--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believe art is utterly important. It is…" description: "\"I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us. We don't have to rely totally on experience if we can do things in our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/mary-oliver-570_art_i-believe-art-is-utterly-important-it-is_1830818.jpg" --- # I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the… ![“I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us. We don't have to rely totally on experience if we can do things in our imagination… It's the only way in which you can live more lives than your own. You can escape your own time, your own sensibility, your own…” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/mary-oliver-570_art_i-believe-art-is-utterly-important-it-is_1830818.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/mary-oliver-570_art_i-believe-art-is-utterly-important-it-is_1830818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/864/mary-oliver-570_art_i-believe-art-is-utterly-important-it-is_1830818.jpg) > “I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us. We don't have to rely totally on experience if we can do things in our imagination… It's the only way in which you can live more lives than your own. You can escape your own time, your own sensibility, your own narrowness of vision.” [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art expands human experience beyond personal limits, offering imaginative escape and multiple lives. **In simple terms:** Art lets us live many lives through imagination. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination to broaden perspective. Themes art imagination creativity escape human experience Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - creative writing - education - therapy - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - How can art complement real-life learning? - What role does imagination play in problem solving? A Different Perspective Imagination alone cannot replace lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Utterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-utterly-2272353/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-art/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [I believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-believe/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I believe art is utterly important. It is one of the things that could save us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-believe-art-is-utterly-important-it-is-one-of-the-things-that-could-2/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Writers must... take care of the sensibility that houses the possibility of poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/writers-must-take-care-of-the-sensibility-that-houses-the-possibility/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The classicist, and the naturalist who has much in common with him, refuse to see in the highest works of art anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-classicist-and-the-naturalist-who-has-much-in-common-with-him/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [An ex-girlfriend once got upset when I told her that music is the most important thing in my life. It's more important than anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/an-ex-girlfriend-once-got-upset-when-i-told-her-that-music-is-the/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [The important thing is to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-important-thing-is-to-not-walk-alone-but-to-rely-on-each-other-as/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [To me the most important thing in a piece of art is the thought. Technique is totally secondary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bateman/to-me-the-most-important-thing-in-a-piece-of-art-is-the-thought/) [Robert Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bateman/) > [I really do believe that art changes the landscape of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-really-do-believe-that-art-changes-the-landscape-of-the-world/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [“I will tell you what I believe,” he said with simplicity. “I am an artist, and I believe that art is something that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-kressmann-taylor/i-will-tell-you-what-i-believe-he-said-with-simplicity-i-am-an-artist/) [Kathrine Kressmann Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-kressmann-taylor/) > [People believe that art and science are two distinct realms. It is far from the truth because, if you look at science from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/people-believe-that-art-and-science-are-two-distinct-realms-it-is-far/) [Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-mazumdar-shaw/) > [“Edith would always believe art was for everyone, whether rich or poor, educated or not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-pollock/edith-would-always-believe-art-was-for-everyone-whether-rich-or-poor/) [Lindsay Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-pollock/) > [Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/works-of-art-in-my-opinion-are-the-only-objects-in-the-material/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The voice of painterly integrity spoke to me. And the idea was that one would find this anguish, or whatever, and construct it into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-morley/the-voice-of-painterly-integrity-spoke-to-me-and-the-idea-was-that/) [Malcolm Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-morley/) > [if newspapers were written by people whose sole object in writing was to tell the truth about politics and the truth about art we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-newspapers-were-written-by-people-whose-sole-object-in-writing-was/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I believe in art that is connected to real human feeling, that extends itself beyond the limits of the art world to embrace all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-chicago/i-believe-in-art-that-is-connected-to-real-human-feeling-that-extends/) [Judy Chicago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-chicago/) > [I believe that art can make relevant and progressive contributions to culture and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-believe-that-art-can-make-relevant-and-progressive-contributions-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## More by Mary Oliver > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees - to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-dream-of-my-life-is-to-lie-down-by-a-slow-river-and-stare-at-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. • To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-important-ideas-must-include-the-trees-the-mountains-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-think-were-i-just-a-little-rougher-made-i-would-go/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“First Snow The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/first-snow-the-snow-began-here-this-morning-and-all-day-continued-its/) [mary oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What can I say that I have not said before? So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-a-life-cherishing-force-for-poems-are-not-words-after-all/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“I stood like Adam in his lonely garden On that first morning, shaken out of sleep, Rubbing his eyes, listening, parting the leaves, Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/i-stood-like-adam-in-his-lonely-garden-on-that-first-morning-shaken/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [We all have a hungry heart, and one of the things we hunger for is happiness. So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) [Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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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