--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Making art is a lot about just seeing…" description: "\"Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you put some energy into something.\" — Kiki Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg" --- # Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you… ![“Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you put some energy into something.” quote by Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg) > “Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you put some energy into something.” [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art emerges from experimentation and the willingness to invest effort, revealing process over product **In simple terms:** Creating art is about experimenting with energy Key Takeaway Embrace trial and error in creativity Themes art process exploration Mood inspired curious Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - painting - sculpture - performance art Key Concepts creative energy intuition Questions to Reflect On - What experiment will you try today? - How does effort shape outcome? A Different Perspective Results may be unpredictable and require patience ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Happens Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-energy-3461070/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Seeing Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing-happens-637006/) ## Related quotes > [In my eyes, making art is very often about something that you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/in-my-eyes-making-art-is-very-often-about-something-that-you-don-t/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [Making art is about accepting what’s going on around you and turning it into](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/making-art-is-about-accepting-what-s-going-on-around-you-and-turning/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [Making art is a journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meinrad-craighead/making-art-is-a-journey/) [Meinrad Craighead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meinrad-craighead/) > [I think seeing happens partly through the eyes, but not entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/i-think-seeing-happens-partly-through-the-eyes-but-not-entirely/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Mathematics is about making up rules and seeing what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vi-hart/mathematics-is-about-making-up-rules-and-seeing-what-happens/) [Vi Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vi-hart/) > [I'm going to keep seeing him as much as I can. We'll see what happens," I say, realizing that just "seeing what happens" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-m-going-to-keep-seeing-him-as-much-as-i-can-we-ll-see-what-happens/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I think there's a general confusion that my work is about types of photography. But really that's just a tool to introduce some questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/i-think-there-s-a-general-confusion-that-my-work-is-about-types-of/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [I do find that there's a fine balance between preparation and seeing what happens naturally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothee-chalamet/i-do-find-that-there-s-a-fine-balance-between-preparation-and-seeing/) [Timothee Chalamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothee-chalamet/) > [With the films, it starts off with certain coordinates in the world and seeing what happens. What happens if you place yourself at an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-morris/with-the-films-it-starts-off-with-certain-coordinates-in-the-world/) [Sarah Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-morris/) > [Seeing what happens when you rip yourself open is what your job is all about](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-harris/seeing-what-happens-when-you-rip-yourself-open-is-what-your-job-is/) [Ed Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-harris/) > [I'm about going out in the world and noticing stuff, and going home and writing it down, and putting it next to other stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/i-m-about-going-out-in-the-world-and-noticing-stuff-and-going-home/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [I like Betsy Ross as a model, too, the quilting bee, sitting around with your friends making art, asking what they think, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-like-betsy-ross-as-a-model-too-the-quilting-bee-sitting-around-with/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I like that feeling when you’re making art, that you’re taking the energy out of your body and putting it into a physical object.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-like-that-feeling-when-you-re-making-art-that-you-re-taking-the/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I think a lot of making art is listening to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-think-a-lot-of-making-art-is-listening-to-yourself/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) ## More by Kiki Smith > [ It was a very economically depressed time \[the 80s\] and because of that, there was a lot of space. Everything was relatively dilapidated, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-was-a-very-economically-depressed-time-the-80s-and-because-of-that/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I first had no interest in figuration whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-first-had-no-interest-in-figuration-whatsoever/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I got into animals by drawing hair follicles. I liked drawing hair, and from that I got into feathers and fur, then into images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-got-into-animals-by-drawing-hair-follicles-i-liked-drawing-hair-and/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Artists live in unknown spaces and give themselves over to following something unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/artists-live-in-unknown-spaces-and-give-themselves-over-to-following/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [We as beings are very contradictory, complicated creatures that work in our best interest and against our best interest. In a certain way, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/we-as-beings-are-very-contradictory-complicated-creatures-that-work/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I think that sense of always traveling has something to do with anonymity and privacy and pleasure in having a very clear, very reductive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-think-that-sense-of-always-traveling-has-something-to-do-with/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Art is a reflection of everything that impacts your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/art-is-a-reflection-of-everything-that-impacts-your-life/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I didn't start to be an artist myself until I was 24.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-didn-t-start-to-be-an-artist-myself-until-i-was-24/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [When you get older, you're running out of time. You care more about trying to stay on the planet a little longer, so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/when-you-get-older-you-re-running-out-of-time-you-care-more-about/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [You start with a generic body, but I think the first wall you hit with portraiture is comprised of history and storytelling and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/you-start-with-a-generic-body-but-i-think-the-first-wall-you-hit-with/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I'm not moving from an ideological standpoint. Sometimes I'm trying to make my life better. Sometimes I'm trying to make my life worse! I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-m-not-moving-from-an-ideological-standpoint-sometimes-i-m-trying-to/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [My work life makes much less sense now than 20 years ago. It's Humpty-Dumpty-like in a way; I can't put the pieces back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/my-work-life-makes-much-less-sense-now-than-20-years-ago-it-s-humpty/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Prints mimic what we are as humans: we are all the same and yet every one is different. I think there's a spiritual power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/prints-mimic-what-we-are-as-humans-we-are-all-the-same-and-yet-every/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I think that objects have memories. I’m always thinking that I’ll go to the museum and see something and have a big memory about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-think-that-objects-have-memories-i-m-always-thinking-that-i-ll-go/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Sometimes your personal life is much more significant. Sometimes your work life is more significant. Friends and family, or sometimes the general population, take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/sometimes-your-personal-life-is-much-more-significant-sometimes-your/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) [Explore all 64 Kiki Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) ## 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": "Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you put some energy into something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kiki Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-what-happens-if-you-put-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-what-happens-if-you-put-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/kiki-smith-10643_art_making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-wh_1180609.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Making art is a lot about just seeing what happens if you put some energy into something.” — Kiki Smith", "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": "Kiki Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Making art is a lot about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-what-happens-if-you-put-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/making-art-is-a-lot-about-just-seeing-what-happens-if-you-put-some/#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 } } ] } ```