--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the 'west' success is defined in…" description: "\"In the 'west' success is defined in purely material terms. He with the most money wins... We should question, speak out and work for a better society w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/mark-a-brennan-97409_artist_in-the-west-success-is-defined-in-purely_2968823.jpg" --- # In the 'west' success is defined in purely material terms… ![“In the 'west' success is defined in purely material terms. He with the most money wins... We should question, speak out and work for a better society with a whole different definition of what is deemed a successful artistic life.” quote by Mark A. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/mark-a-brennan-97409_artist_in-the-west-success-is-defined-in-purely_2968823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/mark-a-brennan-97409_artist_in-the-west-success-is-defined-in-purely_2968823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b9/mark-a-brennan-97409_artist_in-the-west-success-is-defined-in-purely_2968823.jpg) > “In the 'west' success is defined in purely material terms. He with the most money wins... We should question, speak out and work for a better society with a whole different definition of what is deemed a successful artistic life.” [Mark A. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-a-brennan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Material wealth is often equated with success in the West, but artistic fulfillment requires broader values. **In simple terms:** Success is defined by money in the West, but art needs different values. Key Takeaway Redefine success beyond material wealth. Themes success art society values west Mood critical reflective Type Artist:1 Artistic:1 Artistic life:1 Defined:0 Definitions:0 Different:0 Materials:0 Should:0 Speak:0 Speaks out:0 Success:1 Success in life:1 Successful:1 Term:0 West:1 Whole:0 Winning:0 Success Defined:0 Money Wins:0 West Success:0 Successful Artistic:0 When to use this quote - career planning - artistic projects - public policy - education reform Key Concepts materialism artistic fulfillment social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can we measure artistic success? - What alternative values should guide society? A Different Perspective Material metrics ignore intrinsic artistic worth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Artistic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-life/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Money Wins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-wins-1487211/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speaks out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaks-out/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-defined-250669/) [Success in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-in-life/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-artistic-4560287/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [West Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west-success-4560286/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“When it comes to people's safety, money wins out every time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-scott-heron/when-it-comes-to-people-s-safety-money-wins-out-every-time/) [Gil Scott-Heron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-scott-heron/) > [The pros really like all the new people playing poker because they love the dead money; but when the money wins they don't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-moneymaker/the-pros-really-like-all-the-new-people-playing-poker-because-they/) [Chris Moneymaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-moneymaker/) > [Enjoy your life. 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I feel very estranged from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessa-crispin/feminism-now-seems-to-be-defined-as-success-is-defined-as-being-as/) [Jessa Crispin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessa-crispin/) > [Success sometimes may be defined as a disaster put on hold. Qualified. Has to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/success-sometimes-may-be-defined-as-a-disaster-put-on-hold-qualified/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [“Success can be defined as how hard you continue to fight when they tell you that the battle is over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-w-boyer/success-can-be-defined-as-how-hard-you-continue-to-fight-when-they/) [Mark W Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-w-boyer/) ## More by Mark A. Brennan > [Attitude will always define who we are in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-a-brennan/attitude-will-always-define-who-we-are-in-life/) [Mark A. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-a-brennan/) [Explore all 2 Mark A. Brennan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-a-brennan/) ## More Artist quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. 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This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the 'west' success is defined in purely material terms. He with the most money wins... We should question, speak out and work for a better society with a whole different definition of what is deemed a successful artistic life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark A. 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