--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In any society, the artist has a…" description: "\"In any society, the artist has a responsibility. His effectiveness is certainly limited and a painter or writer cannot change the world. But they can k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/luis-bunuel-9740_agree_in-any-society-the-artist-has-a-responsi_1711458.png" --- # In any society, the artist has a responsibility. His… ![“In any society, the artist has a responsibility. His effectiveness is certainly limited and a painter or writer cannot change the world. But they can keep an essential margin of non-conformity alive. Thanks to them the powerful can never affirm that everyone agrees with their acts. That small…” quote by Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/luis-bunuel-9740_agree_in-any-society-the-artist-has-a-responsi_1711458.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/luis-bunuel-9740_agree_in-any-society-the-artist-has-a-responsi_1711458.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/luis-bunuel-9740_agree_in-any-society-the-artist-has-a-responsi_1711458.png) > “In any society, the artist has a responsibility. His effectiveness is certainly limited and a painter or writer cannot change the world. But they can keep an essential margin of non-conformity alive. Thanks to them the powerful can never affirm that everyone agrees with their acts. That small difference is important.” [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists preserve non‑conformity, preventing total ideological dominance by power. **In simple terms:** Artists keep dissent alive. Key Takeaway Support creative independence. Themes art non‑conformity power responsibility Mood critical reflective Type cultural political When to use this quote - censorship debates - public policy - education curricula - community arts programs Key Concepts cultural theory political resistance aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How can art effectively challenge authority? - What responsibilities do artists have to society? A Different Perspective Artists may lack broad influence on systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Changing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-the-world/) [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Effectiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effectiveness/) [Non conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-conformity/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Small differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-differences/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A writer or painter cannot change the world. But they can keep an essential margin of nonconformity alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/a-writer-or-painter-cannot-change-the-world-but-they-can-keep-an/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [In every society the artist or writer remains an outsider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/in-every-society-the-artist-or-writer-remains-an-outsider/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“And more even than the painter, the writer, in order to achieve volume and substance, in order to attain to generality and, so far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/and-more-even-than-the-painter-the-writer-in-order-to-achieve-volume/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [For the collection, I am like a painter or a writer. I may or may not be a character in my own story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/for-the-collection-i-am-like-a-painter-or-a-writer-i-may-or-may-not/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [One should be a painter. As a writer, I feel the beauty, which is almost entirely colour, very subtle, very changeable, running over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/one-should-be-a-painter-as-a-writer-i-feel-the-beauty-which-is-almost/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [We have become a society where the artist is regarded as a self-indulgent superfluity, and the person who juggles stocks and shares is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/we-have-become-a-society-where-the-artist-is-regarded-as-a-self/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/my-role-in-society-or-any-artist-s-or-poet-s-role-is-to-try-and/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [To some extent I happily don't know what I'm doing. I feel that it's an artist's responsibility to trust that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/to-some-extent-i-happily-don-t-know-what-i-m-doing-i-feel-that-it-s/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [A work of art does not need an explanation. The work has to speak for itself. 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People need something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-think-that-its-an-artist-s-responsibility-to-have-a-point-of-view/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [“A musician's or artist's responsibility is a simple one, and that is, through your music to tell the truth,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/a-musician-s-or-artist-s-responsibility-is-a-simple-one-and-that-is/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [To be an artist is to take responsibility for the world's destiny. You shape it by your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-gartel/to-be-an-artist-is-to-take-responsibility-for-the-world-s-destiny-you/) [Laurence Gartel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-gartel/) > [An artist's responsibility is a lot. I can't deny and escape from the responsibility. You have to be very guarded about your personal behaviour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiranjeevi/an-artist-s-responsibility-is-a-lot-i-can-t-deny-and-escape-from-the/) [Chiranjeevi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiranjeevi/) > [In the interests of everyone the artist had a responsibility to use his medium well. In the Tibetan culture, most of the paintings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-the-interests-of-everyone-the-artist-had-a-responsibility-to-use/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More by Luis Bunuel > [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/) > [“Me decía: ¡habrían tenido que hacerme leer a Sade antes que todas las demás cosas!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/me-dec-a-habr-an-tenido-que-hacerme-leer-a-sade-antes-que-todas-las/) [Luis Buñuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [If alcohol is queen, then tobacco is her consort. 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