--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is the reasoned derangement of the…" description: "\"Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.\" — Kenneth Rexroth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg" --- # Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses. ![“Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.” quote by Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg) > “Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.” [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art intentionally disrupts ordinary perception to provoke thought and feeling. **In simple terms:** Art distorts senses on purpose. Key Takeaway Embrace creative disorientation. Themes art perception creativity Mood provocative introspective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - visual arts - music - literature - design - marketing Key Concepts aesthetic theory sensory disruption Questions to Reflect On - How does altering perception affect understanding? - When is disruption beneficial? A Different Perspective May alienate some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Derangement - reasoned derangement: that was the key. To break the mould, the chains, the bars that held the flesh and the spirit; to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ramsey-ullman/derangement-reasoned-derangement-that-was-the-key-to-break-the-mould/) [James Ramsey Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ramsey-ullman/) > [The Poet makes himself a seer through a long, vast and painstaking derangement of all the senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/the-poet-makes-himself-a-seer-through-a-long-vast-and-painstaking/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [I believe in a long, prolonged, derangement of the senses in order to obtain the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-believe-in-a-long-prolonged-derangement-of-the-senses-in-order-to/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“I must say that I thought there was some derangement of his mental organization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candice-millard/i-must-say-that-i-thought-there-was-some-derangement-of-his-mental/) [Candice Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candice-millard/) > [Where mass opinion dominates the government, there is a morbid derangement of the true functions of power. The derangement brings about the enfeeblement, verging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/where-mass-opinion-dominates-the-government-there-is-a-morbid/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [I moved to New York with the derangement of love. I was writing all these terrible stories, but I had never been happier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-moved-to-new-york-with-the-derangement-of-love-i-was-writing-all/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [The worst derangement of the spirit is to believe things because we want them to be so, not because we have seen them for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-benigne-bossuet/the-worst-derangement-of-the-spirit-is-to-believe-things-because-we/) [Jacques-Benigne Bossuet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-benigne-bossuet/) > [My case is a species of madness, only that it is a derangement of the Volition, and not of the intellectual faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/my-case-is-a-species-of-madness-only-that-it-is-a-derangement-of-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [There is no other way to break the frozen cinematic conventions than through a complete derangement of the official cinematic senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/there-is-no-other-way-to-break-the-frozen-cinematic-conventions-than/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [The greatest derangement of the mind is to believe in something because one wishes it to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/the-greatest-derangement-of-the-mind-is-to-believe-in-something/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [Derangement is the only possible explanation for owning a cat, an animal whose preferred mode of communication is to sink its claws three-quarters of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/derangement-is-the-only-possible-explanation-for-owning-a-cat-an/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Public postures have the configuration of private derangement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/public-postures-have-the-configuration-of-private-derangement/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [In order to have the stuff of a tyrant, a certain mental derangement is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/in-order-to-have-the-stuff-of-a-tyrant-a-certain-mental-derangement/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [The Empire is the institution, the codification, of derangement; it is insane and imposes its insanity on us by violence, since its nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-empire-is-the-institution-the-codification-of-derangement-it-is/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Skullcrack City messes with your mind the way William Burroughs or a bellyful of hallucinogens will do. I'm a longtime fan of Johnson. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-barron/skullcrack-city-messes-with-your-mind-the-way-william-burroughs-or-a/) [Laird Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-barron/) ## More by Kenneth Rexroth > [I've had it with these cheap sons of bitches who claim they love poetry but never buy a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/i-ve-had-it-with-these-cheap-sons-of-bitches-who-claim-they-love/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“There are sparkles of rain on the bright Hair over your forehead; Your eyes are wet and your lips Wet and cold, your cheek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/there-are-sparkles-of-rain-on-the-bright-hair-over-your-forehead-your/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [The basic line in any good verse is cadenced... building it around the natural breath structures of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-basic-line-in-any-good-verse-is-cadenced-building-it-around-the/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Maturity is having the ability to escape categorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/maturity-is-having-the-ability-to-escape-categorization/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, takes responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and avoids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-mature-man-lives-quietly-does-good-privately-takes-responsibility/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Erotic love is one of the highest forms of contemplation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/erotic-love-is-one-of-the-highest-forms-of-contemplation/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Victorian society was homogeneous without being homogenized. It was, to paraphrase the epigram about Parliament, a society of extreme eccentrics who agreed so well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/victorian-society-was-homogeneous-without-being-homogenized-it-was-to/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Crooked cards and straight whiskey, Slow horses and fast women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/crooked-cards-and-straight-whiskey-slow-horses-and-fast-women/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“The mature man lives quietly, does good privately, assumes personal responsibility for his actions, treats others with friendliness and courtesy, finds mischief boring and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-mature-man-lives-quietly-does-good-privately-assumes-personal/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“Imperceptible It withers in the world, This flower-like human heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/imperceptible-it-withers-in-the-world-this-flower-like-human-heart/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [Harvey , Galileo , Copernicus do not seem occult to us, but they did so to their contemporaries, hierophants of the mysteries of Natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/harvey-galileo-copernicus-do-not-seem-occult-to-us-but-they-did-so-to/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [The free, creative, loving people who shine so brightly in my memory of studios and coffee shops have become models for a huge section…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-free-creative-loving-people-who-shine-so-brightly-in-my-memory-of/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [The moral issues with which Marcus struggles would be, as he points out, unchanged whether the universe were mechanical and devoid of meaning or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/the-moral-issues-with-which-marcus-struggles-would-be-as-he-points/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [You don't become a saint until you lead a good life whether in Tibet or Italy or America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/you-don-t-become-a-saint-until-you-lead-a-good-life-whether-in-tibet/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) > [“Man thrives where angels die of ecstasy and pigs die of disgust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/man-thrives-where-angels-die-of-ecstasy-and-pigs-die-of-disgust/) [Kenneth Rexroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) [Explore all 50 Kenneth Rexroth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/) ## 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": "Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Rexroth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-senses/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-senses/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/kenneth-rexroth-13529_art_art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-s_965252.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is the reasoned derangement of the senses.” — Kenneth Rexroth", "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": "Kenneth Rexroth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rexroth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is the reasoned derangement of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-senses/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rexroth/art-is-the-reasoned-derangement-of-the-senses/#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 } } ] } ```