--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not know anything about Art with a…" description: "\"I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mark-z-danielewski-2497_art_i-do-not-know-anything-about-art-with-a_2657452.jpg" --- # I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I… ![“I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.” quote by Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mark-z-danielewski-2497_art_i-do-not-know-anything-about-art-with-a_2657452.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mark-z-danielewski-2497_art_i-do-not-know-anything-about-art-with-a_2657452.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cf/mark-z-danielewski-2497_art_i-do-not-know-anything-about-art-with-a_2657452.jpg) > “I do not know anything about Art with a capital A. What I do know about is my art. Because it concerns me. I do not speak for others. So I do not speak for things which profess to speak for others. My art, however, speaks for me. It lights my way.” [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist emphasizes personal expression over academic art theory, asserting that true art speaks from within. **In simple terms:** Art is personal, not academic. Key Takeaway Trust your own creative voice. Themes art creativity authenticity Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - personal projects - creative workshops - artistic development Key Concepts self‑expression subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does personal art guide you? - What does it mean to speak for oneself? A Different Perspective Relying on others' definitions limits originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) ## Related quotes > [... does it seem to you that it is possible to speak of Art? It would be the same as explaining love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanora-duse/does-it-seem-to-you-that-it-is-possible-to-speak-of-art-it-would-be/) [Eleanora Duse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanora-duse/) > [“An artist cannot speak about his art anymore than a plant can discuss horticulture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/an-artist-cannot-speak-about-his-art-anymore-than-a-plant-can-discuss/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/an-artist-cannot-speak-about-his-art-any-more-than-a-plant-can/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“Art speaks to the soul, not the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-crowe/art-speaks-to-the-soul-not-the-mind/) Aidan Crowe > [“Art, though, is never the voice of a country; it is an even more precious thing, the voice of the individual, doing its best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/art-though-is-never-the-voice-of-a-country-it-is-an-even-more/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Art speaks only to the mind, whereas nature speaks to all the faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/art-speaks-only-to-the-mind-whereas-nature-speaks-to-all-the-faculties/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [All art deals with the absurd and aims at the simple. Good art speaks truth, indeed is truth, perhaps the only truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-art-deals-with-the-absurd-and-aims-at-the-simple-good-art-speaks/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [To me, art almost always speaks more forcefully when it appears in an imperfect, accidental, and fragmentary way, somehow just signaling its presence, allowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/to-me-art-almost-always-speaks-more-forcefully-when-it-appears-in-an/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [ “The art that speaks \[truth\] most unmistakably, most directly, most variously, most fully, is fiction.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/the-art-that-speaks-truth-most-unmistakably-most-directly-most/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [One cannot create an art that speaks to men when one has nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/one-cannot-create-an-art-that-speaks-to-men-when-one-has-nothing-to/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Experiment is necessary in establishing an academy, but certain principles must apply to this business of art as to any other business which affects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-menzies/experiment-is-necessary-in-establishing-an-academy-but-certain/) [Robert Menzies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-menzies/) > [Great art speaks a language which every intelligent person can understand. The people who call themselves modernists today speak a different language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/great-art-speaks-a-language-which-every-intelligent-person-can/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norval-morrisseau/my-art-speaks-and-will-continue-to-speak-transcending-barriers-of/) [Norval Morrisseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norval-morrisseau/) > [Who speaks of art speaks of poetry. There is not art without a poetic aim. There is a species of emotion particular to painting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-vuillard/who-speaks-of-art-speaks-of-poetry-there-is-not-art-without-a-poetic/) [Edouard Vuillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-vuillard/) > [Art speaks its own language-soul to soul, heart to heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-tzarev/art-speaks-its-own-language-soul-to-soul-heart-to-heart/) Ana Tzarev ## More by Mark Z. Danielewski > [“Her. Her. Her. Future breezes implore me to stay. But I'm no future. I'm no past. Only ever contemporary of this path. I'll sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/her-her-her-future-breezes-implore-me-to-stay-but-i-m-no-future-i-m/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Keep true to the rare music in your heart, to the marvelous and unique form that is and shall always be nothing else but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/keep-true-to-the-rare-music-in-your-heart-to-the-marvelous-and-unique/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [We all create stories to protect ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/we-all-create-stories-to-protect-ourselves/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“Even up until these final eons of time, we felt we could create anything. We could build ourselves a heaven. But why? We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/even-up-until-these-final-eons-of-time-we-felt-we-could-create/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [I'm a big believer in big books, and that doesn't necessarily mean long books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/i-m-a-big-believer-in-big-books-and-that-doesn-t-necessarily-mean/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“the seriousness of emotional deprivation: It is not difficult to understand how children who have suffered from malnutrition or starvation need food and plenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/the-seriousness-of-emotional-deprivation-it-is-not-difficult-to/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [The greatest of love letters are always coded for the one and not the many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/the-greatest-of-love-letters-are-always-coded-for-the-one-and-not-the/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Scientists estimate the universe unfolded from its state of infinite destiny\* - a moment commonly referred to as "the big bang" - approximately 1.3-2…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/scientists-estimate-the-universe-unfolded-from-its-state-of-infinite/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“- Whenever we roam be beside me. When you're allone. When you go. When no one comes along. And for all we Wander. Encounter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/whenever-we-roam-be-beside-me-when-you-re-allone-when-you-go-when-no/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [I want something else. I'm not even sure what to call it anymore except I know it feels roomy and it's drenched in sunlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/i-want-something-else-i-m-not-even-sure-what-to-call-it-anymore/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“However, The haven-Slocum Theory also points out that this course is not without risk. An even greater number of people dwelling on The Navidson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/however-the-haven-slocum-theory-also-points-out-that-this-course-is/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“What can I say? I'm taken; I love how enthralled she remains by this festival of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/what-can-i-say-i-m-taken-i-love-how-enthralled-she-remains-by-this/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [“There's only one choice now: finish what Zampanò himself failed to finish. Re-inter this thing in a binding tomb. Make it only a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/there-s-only-one-choice-now-finish-what-zampan-himself-failed-to/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [No gunfire, famine, or flies. Just lots of toothpaste, gardening and people stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/no-gunfire-famine-or-flies-just-lots-of-toothpaste-gardening-and/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > ['Lord of the Rings' was a set of books in which the world had been conceived before the characters were placed within that context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/lord-of-the-rings-was-a-set-of-books-in-which-the-world-had-been/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) [Explore all 162 Mark Z. Danielewski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) ## 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 > [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 do not know anything about Art with a capital A. 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