--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The word 'art' is very slippery. It…" description: "\"The word 'art' is very slippery. It really has no importance in relation to one's work. I work for the pleasure, for the pleasure of the work, and ever..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/manuel-alvarez-bravo-40812_art_the-word-art-is-very-slippery-it-really_1388265.png" --- # The word 'art' is very slippery. It really has no… ![“The word 'art' is very slippery. It really has no importance in relation to one's work. I work for the pleasure, for the pleasure of the work, and everything else is a matter for the critics.” quote by Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/manuel-alvarez-bravo-40812_art_the-word-art-is-very-slippery-it-really_1388265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/manuel-alvarez-bravo-40812_art_the-word-art-is-very-slippery-it-really_1388265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/manuel-alvarez-bravo-40812_art_the-word-art-is-very-slippery-it-really_1388265.png) > “The word 'art' is very slippery. It really has no importance in relation to one's work. I work for the pleasure, for the pleasure of the work, and everything else is a matter for the critics.” [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The concept of art is fluid and irrelevant to personal fulfillment; work should be driven by joy, not external judgment. **In simple terms:** Art is fluid; work for joy, not critics. Key Takeaway Prioritize pleasure in your work. Themes joy creativity criticism purpose Mood reflective content Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal projects - creative careers - artistic pursuits - self‑assessment Key Concepts subjectivity intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - How does pleasure guide your work? - What role do critics play in your life? A Different Perspective Neglecting skill development can limit growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Slippery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-slippery-4829953/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bravo/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-critics-1401735/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-work-476552/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Slippery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slippery/) [Word Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-art-1390569/) ## Related quotes > [If my film doesn't make money, it means people didn't go watch it. So it doesn't matter then that the critics loved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allu-arjun/if-my-film-doesn-t-make-money-it-means-people-didn-t-go-watch-it-so/) [Allu Arjun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allu-arjun/) > [No Matter what you do there will be critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/no-matter-what-you-do-there-will-be-critics/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [A photographer's main instrument is his eyes. Strange as it may seem, many photographers choose to use the eyes of another photographer, past or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/a-photographer-s-main-instrument-is-his-eyes-strange-as-it-may-seem/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [Before the Conquest all art was of the people, and popular art has never ceased to exist in Mexico. The art called popular is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/before-the-conquest-all-art-was-of-the-people-and-popular-art-has/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [One could think of a person who seems to have two opposing and contradictory sides to his personality; but it turns out that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/one-could-think-of-a-person-who-seems-to-have-two-opposing-and/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [Pictures describe everything; Word describe anything; Art describe something; YOU describe whole thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pictures-describe-everything-word-describe-anything-art-describe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In America, the word art has become like the word adultery. It's this big scarlet letter. When you say you're an artist, people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/in-america-the-word-art-has-become-like-the-word-adultery-it-s-this/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [Sometimes it is better not to talk about art by using the word "art". If we just act with awareness and integrity, our art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-it-is-better-not-to-talk-about-art-by-using-the-word-art-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Throwing money at something doesn't really create - forgive me that onerous word - art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-prince/throwing-money-at-something-doesn-t-really-create-forgive-me-that/) [Harold Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-prince/) > [The word 'art' interests me very much. If it comes from Sanskrit, as I've heard, it signifies 'making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-word-art-interests-me-very-much-if-it-comes-from-sanskrit-as-i-ve-2/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I suspect that the word (art) was invented by second-rate intelligences to describe the incomprehensible activities of their betters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/i-suspect-that-the-word-art-was-invented-by-second-rate-intelligences/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [I always distrust the word art when it is applied to acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-always-distrust-the-word-art-when-it-is-applied-to-acting/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [It's only at this age that I can say the word 'art' without flinching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-nair/it-s-only-at-this-age-that-i-can-say-the-word-art-without-flinching/) [Mira Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-nair/) > [What's really good about the word 'art' is that 'art' is a word like 'love,' or 'god,' or whatever. It transcends so many things...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/what-s-really-good-about-the-word-art-is-that-art-is-a-word-like-love/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [No poet will ever take the written word as a substitute for the spoken word; he knows that it is on the spoken word,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/no-poet-will-ever-take-the-written-word-as-a-substitute-for-the/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) ## More by Manuel Alvarez Bravo > [One could think of a person who seems to have two opposing and contradictory sides to his personality; but it turns out that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/one-could-think-of-a-person-who-seems-to-have-two-opposing-and/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [Shoot what you see, not what you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/shoot-what-you-see-not-what-you-think/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [I give the moment permanence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/i-give-the-moment-permanence/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [Before the Conquest all art was of the people, and popular art has never ceased to exist in Mexico. The art called popular is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/before-the-conquest-all-art-was-of-the-people-and-popular-art-has/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [A photographer's main instrument is his eyes. Strange as it may seem, many photographers choose to use the eyes of another photographer, past or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/a-photographer-s-main-instrument-is-his-eyes-strange-as-it-may-seem/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [I just get the will to do it. I don’t plan a photograph in advance… I work by impulse. No philosophy. No ideas. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/i-just-get-the-will-to-do-it-i-don-t-plan-a-photograph-in-advance-i/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [There is no other art with as great a democratic capacity as photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/there-is-no-other-art-with-as-great-a-democratic-capacity-as/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [I think that light and shadow have exactly the same duality that exists between life and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/i-think-that-light-and-shadow-have-exactly-the-same-duality-that/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) > [I think that a visual artist's philosophy develops much more freely than a writer's or a thinker's philosophy. It is not so disciplined. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-alvarez-bravo/i-think-that-a-visual-artist-s-philosophy-develops-much-more-freely/) [Manuel Alvarez Bravo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) [Explore all 10 Manuel Alvarez Bravo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-alvarez-bravo/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 word 'art' is very slippery. 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