---
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 & terrifying & threatening & bursting with hope.\" — Martha Graham"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.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 &amp; terrifying &amp; threatening &amp; bursting with hope.” quote by Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png)

> “I don't think in Art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one &amp; terrifying &amp; threatening &amp; 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 moment is fresh, frightening, and hopeful.

**In simple terms:** Art is always new and both scary and hopeful.

Key Takeaway

Embrace each artistic moment as unique.

Themes

creativity uncertainty hope fear

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

philosophical creative

When to use this quote

- painting
- dance
- writing
- performance art

Key Concepts

existentialism aesthetics innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you confront fear in creative work?
- What hope do you find in uncertainty?

A Different Perspective

Not all art follows a linear progression.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   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 and terrifying and threatening and 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-2/)

[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. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“That was how she felt, right then. As if there was too much of her, as if her skin was tight with muchness. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/that-was-how-she-felt-right-then-as-if-there-was-too-much-of-her-as/)

[Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/)

> [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-saint/and-people-who-do-not-know-the-lord-ask-why-in-the-world-we-waste-our/)

[Nate Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-saint/)

> [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/)

[Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/)

> [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/)

[Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/)

> [All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song. 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. There comes a time when a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/all-things-i-do-are-in-every-woman-every-woman-is-medea-every-woman/)

[Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/)

> [The body is shaped, disciplined, honored, and in time, trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-body-is-shaped-disciplined-honored-and-in-time-trusted/)

[Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/)

> [The secret to dancing is that it is about everything except dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/the-secret-to-dancing-is-that-it-is-about-everything-except-dancing/)

[Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/)

> [What makes a great dancer is not technique. 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. 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 don't think in Art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one & terrifying & threatening & bursting with hope.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martha Graham"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-precedent-each-moment-is-a-new/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-precedent-each-moment-is-a-new/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/martha-graham-2832_art_i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-pre_599741.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't think in Art there is ever a precedent; each moment is a new one & terrifying & threatening &…” — Martha Graham",
                "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": "Martha Graham",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't think in Art there...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-precedent-each-moment-is-a-new/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/i-don-t-think-in-art-there-is-ever-a-precedent-each-moment-is-a-new/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
