--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are things that are not sayable…" description: "\"There are things that are not sayable. That’s why we have art.\" — Leonora Carrington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/leonora-carrington-13249_art_there-are-things-that-are-not-sayable-th_2391080.jpg" --- # There are things that are not sayable. That’s why we have… ![“There are things that are not sayable. That’s why we have art.” quote by Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/leonora-carrington-13249_art_there-are-things-that-are-not-sayable-th_2391080.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/leonora-carrington-13249_art_there-are-things-that-are-not-sayable-th_2391080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/leonora-carrington-13249_art_there-are-things-that-are-not-sayable-th_2391080.jpg) > “There are things that are not sayable. That’s why we have art.” [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some experiences cannot be verbalized, and art serves as the medium to convey those ineffable aspects. **In simple terms:** Art expresses what words cannot. Key Takeaway Use art to explore unspoken ideas. Themes expression ineffability creativity Mood mysterious inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - visual arts - writing - dance - music - theatre - personal therapy Key Concepts artistic communication symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you find hardest to name? - How can art bridge the gap between feeling and language? A Different Perspective May not capture all nuances of experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“I realized, listening to the silences that fell sometimes in my interview groups, that there are things that are sayable and unsayable about motherhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-warner/i-realized-listening-to-the-silences-that-fell-sometimes-in-my/) [Judith Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-warner/) > [“There are things that are not sayable. That's why we have words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-king/there-are-things-that-are-not-sayable-that-s-why-we-have-words/) [Amy King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-king/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) > [I'm not an artist, and I want to take risks, and when the possibility of failure occurs, it's because the idea is all exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-m-not-an-artist-and-i-want-to-take-risks-and-when-the-possibility/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [I love Adele. Adele is my favorite artist. She's British. She's funny. 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I'll do what they call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-al-bengston/i-m-doing-what-all-modern-artists-do-now-which-is-nothing-just-sit/) [Billy Al Bengston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-al-bengston/) > [When I was 12 years old, I went to Natchitoches, La.; it was summer vacation with my family. We visited a plantation, Melrose. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/when-i-was-12-years-old-i-went-to-natchitoches-la-it-was-summer/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [People say that things happen for a reason. So when I hit you up side the head, remember I had a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-say-that-things-happen-for-a-reason-so-when-i-hit-you-up-side/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Leonora Carrington > [“I am afraid I am going to drift into fiction, truthful but incomplete, for lack of some details which I cannot conjure up today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/i-am-afraid-i-am-going-to-drift-into-fiction-truthful-but-incomplete/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [“Even though you won't believe me my story is beautiful And the serpent that sang it Sang it from out of the well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/even-though-you-won-t-believe-me-my-story-is-beautiful-and-the/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [Reason must know the heart's reasons and every other reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/reason-must-know-the-heart-s-reasons-and-every-other-reason/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [People under seventy and over seven are very unreliable if they are not cats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/people-under-seventy-and-over-seven-are-very-unreliable-if-they-are/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [One is born, one lives, one dies. What death is, I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/one-is-born-one-lives-one-dies-what-death-is-i-don-t-know/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [“Do not give up hope entirely in spite of the horror of your situation. I am mobilising all my mental capacities to obtain your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/do-not-give-up-hope-entirely-in-spite-of-the-horror-of-your-situation/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [One has to be careful what one takes when one goes away forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/one-has-to-be-careful-what-one-takes-when-one-goes-away-forever/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [Wouldn't it be wonderful if I won a helicopter in a crossword puzzle competition? 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Your head has dissolved into thin air and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/you-may-not-believe-in-magic-but-something-very-strange-is-happening/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [I didn't have time to be anybody's muse; I was too busy rebelling against my parents and learning to be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/i-didn-t-have-time-to-be-anybody-s-muse-i-was-too-busy-rebelling/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [Painting is my vehicle of transit. I don't always know where I am going or what it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/painting-is-my-vehicle-of-transit-i-don-t-always-know-where-i-am/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [ \[At age 92:\] There are places I'd like to return to. But not as I was then but as I am now. 'Cause I'm… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/at-age-92-there-are-places-i-d-like-to-return-to-but-not-as-i-was/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [I didn't have time to be anyone's muse... I was too busy rebelling against my family and learning to be an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/i-didn-t-have-time-to-be-anyone-s-muse-i-was-too-busy-rebelling/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [What would anyone want to write about me for? I'm just an old lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/what-would-anyone-want-to-write-about-me-for-i-m-just-an-old-lady/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) [Explore all 51 Leonora Carrington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) ## 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": "There are things that are not sayable. 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