--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do remember at my very first opening in…" description: "\"I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, \"Did you really intend for these thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d70/laurie-simmons-11593_art_i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-i_92370.jpg" --- # I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another… ![“I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, "Did you really intend for these things to be so dumb? You just put it there and took a picture of it." He wouldn't let it go. So that's what made me think about the dumbness aspect more.” quote by Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d70/laurie-simmons-11593_art_i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-i_92370.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d70/laurie-simmons-11593_art_i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-i_92370.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d70/laurie-simmons-11593_art_i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-i_92370.jpg) > “I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, "Did you really intend for these things to be so dumb? You just put it there and took a picture of it." He wouldn't let it go. So that's what made me think about the dumbness aspect more.” [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of perceived artistic simplicity sparked a reflection on intentionality behind minimalist or 'dumb' art choices. **In simple terms:** Questioning artistic intentionality Key Takeaway Simplicity may conceal deeper purpose Themes art criticism intentionality minimalism perception of 'dumb' art Mood reflective inquisitive Type artistic commentary When to use this quote - gallery openings - artist interviews - creative workshops Key Concepts artist dialogue artistic intent Practical Applications - art education on intent - critical discussion panels Questions to Reflect On - When does simplicity become a deliberate statement? - How do I judge the value of art beyond surface appearance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Dumbness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumbness/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/with-two-sons-born-eighteen-months-apart-i-operated-mainly-on/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [“I remember certain group gatherings that are hard to get up and leave from. I remember alligators and quicksand in jungle movies. (Pretty scary.)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-brainard/i-remember-certain-group-gatherings-that-are-hard-to-get-up-and-leave/) [Joe Brainard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-brainard/) > [There is nothing Modern about doing dumb things for dumb reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-is-nothing-modern-about-doing-dumb-things-for-dumb-reasons/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Your ideas and the things that you do are dumb and stupid and make no sense - until you start getting recognized and making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glozell/your-ideas-and-the-things-that-you-do-are-dumb-and-stupid-and-make-no/) GloZell > [The Republicans are many things, but they're not dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-republicans-are-many-things-but-they-re-not-dumb/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Sometimes I do smart things. Sometimes I do dumb things. Most of the time I don't do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorilla-rising-hintz/sometimes-i-do-smart-things-sometimes-i-do-dumb-things-most-of-the/) Gorilla Rising Hintz > [I have done some pretty dumb things. I am not going to lie. I see the things I have done. And I have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-machado/i-have-done-some-pretty-dumb-things-i-am-not-going-to-lie-i-see-the/) [Manny Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-machado/) > [I certainly wasn't seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-certainly-wasn-t-seeking-any-degree-the-way-a-college-confers-a/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Dumbness comes from the fact that a child is born deaf and that it consequently never learns how to articulate, for it is by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/dumbness-comes-from-the-fact-that-a-child-is-born-deaf-and-that-it/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [The blind faith turns the spirit dumb and deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/the-blind-faith-turns-the-spirit-dumb-and-deaf/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [The major force in world history is sheer dumbness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-wolf/the-major-force-in-world-history-is-sheer-dumbness/) Eric Wolf > [The shocking possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the millions of careers devoted to tending them will seem incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-shocking-possibility-that-dumb-people-don-t-exist-in-sufficient/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“ Wagon Train was on. It seemed to be beaming in from some foreign country. I shut that off, too, and went into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/wagon-train-was-on-it-seemed-to-be-beaming-in-from-some-foreign/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [never underestimate your dumbness!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-benton/never-underestimate-your-dumbness/) [Jim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-benton/) > [No harm comes to man from outside alone: dumbness is the objective spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/no-harm-comes-to-man-from-outside-alone-dumbness-is-the-objective/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) ## More by Laurie Simmons > [I feel like I spent so much time trying to understand my identity and my identity as an artist. But when all is said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-feel-like-i-spent-so-much-time-trying-to-understand-my-identity-and/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I remember years ago hearing a gynecologist say, "Women report a great sense of calm and well-being post-menopause." This was way before I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-remember-years-ago-hearing-a-gynecologist-say-women-report-a-great/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I was always very proud of myself that I could wrest emotion from a doll or a puppet. It never occurred to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-was-always-very-proud-of-myself-that-i-could-wrest-emotion-from-a/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [Your ringtone is so personal to you, but the fact is millions of other people have your ringtone. I really love that connection, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/your-ringtone-is-so-personal-to-you-but-the-fact-is-millions-of-other/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [You mine your own past in order to get to know yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/you-mine-your-own-past-in-order-to-get-to-know-yourself/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [Parenthetically, I have to say, I don't particularly like dolls, nor have I ever liked them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/parenthetically-i-have-to-say-i-don-t-particularly-like-dolls-nor/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [Like all artists, I'm a complete cinephile; I see everything. I see past movies, present movies, indie movies, experimental movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/like-all-artists-i-m-a-complete-cinephile-i-see-everything-i-see-past/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [It's funny: when you're an artist, your own work goes in and out of fashion with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/it-s-funny-when-you-re-an-artist-your-own-work-goes-in-and-out-of/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [Here were also moments of, you know, you have an exhibition: no sale, no reviews. It's hard not to get blue, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/here-were-also-moments-of-you-know-you-have-an-exhibition-no-sale-no/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [My favourite thing is to discover what someone does well and say, 'Do that for me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/my-favourite-thing-is-to-discover-what-someone-does-well-and-say-do/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [The challenge has always been to wrest emotion out of a doll face that we think of as only having one emotion. It's moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/the-challenge-has-always-been-to-wrest-emotion-out-of-a-doll-face/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I always say I'm an artist with the soul of a realtor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-always-say-i-m-an-artist-with-the-soul-of-a-realtor/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [Oh god, success is so exhausting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/oh-god-success-is-so-exhausting/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I love acting. I can't believe how fun it is and how in-the-zone I am when I'm doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-love-acting-i-can-t-believe-how-fun-it-is-and-how-in-the-zone-i-am/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [I never could have predicted that I would have done something that could be called portraiture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-never-could-have-predicted-that-i-would-have-done-something-that/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) [Explore all 59 Laurie Simmons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) ## 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": "I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, \"Did you really intend for these things to be so dumb? 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