--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A work of art doesn't have to be explained," description: "\"A work of art doesn't have to be explained,\" — Louise Bourgeois" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png" --- # A work of art doesn't have to be explained, ![“A work of art doesn't have to be explained,” quote by Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png) > “A work of art doesn't have to be explained,” [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can exist without explanation; its value lies in personal interpretation. **In simple terms:** Art need not be explained. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity. Themes art interpretation creativity subjectivity Mood contemplative open‑minded Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - personal reflection Key Concepts Abstract expression aesthetic experience Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity affect you? - What meaning do you find? A Different Perspective Lack of context may alienate viewers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [A work of art doesn't have to be explained. If you do not have any feeling about this, I cannot explain it to you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained-if-you-do-not-have-any/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Art goes on in your head. If you said something interesting, that might be a title for a work of art and I'd write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/art-goes-on-in-your-head-if-you-said-something-interesting-that-might/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [A game of rugby is a work of art!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danie-craven/a-game-of-rugby-is-a-work-of-art/) Danie Craven > [A work of art comes only from inside a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/a-work-of-art-comes-only-from-inside-a-human-being/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [The art is more important than the artist. The work is more important than the person who does it. You must be prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/the-art-is-more-important-than-the-artist-the-work-is-more-important/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [This telegram is a work of art if I say it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/this-telegram-is-a-work-of-art-if-i-say-it-is/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [...a genuine work of art, can never be false, nor can it be discredited through the lapse of time, for it does not present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-genuine-work-of-art-can-never-be-false-nor-can-it-be-discredited/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A work of art expresses itself as a balance sheet pitting the spoken against the unspoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-sherman/a-work-of-art-expresses-itself-as-a-balance-sheet-pitting-the-spoken/) [Russell Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-sherman/) > [The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/the-ultimate-justification-of-the-work-of-art-is-to-help-the/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [We have nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore- except to make our lives into a work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/we-have-nothing-to-lose-nothing-to-gain-nothing-we-desired-anymore/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/all-art-is-at-once-surface-and-symbol-those-who-go-beneath-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Mystery is the essential element of every work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/mystery-is-the-essential-element-of-every-work-of-art/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [A work of art doesn't exist outside the perception of the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-exist-outside-the-perception-of-the-audience/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) ## More by Louise Bourgeois > [Artists have to be useful. They have to fill a role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/artists-have-to-be-useful-they-have-to-fill-a-role/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I am a searcher... I always was... and I still am... searching for the missing piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-searcher-i-always-was-and-i-still-am-searching-for-the-missing/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [My life has been regulated by insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/my-life-has-been-regulated-by-insomnia/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [The colour blue - that is my colour - and the colour blue means you have left the drabness of day-to-day reality to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/the-colour-blue-that-is-my-colour-and-the-colour-blue-means-you-have/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Artists are born not made. There's nothing you can do for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/artists-are-born-not-made-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-for-them/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Everywhere in the modern world there is neglect, the need to be recognized, which is not satisfied. Art is a way of recognizing oneself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/everywhere-in-the-modern-world-there-is-neglect-the-need-to-be/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/it-is-not-so-much-where-my-motivation-comes-from-but-rather-how-it/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Art is manipulation without intervention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/art-is-manipulation-without-intervention/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Surrealism is anathema for me. Because the surrealists made a joke of everything. And I consider life a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/surrealism-is-anathema-for-me-because-the-surrealists-made-a-joke-of/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-distance-runner/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I work like a bee and feel that I accomplish little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-work-like-a-bee-and-feel-that-i-accomplish-little/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [“there are many realities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/there-are-many-realities/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Horizontality is a desire to give up, to sleep. Verticality is an attempt to escape. Hanging and floating are states of ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/horizontality-is-a-desire-to-give-up-to-sleep-verticality-is-an/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Clothing is . . . an exercise in memory. It makes me explore the past: how did I feel when I wore that. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/clothing-is-an-exercise-in-memory-it-makes-me-explore-the-past-how/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [What modern art means is that you have to keep finding new ways to express yourself, to express the problems, that there are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/what-modern-art-means-is-that-you-have-to-keep-finding-new-ways-to/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) [Explore all 76 Louise Bourgeois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## 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": "A work of art doesn't have to be explained,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louise Bourgeois" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/louise-bourgeois-8996_art_a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explain_2758465.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A work of art doesn't have to be explained,” — Louise Bourgeois", "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": "Louise Bourgeois", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A work of art doesn't have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-have-to-be-explained/#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 } } ] } ```