--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every work of art is one half of a secret…" description: "\"“Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake, a challenge that seeks the password, a heliograph flashed from a tower window, an act of hopeless..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/michael-chabon-627_art_every-work-of-art-is-one-half-of-a-secre_415905.png" --- # Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake, a… ![“Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake, a challenge that seeks the password, a heliograph flashed from a tower window, an act of hopeless optimism in the service of bottomless longing. Every great record or novel or comic book convenes the first meeting of a fan club whose membership…” quote by Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/michael-chabon-627_art_every-work-of-art-is-one-half-of-a-secre_415905.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/michael-chabon-627_art_every-work-of-art-is-one-half-of-a-secre_415905.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/michael-chabon-627_art_every-work-of-art-is-one-half-of-a-secre_415905.png) > ““Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake, a challenge that seeks the password, a heliograph flashed from a tower window, an act of hopeless optimism in the service of bottomless longing. Every great record or novel or comic book convenes the first meeting of a fan club whose membership stands forever at one but which maintains chapters in every city -- in every cranium -- in the world. Art, like fandom, asserts the possibility of fellowship in a world built entirely from the materials of solitude. The novelist, the cartoonist, the songwriter, knows the gesture is doomed from the beginning but makes it anyway, flashes his or her bit of mirror, not on the chance that the signal will be seen or understood but as if such a chance existed.”” [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art creates secret connections, fostering communal longing despite inherent isolation. **In simple terms:** Art builds hidden bonds among solitary people. Key Takeaway Embrace artistic expression as a bridge to shared humanity. Themes art fandom community loneliness creativity shared experience Mood reflective hopeful poetic Type literary inspirational cultural When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - music - fan conventions - online communities Key Concepts symbolism secret handshake optimism collective longing cultural rituals Questions to Reflect On - What does the “secret handshake” symbolize for you? - How does art overcome feelings of solitude? A Different Perspective Art risk of misinterpretation or exclusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comic book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-book/) [Fandom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fandom/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [“Like everyone else in fandom, Ada and I say I love you to each other like it's punctuation. But lately I've been finding it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-so/like-everyone-else-in-fandom-ada-and-i-say-i-love-you-to-each-other/) Cynthia So > [“ Wise Blood has reached the age of ten and is still alive. My critical powers are just sufficient to determine this, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wise-blood-has-reached-the-age-of-ten-and-is-still-alive-my-critical/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Show me a novel that's not comic, and I'll show you a novel that's not doing its job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/show-me-a-novel-that-s-not-comic-and-i-ll-show-you-a-novel-that-s-not/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [The great modern novel of the comic-pathetic illusion of freedom is Confessions of Zeno .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-svevo/the-great-modern-novel-of-the-comic-pathetic-illusion-of-freedom-is/) [Italo Svevo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-svevo/) > [Almost any tale of our doings is comic. We are bottomlessly comic to each other. Even the most adored and beloved person is comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/almost-any-tale-of-our-doings-is-comic-we-are-bottomlessly-comic-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Head tilted, Lou looked at her curiously. “Are you… are you trying to appeal to my conscience?” He snorted. “That inner voice gave up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-wright/head-tilted-lou-looked-at-her-curiously-are-you-are-you-trying-to/) [Suzanne Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-wright/) > [We spend a great deal of time getting the fan to buy the ticket. Why shouldn't it be: 'Buy the concert ticket and bundle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rapino/we-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-getting-the-fan-to-buy-the-ticket-why/) [Michael Rapino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rapino/) > [“I continued toward Atlanta with a Merle Haggard C.D. playing on the stereo. They weren't great hosts, but those guys in The Ted Kaczynski…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcclellan/i-continued-toward-atlanta-with-a-merle-haggard-c-d-playing-on-the/) Ian McClellan > [A fan club is a group of people who tell an actor hes not alone in the way he feels about himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-williams/a-fan-club-is-a-group-of-people-who-tell-an-actor-hes-not-alone-in/) [Kenneth Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-williams/) > [I even had a Shahid Khan fan club on the 'Deal Or No Deal' forum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naughty-boy/i-even-had-a-shahid-khan-fan-club-on-the-deal-or-no-deal-forum/) [Naughty Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naughty-boy/) > [There are these girls who live in Maryland: they're the Patrick Super Fan Club Association of America. They've sent me videotapes of themselves just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fugit/there-are-these-girls-who-live-in-maryland-they-re-the-patrick-super/) [Patrick Fugit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fugit/) > [“Cats, as any rational person knows, are solitary, opportunistic, ambush predators, much like spiders, but with fewer legs and a better fan club.