--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think in art there is ever a…" description: "\"I don't think in art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one and terrifying and threatening and bursting with hope.\" — Martha Graham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_1320836.png" --- # I don't think in art there is ever a precedent; each… ![“I don't think in art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one and terrifying and threatening and bursting with hope.” quote by Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_1320836.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_1320836.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_1320836.png) > “I don't think in art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one and terrifying and threatening and bursting with hope.” [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art lacks fixed precedents; each creation is a fresh, intense experience that can be both frightening and hopeful. **In simple terms:** Every artwork is a new, bold, hopeful experience. Key Takeaway Embrace each artistic moment as unique. Themes creativity fear hope novelty Mood inspired anxious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - painting - dance - writing - performance - innovation Key Concepts existentialism art theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you manage fear in creative work? - What role does hope play in artistic risk? A Different Perspective The pressure of constant novelty can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Precedent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precedent/) [Terrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrifying/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think in Art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one & terrifying & threatening & bursting with hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-precedent-each-moment-is-a-new/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Look at the sky. It’s not dark and black and without character. The black is, in fact deep blue. And over there: lighter blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/look-at-the-sky-it-s-not-dark-and-black-and-without-character-the/) [Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/) > [I'm just constantly on the verge of bursting into tears with joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-m-just-constantly-on-the-verge-of-bursting-into-tears-with-joy/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than politicians think. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/there-are-more-ideas-on-earth-than-intellectuals-imagine-and-these/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [I mean, when you think about it, it's 'bombs bursting in air,' 'rocket's red glare,' it's all kinds of - you know a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-press/i-mean-when-you-think-about-it-it-s-bombs-bursting-in-air-rocket-s/) [Bill Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-press/) > [For what is the program of the bourgeois parties? A bad poem on springtime, filled to bursting with metaphors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/for-what-is-the-program-of-the-bourgeois-parties-a-bad-poem-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. 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Even the trees of the wood are glad over you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/all-the-earth-is-at-rest-and-is-quiet-they-are-bursting-into-song/) [Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/) > [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) ## More by Martha Graham > [The body never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-never-lies/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You have no right to go before a public without an adequate technique, just because you feel. Anything feels - a leaf feels, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-have-no-right-to-go-before-a-public-without-an-adequate-technique/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-vitality-a-life-force-an-energy-a-quickening-that-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Misery is a communicable disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/misery-is-a-communicable-disease/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [People have asked me why I chose to be a dancer. I did not choose. I was chosen to be a dancer, and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/people-have-asked-me-why-i-chose-to-be-a-dancer-i-did-not-choose-i/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [All things I do are in every woman. Every woman is Medea. Every woman is Jocasta. 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What makes a great dancer is passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/what-makes-a-great-dancer-is-not-technique-what-makes-a-great-dancer/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [The body is a sacred garment. It's your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-a-sacred-garment-it-s-your-first-and-last-garment-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-are-unique-and-if-that-is-not-fulfilled-then-something-has-been/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/you-see-when-weaving-a-blanket-an-indian-woman-leaves-a-flaw-in-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery - what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/dancing-is-just-discovery-discovery-discovery-what-it-all-means-the/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [Theater used to be a verb; it used to be an act. But nowadays it is just a noun. It is a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/theater-used-to-be-a-verb-it-used-to-be-an-act-but-nowadays-it-is/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [There is a force, a quickness that is translated through you into action. If you block it, the world will not have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/there-is-a-force-a-quickness-that-is-translated-through-you-into/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) [Explore all 148 Martha Graham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) ## 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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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. 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