--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I try to do is defy expectations in…" description: "\"What I try to do is defy expectations in terms of boundaries, whether it is high or low art, pop culture, or fine-art culture. My work is about reconci..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_what-i-try-to-do-is-defy-expectations-in_537449.jpg" --- # What I try to do is defy expectations in terms of… ![“What I try to do is defy expectations in terms of boundaries, whether it is high or low art, pop culture, or fine-art culture. My work is about reconciling myriad cultural influences and bringing them into one picture.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_what-i-try-to-do-is-defy-expectations-in_537449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_what-i-try-to-do-is-defy-expectations-in_537449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/kehinde-wiley-1194_art_what-i-try-to-do-is-defy-expectations-in_537449.jpg) > “What I try to do is defy expectations in terms of boundaries, whether it is high or low art, pop culture, or fine-art culture. My work is about reconciling myriad cultural influences and bringing them into one picture.” [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 artist seeks to break conventional limits by blending diverse cultural elements into a unified visual expression. **In simple terms:** Mixing many cultural styles into one artwork. Key Takeaway Embrace cross‑cultural creativity. Themes art culture innovation Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public murals - digital media Key Concepts postmodernism hybridity Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor each culture? - What risks arise from cultural mixing? A Different Perspective Balancing authenticity with fusion can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Pop culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-culture/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Don't defy the diagnosis, try to defy the verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/don-t-defy-the-diagnosis-try-to-defy-the-verdict/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [The student will try to defy the master. Always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-q/the-student-will-try-to-defy-the-master-always/) [Maggie Q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-q/) > [Try as you may, you can never defy love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/try-as-you-may-you-can-never-defy-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is in all of us to defy expectations, to go into the world and to be brave, and to want, to need, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-chevrette/it-is-in-all-of-us-to-defy-expectations-to-go-into-the-world-and-to/) Mae Chevrette > [I decided that I would defy expectations, be it those put on me by society, race, socioeconomic status, or my father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tubbs/i-decided-that-i-would-defy-expectations-be-it-those-put-on-me-by/) [Michael Tubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tubbs/) > [We'll do what life always does defy expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/we-ll-do-what-life-always-does-defy-expectations/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I like showing people I can do something they wouldn't have pegged me as being able to do. I've always wanted to defy expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leong/i-like-showing-people-i-can-do-something-they-wouldn-t-have-pegged-me/) [Melissa Leong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leong/) > [“I live to defy y'all's expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ryan/i-live-to-defy-y-all-s-expectations/) [Sara Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ryan/) > [Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/together-with-a-culture-of-work-there-must-be-a-culture-of-leisure-as/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The difficulty of carrying on a leisure-oriented tradition of culture in a work-oriented society is enough in itself to keep the present crisis in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/the-difficulty-of-carrying-on-a-leisure-oriented-tradition-of-culture/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [I would advise any startup to take the time to define their unique culture and work at making it a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-capodagli/i-would-advise-any-startup-to-take-the-time-to-define-their-unique/) [Bill Capodagli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-capodagli/) > [Whatever (its) virtues, (the) writing explores the culture of work but marginalizes work itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-corrigan/whatever-its-virtues-the-writing-explores-the-culture-of-work-but/) [Maureen Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-corrigan/) > [At Hermès I learned, maybe more than anywhere else, how to work around a legacy, and how to integrate a strong brand culture into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-lemaire/at-herm-s-i-learned-maybe-more-than-anywhere-else-how-to-work-around/) [Christophe Lemaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-lemaire/) > [There are aspects of Asian culture in my work, but it's really rooted in an American experience - transcendentalism, '60s counterculture, punk rock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-tomaselli/there-are-aspects-of-asian-culture-in-my-work-but-it-s-really-rooted/) [Fred Tomaselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-tomaselli/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## 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 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": "What I try to do is defy expectations in terms of boundaries, whether it is high or low art, pop culture, or fine-art culture. 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