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-l-howard/cats-as-any-rational-person-knows-are-solitary-opportunistic-ambush/) [Jonathan L. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-l-howard/) > [My best friend was crazy about Culture Club. She had posters everywhere. She joined the fan club. She knew everything about them. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-darwish/my-best-friend-was-crazy-about-culture-club-she-had-posters/) [Tiffany Darwish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-darwish/) > [Don't let the bastards get you down. Christians aren't God. Religious people aren't God. God loves you, just where you're at... just the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-bakker/don-t-let-the-bastards-get-you-down-christians-aren-t-god-religious/) [Jay Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-bakker/) > [While all of you talk about me I just sit back and think damn I got myself a Fan Club](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-all-of-you-talk-about-me-i-just-sit-back-and-think-damn-i-got/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Michael Chabon > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Anyway, it's a pretty good story," I said. "You have to admit." "Yeah?" He crumpled up the Kleenex, having dispatched the solitary tear. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/anyway-it-s-a-pretty-good-story-i-said-you-have-to-admit-yeah-he/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There were so many Pittsburgh poets in my hallway that if, at that instant, a meteorite had come smashing through my roof, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/there-were-so-many-pittsburgh-poets-in-my-hallway-that-if-at-that/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Badass.'" My grandfather sampled the flavor of the word. It did not seem to revolt him, but it was nothing he needed ever to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/badass-my-grandfather-sampled-the-flavor-of-the-word-it-did-not-seem/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [See you in the funny papers," he said. Jaunty, he reminded himself; always jaunty. In my panache is their hope for salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/see-you-in-the-funny-papers-he-said-jaunty-he-reminded-himself-always/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“I didn't want to be left alone with Timothy, not because I was afraid of him but because I was afraid that somebody would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/i-didn-t-want-to-be-left-alone-with-timothy-not-because-i-was-afraid/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“He had already seized this particular day once, but he was prepared, if need be, to go ahead and seize the motherfucker all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-had-already-seized-this-particular-day-once-but-he-was-prepared-if/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“We figure he must have let him out. The perpetrator, I mean. He's blind and we figure he just wandered off and maybe got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-figure-he-must-have-let-him-out-the-perpetrator-i-mean-he-s-blind/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Then I reminded myself that I was always willing to listen to arguments in favor of avoiding an unpleasant chore, and I shook my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/then-i-reminded-myself-that-i-was-always-willing-to-listen-to/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Love great first lines and paragraphs. From The Yiddish Policemen's Union: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-great-first-lines-and-paragraphs-from-the-yiddish-policemen-s/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Life blew in gusts from the hole in the side of the elephant with a rank smell and a comic flatulence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/life-blew-in-gusts-from-the-hole-in-the-side-of-the-elephant-with-a/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Not only would I never want to belong to any club that would have me for a member--if elected I would wear street shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/not-only-would-i-never-want-to-belong-to-any-club-that-would-have-me/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [That's the best thing about writing, when you're in that zone, you're porous, ready to absorb the solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-the-best-thing-about-writing-when-you-re-in-that-zone-you-re/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ “For as long as I could remember, I'd been making vague and confident assurances that any day I would finish the thing \[my book\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/for-as-long-as-i-could-remember-i-d-been-making-vague-and-confident/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) [Explore all 436 Michael Chabon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## 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": "“Every work of art is one half of a secret handshake, a challenge that seeks the password, a heliograph flashed from a tower window, an act of hopeless optimism in the service of bottomless longing. 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