--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not…" description: "\"I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else.\" — Mark Rothko" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg" --- # I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in… ![“I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else.” quote by Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg) > “I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else.” [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rejects abstract theory, focusing on direct experience of colour and form. **In simple terms:** Art is felt, not theorized. Key Takeaway Engage with art intuitively. Themes art perception experience Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical aesthetic When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - personal reflection Key Concepts phenomenology visual language Questions to Reflect On - How does colour affect mood? - What does “abstractionist” mean to you? A Different Perspective Abstract analysis can miss emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not an abstractionist. I'm not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I'm interested only in expressing basic human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-interested-in-the-relationship-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [“You might as well get one thing straight. I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in the relationships of color or form or anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/you-might-as-well-get-one-thing-straight-i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [We get used to a certain kind of colour of form or format, and it's acceptable. And to puncture that is sticking your neck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/we-get-used-to-a-certain-kind-of-colour-of-form-or-format-and-it-s/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [I'm not an abstractionist completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cy-twombly/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-completely/) [Cy Twombly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cy-twombly/) > [The abstractionist and the materialist thus mutually exasperating each other, and the scoffer expressing the worst of materialism, there arises a third party to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsilio-ficino/the-abstractionist-and-the-materialist-thus-mutually-exasperating/) [Marsilio Ficino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsilio-ficino/) > [Modernistic-Abstractionist-Art consists of 75% explanation and 25% God knows what!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxfield-parrish/modernistic-abstractionist-art-consists-of-75-explanation-and-25-god/) [Maxfield Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxfield-parrish/) > [I know that there are many things I could do, but I'm not interested. It's more important to be loving and to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veruschka-von-lehndorff/i-know-that-there-are-many-things-i-could-do-but-i-m-not-interested/) [Veruschka von Lehndorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veruschka-von-lehndorff/) > [I'm not interested in being the producer of somebody else's song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-menken/i-m-not-interested-in-being-the-producer-of-somebody-else-s-song/) [Alan Menken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-menken/) > [I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-want-to-know-how-god-created-this-world-i-am-not-interested-in-this/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I was not interested in films, but I was forced to act when I was just 14 or 15 years old. Now, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sangeetha-krish/i-was-not-interested-in-films-but-i-was-forced-to-act-when-i-was-just/) [Sangeetha Krish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sangeetha-krish/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I'm just not interested in getting judged or getting people to love me. Being seen and taking my photo and having to follow this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/i-m-just-not-interested-in-getting-judged-or-getting-people-to-love/) [Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/) > [J.D. cleared his throat and pushed the button on the intercom. “Uh, Payton, hi. It’s J.D.” Dead silence. Then another crackle. “Sorry. Not interested.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/j-d-cleared-his-throat-and-pushed-the-button-on-the-intercom-uh/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [At the drop of a hat, people will say there are no roles for women after 40. It's there with a bunch of other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-nicol/at-the-drop-of-a-hat-people-will-say-there-are-no-roles-for-women/) [Lesley Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-nicol/) ## More by Mark Rothko > [Art to me is an anecdote of the spirit,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-to-me-is-an-anecdote-of-the-spirit/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Without monsters and gods, art cannot enact a drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/without-monsters-and-gods-art-cannot-enact-a-drama/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Many of those who are driven to this life are desperately searching for those pockets of silence where we can root and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/many-of-those-who-are-driven-to-this-life-are-desperately-searching/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is really a matter of ending this silence and solitude, of breathing and stretching one's arms again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-really-a-matter-of-ending-this-silence-and-solitude-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [This would be a distortion of their meaning, since the pictures are intimate and intense, and are the opposite of what is decorative; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/this-would-be-a-distortion-of-their-meaning-since-the-pictures-are/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [The picture must be... a revelation, an unexpected and unprecedented resolution of an eternally familiar need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-picture-must-be-a-revelation-an-unexpected-and-unprecedented/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [To me art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/to-me-art-is-an-adventure-into-an-unknown-world-which-can-be-explored/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-a-widely-accepted-notion-among-painters-that-it-does-not-matter/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend: One day, the black will swallow the red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/there-is-only-one-thing-i-fear-in-life-my-friend-one-day-the-black/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [I do not believe that there was ever a question of being abstract or representational. It is really a matter of ending this silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-do-not-believe-that-there-was-ever-a-question-of-being-abstract-or/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can only be explored by those willing to take the risks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/art-is-an-adventure-into-an-unknown-world-which-can-only-be-explored/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [If our titles recall the known myths of antiquity, we have used them again because they are the eternal symbols upon which we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/if-our-titles-recall-the-known-myths-of-antiquity-we-have-used-them/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [It is the poet and philosopher who provide the community of objectives in which the artist participates. Their chief preoccupation, like the artist, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-the-poet-and-philosopher-who-provide-the-community-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [The myth holds us, therefore, not through its romantic flavor, not the remembrance of beauty of some bygone age, not through the possibilities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/the-myth-holds-us-therefore-not-through-its-romantic-flavor-not-the/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [If you are moved only by the color relationships, then you miss the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/if-you-are-moved-only-by-the-color-relationships-then-you-miss-the/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) [Explore all 60 Mark Rothko quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) ## 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 > [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. 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 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/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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": "I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Rothko" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-interested-in-relationships-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-interested-in-relationships-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/878/mark-rothko-11292_colour_i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-intere_1488536.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not interested in relationships of colour or form or anything else.” — Mark Rothko", "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": "Mark Rothko", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not an abstractionist... I'm not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-interested-in-relationships-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/i-m-not-an-abstractionist-i-m-not-interested-in-relationships-of/#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 } } ] } ```