--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is subject to arbitrary fashion." description: "\"Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.\" — Kary Mullis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png" --- # Art is subject to arbitrary fashion. ![“Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.” quote by Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png) > “Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.” [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims art trends are arbitrary, suggesting fashion dictates artistic value more than merit **In simple terms:** Art trends are driven by fashion, not merit Key Takeaway Question the influence of fashion on art Themes art criticism culture subjectivity Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - gallery curation - personal taste - media coverage Key Concepts fashion cycles art markets creative expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate trend from genuine art? - What role should critics play in shaping art? A Different Perspective May dismiss genuine innovation in art ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) ## Related quotes > [To me Art's subject is the human clay, / And landscape but a background to a torso; / All Cezanne's apples I would give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-me-art-s-subject-is-the-human-clay-and-landscape-but-a-background/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [Art is always subject to change in a moment by somebody who's strong enough to shed new light on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/art-is-always-subject-to-change-in-a-moment-by-somebody-who-s-strong/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [In a world in which everything is subject to the passing of time, art alone is both subject to time and yet victorious over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/in-a-world-in-which-everything-is-subject-to-the-passing-of-time-art/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“If you were to create a piece of art, what would the subject be? I haven't met her yet. :)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amie-kaufman/if-you-were-to-create-a-piece-of-art-what-would-the-subject-be-i/) [Amie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amie-kaufman/) > [In every work of art the subject is primordial, whether the artist knows it or not. The measure of the formal qualities is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-giacometti/in-every-work-of-art-the-subject-is-primordial-whether-the-artist-2/) [Alberto Giacometti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-giacometti/) > [Past art is subject to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/past-art-is-subject-to-change/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [In every work of art the subject is primordial, whether the artist knows it or not. The measure of the formal qualities is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-giacometti/in-every-work-of-art-the-subject-is-primordial-whether-the-artist/) [Alberto Giacometti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-giacometti/) > [The fact is that even art is subject to fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-pratt/the-fact-is-that-even-art-is-subject-to-fashion/) [Hugo Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-pratt/) > [Art is a subject that is inundated with opinions. In fact, that's all it is about is opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chick-corea/art-is-a-subject-that-is-inundated-with-opinions-in-fact-that-s-all/) [Chick Corea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chick-corea/) > [Science, like nothing else among the institutions of mankind, grows like a weed every year. Art is subject to arbitrary fashion, religion is inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-like-nothing-else-among-the-institutions-of-mankind-grows/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. It ignores the health needs of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/it-is-irresponsible-to-set-an-arbitrary-cap-on-how-much-therapy-a/) [John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/) ## More by Kary Mullis > [People don't realize that molecules themselves are somewhat hypothetical, and that their interactions are more so, and that the biological reactions are even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-don-t-realize-that-molecules-themselves-are-somewhat/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My father, Cecil Banks Mullis, and mother, formerly Bernice Alberta Barker, grew up in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-father-cecil-banks-mullis-and-mother-formerly-bernice-alberta/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Religion is inwardly focused and driven only to sustain itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/religion-is-inwardly-focused-and-driven-only-to-sustain-itself/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Natural DNA is a tractless coil, like an unwound and tangled audiotape on the floor of the car in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/natural-dna-is-a-tractless-coil-like-an-unwound-and-tangled-audiotape/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Do we care about these people that are HIV-positive whose lives have been ruined? Those are the people I'm the most concerned about. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/do-we-care-about-these-people-that-are-hiv-positive-whose-lives-have/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I love a microphone and a big crowd; I'm an entertainer, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-love-a-microphone-and-a-big-crowd-i-m-an-entertainer-i-guess/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science consistently produces a new crop of miraculous truths and dazzling devices every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-consistently-produces-a-new-crop-of-miraculous-truths-and/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Here's a bunch of people practising a new set of behavioural norms. Apparently it didn't work because a lot of them got sick. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/here-s-a-bunch-of-people-practising-a-new-set-of-behavioural-norms/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [People realize this man knows what the hell's going on and nobody else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/people-realize-this-man-knows-what-the-hell-s-going-on-and-nobody/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Science, like nothing else among the institutions of mankind, grows like a weed every year. Art is subject to arbitrary fashion, religion is inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/science-like-nothing-else-among-the-institutions-of-mankind-grows/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [I'm not politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/i-m-not-politically-correct/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Fish don't know much about water, and people didn't know much about air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/fish-don-t-know-much-about-water-and-people-didn-t-know-much-about-air/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [My mother would give my brothers and me a pile of catalogues and let us pick what we wanted for Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-would-give-my-brothers-and-me-a-pile-of-catalogues-and-let/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [They can't pooh-pooh me now, because of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/they-can-t-pooh-pooh-me-now-because-of-who-i-am/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) [Explore all 48 Kary Mullis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) ## More Arbitrary quotes > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. It ignores the health needs of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ensign/it-is-irresponsible-to-set-an-arbitrary-cap-on-how-much-therapy-a/) [John Ensign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ensign/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Not to be offensive, not to be capricious, not to be arbitrary, not to be neurotic, not to be an actor outer, you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hurt/not-to-be-offensive-not-to-be-capricious-not-to-be-arbitrary-not-to/) [William Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hurt/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Habit is altogether too arbitrary a master for me to submit to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/habit-is-altogether-too-arbitrary-a-master-for-me-to-submit-to/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/contrary-to-what-certain-governments-say-human-rights-are-universal/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [What causes adolescents to rebel is not the assertion of authority but the arbitrary use of power, with little explanation of the rules and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-steinberg/what-causes-adolescents-to-rebel-is-not-the-assertion-of-authority/) [Laurence Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-steinberg/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [“nothing is arbitrary in this whole world, there is a good reason behind each and everything…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-kumar/nothing-is-arbitrary-in-this-whole-world-there-is-a-good-reason/) Nikhil Kumar > [Fundamentally, adopting rules without any estimate of the impact is the height of arbitrary decision-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-o-rielly/fundamentally-adopting-rules-without-any-estimate-of-the-impact-is/) [Michael O'Rielly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-o-rielly/) > [No arbitrary regulation, no act of the legislature, can add anything to the capital of the country; it can only force it into artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ramsay-mcculloch/no-arbitrary-regulation-no-act-of-the-legislature-can-add-anything-to/) John Ramsay McCulloch > [But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burthens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of discord; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-the-desire-of-obtaining-the-advantages-and-of-escaping-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) Browse all 529 Arbitrary quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kary Mullis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arbitrary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ed/kary-mullis-13943_arbitrary_art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion-2830_2830018.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.” — Kary Mullis", "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": "Kary Mullis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is subject to arbitrary fashion.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/art-is-subject-to-arbitrary-fashion/#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 } } ] } ```