--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Almost as though the painting itself…" description: "\"Almost as though the painting itself becomes the embodiment of a type of struggle for visibility, and this might be considered the main subject of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg" --- # Almost as though the painting itself becomes the… ![“Almost as though the painting itself becomes the embodiment of a type of struggle for visibility, and this might be considered the main subject of the painting.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg) > “Almost as though the painting itself becomes the embodiment of a type of struggle for visibility, and this might be considered the main subject of the painting.” [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The painting embodies a struggle for visibility, making the act of seeing itself a central theme. **In simple terms:** The artwork shows a fight to be seen, making visibility the main focus. Key Takeaway Recognize how representation shapes perception. Themes art visibility identity Mood contemplative critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public murals - media representation - educational curricula Key Concepts representation visibility social commentary Questions to Reflect On - How does visibility affect personal identity? - What can artists do to amplify marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Visibility can be limited by cultural biases and gatekeeping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Embodiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embodiment/) [Main Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main-subject-5658740/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Embodiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-embodiment-5658739/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle Visibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-visibility-5658738/) [Subject Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-painting-1125911/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Visibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visibility/) ## Related quotes > [Painting is the subject of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-raffael/painting-is-the-subject-of-painting/) [Joseph Raffael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-raffael/) > [The real subject of every painting is light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/the-real-subject-of-every-painting-is-light/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have never painted a self-portrait. I am less interested in myself as a subject for a painting than I am in other people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-klimt/i-have-never-painted-a-self-portrait-i-am-less-interested-in-myself/) [Gustav Klimt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-klimt/) > [No matter what medium I'm using, or what subject I'm painting, I do retain a fairly set approach to painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-parker/no-matter-what-medium-i-m-using-or-what-subject-i-m-painting-i-do/) [Ron Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-parker/) > [Foreigners like me have no privacy rights whatsoever. Yet we keep using U.S.-based services all the time, making us a legal target for gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikko-hypponen/foreigners-like-me-have-no-privacy-rights-whatsoever-yet-we-keep/) [Mikko Hypponen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikko-hypponen/) > [“There's something to be said for visibility, something about being easier to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathi-appelt/there-s-something-to-be-said-for-visibility-something-about-being/) [Kathi Appelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathi-appelt/) > [Even the best critical writing on Emily Dickinson underestimates her. She is frightening. To come to her directly from Dante, Spenser, Blake, and Baudelaire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/even-the-best-critical-writing-on-emily-dickinson-underestimates-her/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“Visibility gets people in the door, but your ability keeps them there. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/visibility-gets-people-in-the-door-but-your-ability-keeps-them-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Politics in the United States consists of the struggle between those whose change has been arrested by success or failure, on one side, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/politics-in-the-united-states-consists-of-the-struggle-between-those/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [ \[T\]he visibility of styles is itself a product of historical consciousness. ... The very notion of "style" needs to be approached historically. Awareness of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/t-he-visibility-of-styles-is-itself-a-product-of-historical/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I don't hurt or want for visibility, but people seem to forget pretty easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-coleman/i-don-t-hurt-or-want-for-visibility-but-people-seem-to-forget-pretty/) [Gary Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-coleman/) > [I would not say that Harvard possesses any sort of absolute dominance. And I personally do not take the rankings of schools all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/i-would-not-say-that-harvard-possesses-any-sort-of-absolute-dominance/) [Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/) > [We see everything. We see what celebrities buy at the supermarket. It's ridiculous. It's that visibility. I'm confused by this whole celebrity-obsessed culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-mendes/we-see-everything-we-see-what-celebrities-buy-at-the-supermarket-it-s/) [Eva Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-mendes/) > [You were not in control You had no visibility: maybe there was a car in front of you, maybe not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-prost/you-were-not-in-control-you-had-no-visibility-maybe-there-was-a-car/) [Alain Prost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-prost/) > [Visibility is not equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/visibility-is-not-equality/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) ## More by Kehinde Wiley > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The erotic and the art historical imagination is something that gets very little play when people talk about my work, and when they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-erotic-and-the-art-historical-imagination-is-something-that-gets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think the world that I grew up in was like being in this sort of magical artistic garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-the-world-that-i-grew-up-in-was-like-being-in-this-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [It was something that came sort of matter-of-factually. Because there - it's like really - real honest engagement with the people around me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-was-something-that-came-sort-of-matter-of-factually-because-there/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting is situational. And my particular situation exists within gender, race, class, sexuality, nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-is-situational-and-my-particular-situation-exists-within/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think, something that you might be able to locate in the work that I'm creating today: the ability to look at a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-something-that-you-might-be-able-to-locate-in-the-work-that-i/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-the-los-angeles-county-museum-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Explore all 275 Kehinde Wiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Almost as though the painting itself becomes the embodiment of a type of struggle for visibility, and this might be considered the main subject of the painting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-becomes-the-embodiment-of-a-type/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-becomes-the-embodiment-of-a-type/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/kehinde-wiley-1194_artist_almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-bec_3151546.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Almost as though the painting itself becomes the embodiment of a type of struggle for visibility, and this…” — Kehinde Wiley", "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": "Kehinde Wiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Almost as though the painting itself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-becomes-the-embodiment-of-a-type/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/almost-as-though-the-painting-itself-becomes-the-embodiment-of-a-type/#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 } } ] } ```