--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is painting today? It's a…" description: "\"What is painting today? It's a discontinued thing, discontinued from anything serious that happened in the past.\" — Matthew Collings" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/matthew-collings-39650_artist_what-is-painting-today-it-s-a-discontinu_2161468.png" --- # What is painting today? It's a discontinued thing… ![“What is painting today? It's a discontinued thing, discontinued from anything serious that happened in the past.” quote by Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/matthew-collings-39650_artist_what-is-painting-today-it-s-a-discontinu_2161468.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/matthew-collings-39650_artist_what-is-painting-today-it-s-a-discontinu_2161468.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3be/matthew-collings-39650_artist_what-is-painting-today-it-s-a-discontinu_2161468.png) > “What is painting today? It's a discontinued thing, discontinued from anything serious that happened in the past.” [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Painting is seen as obsolete, losing relevance to contemporary serious events. **In simple terms:** Painting feels outdated compared to modern issues. Key Takeaway Reevaluate painting’s role in today’s culture. Themes art obsolescence culture Mood critical contemplative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - digital art - public installations Key Concepts media evolution visual expression cultural relevance Questions to Reflect On - Can painting adapt to modern narratives? - What defines “serious” art today? A Different Perspective Some argue painting still evolves in new media. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [He is so old that his blood type was discontinued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-is-so-old-that-his-blood-type-was-discontinued/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was a very limited practice; carefully safeguarded. In 1890, that practice was discontinued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/it-was-a-very-limited-practice-carefully-safeguarded-in-1890-that/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [An epitaph is a belated advertisement for a line of goods that have been permanently discontinued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/an-epitaph-is-a-belated-advertisement-for-a-line-of-goods-that-have/) [Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/) > ['I am a camera' but it is a discontinued model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/i-am-a-camera-but-it-is-a-discontinued-model/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [You know you're old if they have discontinued your blood type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/you-know-you-re-old-if-they-have-discontinued-your-blood-type/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [In the weeks that followed, we amazed ourselves. Our habits slid apart easily...And our very few intimacies were simply discontinued. Where did they go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/in-the-weeks-that-followed-we-amazed-ourselves-our-habits-slid-apart/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [An epitaph is a belated advertisement for a line of goods that has been discontinued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/an-epitaph-is-a-belated-advertisement-for-a-line-of-goods-that-has/) [Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/) > [When I was a kid, I was really into the shows my older brothers were into. I got all the action figures handed down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-mooney/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-really-into-the-shows-my-older-brothers-were/) [Kyle Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-mooney/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. 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I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## More by Matthew Collings > [Until the late 1970s there'd either be only black or white in the paintings or if there were colours it would be a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/until-the-late-1970s-there-d-either-be-only-black-or-white-in-the/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [The whole idea of ideas in art is useless. Only have ideas about form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/the-whole-idea-of-ideas-in-art-is-useless-only-have-ideas-about-form/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [Colour can be the true main thing in art that is widely valued – even valued by the maker of the art – for other meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/colour-can-be-the-true-main-thing-in-art-that-is-widely-valued-even/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [The most painful thing for me is to be misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/the-most-painful-thing-for-me-is-to-be-misunderstood/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [It was as if he (Sigmar Polke) painted his imagery in a highly wrought way, instead of a calculatedly dumb way, or mechanical way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/it-was-as-if-he-sigmar-polke-painted-his-imagery-in-a-highly-wrought/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [Without rules you can't have anything, but you don't want to just be pedantic or obsessive. The painting is finished when it's working. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/without-rules-you-can-t-have-anything-but-you-don-t-want-to-just-be/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [Artists don't often know much about writing... but they don't bray so much about writing as writers do about art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/artists-don-t-often-know-much-about-writing-but-they-don-t-bray-so/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [Art has knowledge and skills, and to come to know them is to be implicitly against a culture that is against knowledge - today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/art-has-knowledge-and-skills-and-to-come-to-know-them-is-to-be/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [The art world is now a slave of mass culture. We have a sound-bite culture and so we have sound-bite art. You look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/the-art-world-is-now-a-slave-of-mass-culture-we-have-a-sound-bite/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) > [I think with art you have to do a bit of transforming of the subject to make the art worth having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-collings/i-think-with-art-you-have-to-do-a-bit-of-transforming-of-the-subject/) [Matthew Collings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) [Explore all 11 Matthew Collings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-collings/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [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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This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is painting today? 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