--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes we look at a work of art and we…" description: "\"Sometimes we look at a work of art and we immediately think that it is German art, but with some we don't, it's not so obvious.\" — Michael Craig-Martin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/michael-craig-martin-9157_art_sometimes-we-look-at-a-work-of-art-and-w_1673261.jpg" --- # Sometimes we look at a work of art and we immediately… ![“Sometimes we look at a work of art and we immediately think that it is German art, but with some we don't, it's not so obvious.” quote by Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/michael-craig-martin-9157_art_sometimes-we-look-at-a-work-of-art-and-w_1673261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/michael-craig-martin-9157_art_sometimes-we-look-at-a-work-of-art-and-w_1673261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/michael-craig-martin-9157_art_sometimes-we-look-at-a-work-of-art-and-w_1673261.jpg) > “Sometimes we look at a work of art and we immediately think that it is German art, but with some we don't, it's not so obvious.” [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assumptions about art origins can be misleading; context and deeper analysis reveal true influences. **In simple terms:** Don’t judge art by surface labels. Key Takeaway Look beyond obvious labels. Themes art perception cultural bias interpretation Mood curious analytical Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - curatorial work Key Concepts visual analysis historical context Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing an artist’s background change your view? - What cues help you identify true artistic origins? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on stereotypes can obscure meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-immediately-881625/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [German Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german-art-881623/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Think German](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-german-881624/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Work Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-art/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [We cleave to the past too much in Germany. All of our German art is too bogged down in the conventional... I think more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/we-cleave-to-the-past-too-much-in-germany-all-of-our-german-art-is/) [Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/) > [Though German art can never be Bavarian, but simply German, yet Munich is the capital of this German Art; here, under shelter of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/though-german-art-can-never-be-bavarian-but-simply-german-yet-munich/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [“Don't ever do that to me again. I'm too young to die of a heart attack." (...) "I would say claiming you're too young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-zapata/don-t-ever-do-that-to-me-again-i-m-too-young-to-die-of-a-heart-attack/) [Mariana Zapata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-zapata/) > [I don't think German films have to be heavy or intellectual the way they sometimes used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/til-schweiger/i-don-t-think-german-films-have-to-be-heavy-or-intellectual-the-way/) [Til Schweiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/til-schweiger/) > [I don't think I have enough German blood in me to get into the royal family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ashcroft/i-don-t-think-i-have-enough-german-blood-in-me-to-get-into-the-royal/) [Richard Ashcroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ashcroft/) > [...a genuine work of art, can never be false, nor can it be discredited through the lapse of time, for it does not present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-genuine-work-of-art-can-never-be-false-nor-can-it-be-discredited/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A work of art expresses itself as a balance sheet pitting the spoken against the unspoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-sherman/a-work-of-art-expresses-itself-as-a-balance-sheet-pitting-the-spoken/) [Russell Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-sherman/) > [A work of art doesn't exist outside the perception of the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/a-work-of-art-doesn-t-exist-outside-the-perception-of-the-audience/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [We have nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore- except to make our lives into a work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/we-have-nothing-to-lose-nothing-to-gain-nothing-we-desired-anymore/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [All art is at once surface and symbol. 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If you said something interesting, that might be a title for a work of art and I'd write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/art-goes-on-in-your-head-if-you-said-something-interesting-that-might/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [The ultimate justification of the work of art is to help the spectator to become a work of art himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/the-ultimate-justification-of-the-work-of-art-is-to-help-the/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## More by Michael Craig-Martin > [You can't honour someone by copying them or trying to be exactly like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/you-can-t-honour-someone-by-copying-them-or-trying-to-be-exactly-like/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [There is a complete difference between art and the art market. Prices are high now for the simple reason that there are people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/there-is-a-complete-difference-between-art-and-the-art-market-prices/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I had my exhibition of paintings first in Shanghai, and then recently in Wuhan. Wuhan particularly interested me, because I am 1/8 Chinese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-had-my-exhibition-of-paintings-first-in-shanghai-and-then-recently/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I try to make images that have the immediate presence we take for granted in objects - a chair, a shoe, a book, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-try-to-make-images-that-have-the-immediate-presence-we-take-for/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [You can see in my paintings, I've taken away the context, I've taken away the shadows, I've taken away expression, I've taken away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/you-can-see-in-my-paintings-i-ve-taken-away-the-context-i-ve-taken/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [When I told people that I was going to paint the big room magenta, many people thought that I was crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/when-i-told-people-that-i-was-going-to-paint-the-big-room-magenta/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I don't like the idea of nationalism, but on the other hand, I do see that there is a difference between British art, German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-nationalism-but-on-the-other-hand-i-do-see/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I was poorer than anyone I'd ever met. But it was a great time to be a young artist - I remember it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-was-poorer-than-anyone-i-d-ever-met-but-it-was-a-great-time-to-be-a/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [You can't force yourself to be something you are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/you-can-t-force-yourself-to-be-something-you-are-not/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [ \[I\] don't want people to see it \[paintings\] as a specific intention on my part. If somebody has that interest in these objects, of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-don-t-want-people-to-see-it-paintings-as-a-specific-intention-on-my/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [I've taken away everything I could think of, and yet what remains is enough. These days many more people come to my work, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-ve-taken-away-everything-i-could-think-of-and-yet-what-remains-is/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [In the period of '60s to the '90s, British art schools were small, and the number of student was small. The personal contact was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/in-the-period-of-60s-to-the-90s-british-art-schools-were-small-and/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [It is very important to develop the thing that you are naturally good at, that you are truly interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/it-is-very-important-to-develop-the-thing-that-you-are-naturally-good/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [The person you admire was true to himself. You can only truly honour him by being true to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/the-person-you-admire-was-true-to-himself-you-can-only-truly-honour/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [The art world, of all worlds, has room for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/the-art-world-of-all-worlds-has-room-for-everyone/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) [Explore all 75 Michael Craig-Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) ## 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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