--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The primary function of art is not to…" description: "\"The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent or interpret, but to create a living thing; it is the reduction of all life to a perfectly c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png" --- # The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent… ![“The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent or interpret, but to create a living thing; it is the reduction of all life to a perfectly composed and dynamic miniature - a microcosm where there is perfect balance of emotion and intellect, stress and strain resolving itself, form…” quote by Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png) > “The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent or interpret, but to create a living thing; it is the reduction of all life to a perfectly composed and dynamic miniature - a microcosm where there is perfect balance of emotion and intellect, stress and strain resolving itself, form rhythmically poised in three dimensions.” [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art's purpose is to generate a living, balanced microcosm, uniting emotion and intellect in dynamic form. **In simple terms:** Art creates a balanced, living microcosm. Key Takeaway Seek harmony between feeling and thought. Themes creativity balance emotion intellect form Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - gallery installations - public sculptures - educational workshops - personal creative practice Key Concepts Aesthetics microcosm dynamic composition Questions to Reflect On - How can you embody both emotion and intellect in your work? - What tensions arise when striving for perfect balance? A Different Perspective Balancing opposing forces can be challenging in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Perfect balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-balance/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Three dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-dimensions/) ## Related quotes > [A primary function of art andthought is to liberate the individual from the tyranny of his culture in the environmental sense and to permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/a-primary-function-of-art-andthought-is-to-liberate-the-individual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [The function of Art is to imitate Nature in her manner of operation. Our understanding of her manner of operation&Rdquo; changes according to advances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-function-of-art-is-to-imitate-nature-in-her-manner-of-operation/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Leadership produces change. That is its primary function](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-kotter/leadership-produces-change-that-is-its-primary-function/) [John P. Kotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-kotter/) > [The primary function of a constitution was to mark out the boundaries of governmental powers-hence in England, where there was no constitution , there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-bailyn/the-primary-function-of-a-constitution-was-to-mark-out-the-boundaries/) [Bernard Bailyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-bailyn/) > [It has been said that the primary function of schools is to impart enough facts to make children stop asking questions. Some, with whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-schmidt-nielsen/it-has-been-said-that-the-primary-function-of-schools-is-to-impart/) Knut Schmidt-Nielsen > [I think our primary function is to create the strongest, deepest, most interesting news report there is in the world.And whether it's on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/i-think-our-primary-function-is-to-create-the-strongest-deepest-most/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [When your primary function is to be happy, then whatever comes to you is irrelevant. Happiness is your true manifestation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/when-your-primary-function-is-to-be-happy-then-whatever-comes-to-you/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [Our primary function is to create an emotion and our secondary function is to sustain that emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/our-primary-function-is-to-create-an-emotion-and-our-secondary/) [Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/) > [Art may imitate wild nature; less often does it dare to place itself in the midst of it, and when it does, it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hart/art-may-imitate-wild-nature-less-often-does-it-dare-to-place-itself/) [John Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hart/) > [So true it is, that nature has caprices which art cannot imitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/so-true-it-is-that-nature-has-caprices-which-art-cannot-imitate/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Works of art imitate and provoke other works of art, the process is the source of art itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/works-of-art-imitate-and-provoke-other-works-of-art-the-process-is/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [It is justly considered as the greatest excellency of art to imitate nature; but it is necessary to distinguish those parts of nature which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-justly-considered-as-the-greatest-excellency-of-art-to-imitate/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Art may imitate life, but life imitates TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/art-may-imitate-life-but-life-imitates-tv/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [We must be vigilant in sharing our stories and our truths as queer parents of color at every chance we get if we hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karamo-brown/we-must-be-vigilant-in-sharing-our-stories-and-our-truths-as-queer/) [Karamo Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karamo-brown/) > [The true end of Art is not to imitate a fixed material condition, but to represent a living motion,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-inness/the-true-end-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-a-fixed-material-condition-but/) [George Inness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-inness/) ## More by Lawren Harris > [Art is the distillate of life, the winnowed result of the experience of a people, the record of the joyous adventure of the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/art-is-the-distillate-of-life-the-winnowed-result-of-the-experience/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Are we taking the drunken drivers off the road only to turn them into drunken pedestrians?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/are-we-taking-the-drunken-drivers-off-the-road-only-to-turn-them-into/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [The truth is that works of art test the spectator much more than the spectator tests them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-truth-is-that-works-of-art-test-the-spectator-much-more-than-the/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [So long as painting deals with objective nature, it is an impure art, for recognizability precludes the highest aesthetic emotion. All painting, ancient or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/so-long-as-painting-deals-with-objective-nature-it-is-an-impure-art/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Art is the beginning of vision into the realm of eternal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/art-is-the-beginning-of-vision-into-the-realm-of-eternal-life/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Through our own creative experience we came to know that the real tradition in art is not housed only in museums and art galleries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/through-our-own-creative-experience-we-came-to-know-that-the-real/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [If we view a great mountain soaring into the sky, it may excite us, evoke an uplifted feeling within us. There is an interplay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/if-we-view-a-great-mountain-soaring-into-the-sky-it-may-excite-us/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Experiences, much more than instruction, are a seeing with the inner eye - finding a channel to our essential inner life, a door to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/experiences-much-more-than-instruction-are-a-seeing-with-the-inner/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Of course there must be the urge, the indefinable longing to get something through into terms of plastic presentation, but results are nearly always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/of-course-there-must-be-the-urge-the-indefinable-longing-to-get/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [The thought of today cannot be expressed in the language of yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-thought-of-today-cannot-be-expressed-in-the-language-of-yesterday/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [For the arts epitomize, intensify and clarify the experience of beauty for us as nothing else can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/for-the-arts-epitomize-intensify-and-clarify-the-experience-of-beauty/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Art must take to the road and risk all for the glory of adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/art-must-take-to-the-road-and-risk-all-for-the-glory-of-adventure/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Every work of art which really moves us is in some degree a revelation: it changes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/every-work-of-art-which-really-moves-us-is-in-some-degree-a/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [The power of beauty at work in man, as the artist has always known, is severe and exacting, and once evoked, will never leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-power-of-beauty-at-work-in-man-as-the-artist-has-always-known-is/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [Art is long. Life is short. A picture can become for us a highway between a particular thing and a universal feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/art-is-long-life-is-short-a-picture-can-become-for-us-a-highway/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) [Explore all 34 Lawren Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) ## 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": "The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent or interpret, but to create a living thing; it is the reduction of all life to a perfectly composed and dynamic miniature - a microcosm where there is perfect balance of emotion and intellect, stress and strain resolving itself, form rhythmically poised in three dimensions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawren Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-or-represent-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-or-represent-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/lawren-harris-18825_art_the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-im_2951711.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The primary function of art is not to imitate or represent or interpret, but to create a living thing; it is…” — Lawren Harris", "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": "Lawren Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The primary function of art is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-or-represent-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/the-primary-function-of-art-is-not-to-imitate-or-represent-or/#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 } } ] } ```