--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have drawn people's attention to the…" description: "\"I have drawn people's attention to the fact that art is a mirage. A mirage, just like the oasis that appears in the desert. It is very beautiful, until..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_i-have-drawn-people-s-attention-to-the-f_2695517.jpg" --- # I have drawn people's attention to the fact that art is a… ![“I have drawn people's attention to the fact that art is a mirage. A mirage, just like the oasis that appears in the desert. It is very beautiful, until the moment when you die of thirst, obviously. But we do not die of thirst in the field of art. The mirage has substance.” quote by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_i-have-drawn-people-s-attention-to-the-f_2695517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_i-have-drawn-people-s-attention-to-the-f_2695517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78d/marcel-duchamp-2390_art_i-have-drawn-people-s-attention-to-the-f_2695517.jpg) > “I have drawn people's attention to the fact that art is a mirage. A mirage, just like the oasis that appears in the desert. It is very beautiful, until the moment when you die of thirst, obviously. But we do not die of thirst in the field of art. The mirage has substance.” [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He likens art to a mirage—beautiful but ultimately insubstantial, yet acknowledges its lasting impact. **In simple terms:** Art is a beautiful mirage with substance. Key Takeaway Appreciate art’s illusion and lasting influence. Themes art perception illusion Mood thought‑provoking philosophical Type artistic intellectual When to use this quote - museum curation - art criticism - creative practice Key Concepts aesthetic theory philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - How does illusion shape your perception? - What makes art feel real? A Different Perspective May undervalue art’s tangible contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Mirage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-mirage-2692295/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Mirage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirage/) [Mirage Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirage-just-2692298/) [Mirage Mirage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirage-mirage-2692297/) [Mirage Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirage-substance-2692296/) [Mirages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirages/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Oasis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oasis/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst/) [Very beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-beautiful/) ## Related quotes > [Go out of the house to see the moon, and 't is mere tinsel; it will not please as when its light shines upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-out-of-the-house-to-see-the-moon-and-t-is-mere-tinsel-it-will-not/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An hour saved at the non-bottleneck is a mirage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliyahu-m-goldratt/an-hour-saved-at-the-non-bottleneck-is-a-mirage/) [Eliyahu M. Goldratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliyahu-m-goldratt/) > [Today is all we have, tomorrow is a mirage that may never become reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/today-is-all-we-have-tomorrow-is-a-mirage-that-may-never-become/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Some say that true love is a mirage; seek it anyway, for all else is surely desert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/some-say-that-true-love-is-a-mirage-seek-it-anyway-for-all-else-is/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Out of the silver heat mirage he ran. The sky burned, and under him the paving was a black mirror reflecting sun-fire. Sweat sprayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tabor/out-of-the-silver-heat-mirage-he-ran-the-sky-burned-and-under-him-the/) [James Tabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-tabor/) > [It is, I believe, the primary charm of poetry to give the lesson of mirage, that is, to show the fragile and vibrant movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-i-believe-the-primary-charm-of-poetry-to-give-the-lesson-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Enjoy the journey, because the destination is a mirage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/enjoy-the-journey-because-the-destination-is-a-mirage/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) > [Hollywood is a mirage factory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/hollywood-is-a-mirage-factory/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [How hard it must be to keep fighting for a dream when that dream is probably a mirage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hill-hearth/how-hard-it-must-be-to-keep-fighting-for-a-dream-when-that-dream-is/) [Amy Hill Hearth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hill-hearth/) > [The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-indeed-is-like-a-dream-and-the-treasures-of-the-world-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I enjoyed The Mirage by M. Ruff. I'm reading Edgar Rice Burrough's Princess Of Mars right and loving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-s-kemp/i-enjoyed-the-mirage-by-m-ruff-i-m-reading-edgar-rice-burrough-s/) [Paul S. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-s-kemp/) > [Originality is the most deadly mirage in all of art. You can chase it from now until doomsday, and you'll only find yourself lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/originality-is-the-most-deadly-mirage-in-all-of-art-you-can-chase-it/) [Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/) > […Even the idea of a city never entered his mind. It was as if he had walked under the millimeter of haze just above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/even-the-idea-of-a-city-never-entered-his-mind-it-was-as-if-he-had/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [At the Mirage Sportsbook, you can get a line on 2 kid playing wiffleball in the backyard in Minnesota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-lange/at-the-mirage-sportsbook-you-can-get-a-line-on-2-kid-playing/) [Artie Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-lange/) > [The beauty myth moves for men as a mirage; its power lies in its ever-receding nature. When the gap is closed, the lover embraces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-beauty-myth-moves-for-men-as-a-mirage-its-power-lies-in-its-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Marcel Duchamp > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Humor is the only reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/humor-is-the-only-reason-to-live/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-creative-act-is-not-performed-by-the-artist-alone-the-spectator/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I believe that the artist doesn't know what he does. I attach even more importance to the spectator than to the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-believe-that-the-artist-doesn-t-know-what-he-does-i-attach-even/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Living is more a question of what one spends than what one makes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/living-is-more-a-question-of-what-one-spends-than-what-one-makes/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Rational intelligence is dangerous and leads to ratiocination. The painter is a medium who doesn't realize what he is doing. No translation can express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/rational-intelligence-is-dangerous-and-leads-to-ratiocination-the/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Everything important that I have done can be put into a little suitcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/everything-important-that-i-have-done-can-be-put-into-a-little/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [As soon as we start putting our thoughts into words and sentences everything gets distorted, language is just no damn good—I use it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/as-soon-as-we-start-putting-our-thoughts-into-words-and-sentences/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The basis for my own work during the years just before coming to America in 1915 was a desire to break up forms -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-basis-for-my-own-work-during-the-years-just-before-coming-to/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [The curious thing about that moustache and goatee is that when you look at the Mona Lisa it becomes a man. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/the-curious-thing-about-that-moustache-and-goatee-is-that-when-you/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I am afraid to end up being in need to sell canvases - in other words, to be a society painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/i-am-afraid-to-end-up-being-in-need-to-sell-canvases-in-other-words/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [In the midst of each epoch, I fully realize that a new epoch will dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/in-the-midst-of-each-epoch-i-fully-realize-that-a-new-epoch-will-dawn/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [To all appearances the artist acts like a mediumistic being who, from the labyrinth beyond time and space, seeks his way out to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/to-all-appearances-the-artist-acts-like-a-mediumistic-being-who-from/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Words such as truth, art, veracity, or anything are stupid in themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/words-such-as-truth-art-veracity-or-anything-are-stupid-in-themselves/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) [Explore all 169 Marcel Duchamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## 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": "I have drawn people's attention to the fact that art is a mirage. 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