--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The artist is engaged constantly in…" description: "\"The artist is engaged constantly in building anti-environments. (And, by the way, the Courtly Love people were engaged in making love itself into an ar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/marshall-mcluhan-641_art_the-artist-is-engaged-constantly-in-buil_577343.png" --- # The artist is engaged constantly in building… ![“The artist is engaged constantly in building anti-environments. (And, by the way, the Courtly Love people were engaged in making love itself into an art form.) The artist is engaged typically in creating situations and images that will vivify or revivify the ordinary scene. The ordinary scene…” quote by Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/marshall-mcluhan-641_art_the-artist-is-engaged-constantly-in-buil_577343.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/marshall-mcluhan-641_art_the-artist-is-engaged-constantly-in-buil_577343.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/marshall-mcluhan-641_art_the-artist-is-engaged-constantly-in-buil_577343.png) > “The artist is engaged constantly in building anti-environments. (And, by the way, the Courtly Love people were engaged in making love itself into an art form.) The artist is engaged typically in creating situations and images that will vivify or revivify the ordinary scene. The ordinary scene tends to dull and numb the sensibilities. If you think of art as primarily concerned with perception and awareness, you can easily see why, when ordinary routinized forms tend to numb awareness, the role of art is to keep faculties alert.” [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## 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 creates counter‑environments that revitalize perception, counteracting the numbing effect of routine and keeping senses alert. **In simple terms:** Art disrupts dullness, sharpening awareness. Key Takeaway Use art to challenge habitual perception. Themes art perception awareness creativity culture Mood inspirational provocative Type practical creative When to use this quote - gallery installations - public murals - interactive performance - educational workshops Key Concepts anti‑environment sensory activation ordinary scene revitalization Questions to Reflect On - What everyday spaces could become artistic interventions? - How does art restore sensory alertness? A Different Perspective Art may be inaccessible to some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“They were sitting outside the big Starbucks that anchored the western end of Pioneer Square. 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Love art and that art will open for you the inner life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/art-when-inspired-with-love-leads-to-higher-realms-love-art-and-that/) [Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/) > [I love art dealers. In some ways, they're my favorite people in the art world. Really. I love that they put their money where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-love-art-dealers-in-some-ways-they-re-my-favorite-people-in-the-art/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I've had to sell a lot of art, which I've hated to do because I really love the art I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-gund/i-ve-had-to-sell-a-lot-of-art-which-i-ve-hated-to-do-because-i-really/) [Agnes Gund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-gund/) ## More by Marshall McLuhan > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Language always preserves a play or figure/ground relation between experience, and perception and its replay in expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/language-always-preserves-a-play-or-figure-ground-relation-between/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Electronic man has no physical body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/electronic-man-has-no-physical-body/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am curious to know what would happen if art were suddenly seen for what it is, namely, exact information of how to rearrange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/i-am-curious-to-know-what-would-happen-if-art-were-suddenly-seen-for/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. 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It lives mythically and in depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/youth-instinctively-understand-the-present-environment-the-electric/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Our motor car is our supreme form of privacy when we are away from home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/our-motor-car-is-our-supreme-form-of-privacy-when-we-are-away-from/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The scientist rigorously defends his right to be ignorant of almost everything except his specialty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-scientist-rigorously-defends-his-right-to-be-ignorant-of-almost/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) [Explore all 433 Marshall McLuhan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## 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. 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