [Change art to include yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-kosuth/change-art-to-include-yourself/) [Joseph Kosuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) [Explore all 13 Joseph Kosuth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-kosuth/) ## 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. 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": "Anything can be art. 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