--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art chooses its constraints." description: "\"Art chooses its constraints.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png" --- # Art chooses its constraints. ![“Art chooses its constraints.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png) > “Art chooses its constraints.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constraints shape creativity, turning limits into artistic opportunities. **In simple terms:** Limits inspire art. Key Takeaway Embrace limits to spark ideas. Themes creativity constraints art Mood thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - design - writing - music - visual arts Key Concepts Innovation problem solving Questions to Reflect On - What limits can you use productively? - How do constraints improve your work? A Different Perspective Too many constraints can stifle freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Chooses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-chooses-2902140/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chooses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chooses/) [Chooses Constraints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chooses-constraints-5441226/) [Constraints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constraints/) ## Related quotes > [“...for all art is one, as Kipling has written, and your art chooses you, not you the art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-powell/for-all-art-is-one-as-kipling-has-written-and-your-art-chooses-you/) [Michael Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-powell/) > [If you have no power, talk about your influence. If you have power, talk about the constraints that hem you in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/if-you-have-no-power-talk-about-your-influence-if-you-have-power-talk/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Some like to believe it's the book that chooses the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/some-like-to-believe-it-s-the-book-that-chooses-the-person/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Like many works of literature, Hollywood chooses for its villains people who strive for social dominance through the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and power.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-tabarrok/like-many-works-of-literature-hollywood-chooses-for-its-villains/) [Alex Tabarrok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-tabarrok/) > [America's addiction to violence is partly evident in the heroes it chooses to glorify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-s-addiction-to-violence-is-partly-evident-in-the-heroes-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-choose-him-over-and-over-again-and-he-chooses-me/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [It is the woman who chooses the man who will choose her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-woman-who-chooses-the-man-who-will-choose-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You got two chooses 1 take me as me 2 LEAVE THERE THE DOOR if you want me for me BYE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luna-rj/you-got-two-chooses-1-take-me-as-me-2-leave-there-the-door-if-you/) [Luna\_Rj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luna-rj/) > [Hope for the best, get ready for the worst, and then take what God chooses to send.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/hope-for-the-best-get-ready-for-the-worst-and-then-take-what-god/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [I choose L'Arche; L'Arche chooses me. 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Because I don't want to talk to you on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/you-do-not-want-to-talk-to-me-on-the-phone-how-do-i-know-because-i/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [“Who flies high, easily chooses his target.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ljupka-cvetanova/who-flies-high-easily-chooses-his-target/) [Ljupka Cvetanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ljupka-cvetanova/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. 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Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## 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. 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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": "Art chooses its constraints.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/art-chooses-its-constraints/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/art-chooses-its-constraints/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e44/mason-cooley-92_art_art-chooses-its-constraints-1489142_1489142.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art chooses its constraints.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art chooses its constraints.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/art-chooses-its-constraints/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/art-chooses-its-constraints/#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 } } ] } ```