--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People understand what art is supposed to…" description: "\"People understand what art is supposed to look like, and so it's easy to make something that looks like art but isn't - especially in an abstract form...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg" --- # People understand what art is supposed to look like, and… ![“People understand what art is supposed to look like, and so it's easy to make something that looks like art but isn't - especially in an abstract form.” quote by Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg) > “People understand what art is supposed to look like, and so it's easy to make something that looks like art but isn't - especially in an abstract form.” [Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People’s expectations of art lead to superficial judgments, especially in abstract works **In simple terms:** Abstract art can be misunderstood as mere imitation Key Takeaway Challenge visual assumptions Themes perception art abstraction critique Mood contemplative critical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - curation - creative practice Key Concepts aesthetic theory visual culture Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern depth in abstract pieces? - What criteria define “real” art? A Different Perspective May dismiss genuine abstract expression; not all viewers engage deeply ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I feel like art is supposed to mirror life, but strangely it's as if art is trying to catch up to life, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/sometimes-i-feel-like-art-is-supposed-to-mirror-life-but-strangely-it/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [Very few people ever understand art. If you are lucky, they will buy it for the wrong reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/very-few-people-ever-understand-art-if-you-are-lucky-they-will-buy-it/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [I don't \*ever\* write about real people. Art is supposed to be better than that. If you want a slice of life, look out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-don-t-ever-write-about-real-people-art-is-supposed-to-be-better/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“I know vaudeville isn't supposed to be art . It's supposed to be entertainment, which is different. But I think art...I think it's making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jackson-bennett/i-know-vaudeville-isn-t-supposed-to-be-art-it-s-supposed-to-be/) [Robert Jackson Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jackson-bennett/) > [The word “art” is something the West has never understood. Art is supposed to be a part of a community. Like, scholars are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amiri-baraka/the-word-art-is-something-the-west-has-never-understood-art-is/) [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amiri-baraka/) > [I was much further along as a poet than as a songwriter, but the songs were getting more attention. They were doing what art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/i-was-much-further-along-as-a-poet-than-as-a-songwriter-but-the-songs/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [Art's supposed to build logic structures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/art-s-supposed-to-build-logic-structures/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [My mother's a genius. She just kept feeding me art on whatever we had; paper plates, silver platter, didn't matter. You know, she just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/my-mother-s-a-genius-she-just-kept-feeding-me-art-on-whatever-we-had/) [Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/) > [Filmmaking is a huge privilege; it's not brain surgery. It's art, and art is supposed to be an enjoyable process, and it is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lake-bell/filmmaking-is-a-huge-privilege-it-s-not-brain-surgery-it-s-art-and/) [Lake Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lake-bell/) > [Art is supposed to change and grow and accord with the times. It seems perfect to me that we have a period drama with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-jessie/art-is-supposed-to-change-and-grow-and-accord-with-the-times-it-seems/) [Claudia Jessie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-jessie/) > [I think that art is supposed to be ahead of the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-think-that-art-is-supposed-to-be-ahead-of-the-times/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [“But art is supposed to enlighten, isn’t it? Not just reflect? It’s to show us the best of the present modeled in the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/but-art-is-supposed-to-enlighten-isn-t-it-not-just-reflect-it-s-to/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [Art is supposed to spark conversation and make people think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cannon/art-is-supposed-to-spark-conversation-and-make-people-think/) [Nick Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cannon/) > [Most of my work is very temporary, very provisional. You can take it with you or you can leave it. Which is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-pierson/most-of-my-work-is-very-temporary-very-provisional-you-can-take-it/) [Jack Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-pierson/) > [Art is supposed to be some kind of transcendent moment. Fashion has sometimes done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/art-is-supposed-to-be-some-kind-of-transcendent-moment-fashion-has/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) ## More by Lucien Smith > [I definitely am concerned with preservation. For me, what's interesting is the archival state, or how long oil paintings last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/i-definitely-am-concerned-with-preservation-for-me-what-s-interesting/) [Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) > [I was born in L.A., but raised in New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/i-was-born-in-l-a-but-raised-in-new-york/) [Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) > [I didn't really come from money. So I wanted my thesis show to grab as much attention as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/i-didn-t-really-come-from-money-so-i-wanted-my-thesis-show-to-grab-as/) [Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) > [I started thinking about how rain is depicted in illustrations. In comics that use gouache or watercolor, they use light blue, so I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/i-started-thinking-about-how-rain-is-depicted-in-illustrations-in/) [Lucien Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) [Explore all 5 Lucien Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. 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Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. 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Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People understand what art is supposed to look like, and so it's easy to make something that looks like art but isn't - especially in an abstract form.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lucien Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-to-look-like-and-so-it-s-easy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-to-look-like-and-so-it-s-easy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/lucien-smith-63543_abstract_people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-t_2764061.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People understand what art is supposed to look like, and so it's easy to make something that looks like art…” — Lucien 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": "Lucien Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People understand what art is supposed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-to-look-like-and-so-it-s-easy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-smith/people-understand-what-art-is-supposed-to-look-like-and-so-it-s-easy/#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 } } ] } ```