--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art matters. It is not simply a leisure…" description: "\"Art matters. It is not simply a leisure activity for the privileged or a hobby for the eccentric. It is a practical good for the world. The work of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/michael-gungor-15350_art_art-matters-it-is-not-simply-a-leisure-a_1982376.jpg" --- # Art matters. It is not simply a leisure activity for the… ![“Art matters. It is not simply a leisure activity for the privileged or a hobby for the eccentric. It is a practical good for the world. The work of the artist is an expression of hope - it is homage to the value of human life, and it is vital to society. Art is a sacred expression of human…” quote by Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/michael-gungor-15350_art_art-matters-it-is-not-simply-a-leisure-a_1982376.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/michael-gungor-15350_art_art-matters-it-is-not-simply-a-leisure-a_1982376.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4be/michael-gungor-15350_art_art-matters-it-is-not-simply-a-leisure-a_1982376.jpg) > “Art matters. It is not simply a leisure activity for the privileged or a hobby for the eccentric. It is a practical good for the world. The work of the artist is an expression of hope - it is homage to the value of human life, and it is vital to society. Art is a sacred expression of human creativity that shares the same ontological ground as all human work. Art, along with all work is the ordering of creation toward the intention of the creator.” [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is essential, not a luxury; it expresses hope and affirms human life, shaping society through creative purpose. **In simple terms:** Art is vital, expressing hope and human value. Key Takeaway Recognize and support art’s societal role. Themes creativity humanism social impact Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical social When to use this quote - education - community projects - public policy - mental health initiatives Key Concepts ontology value of work hope Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate art into everyday life? - What policies best protect artistic expression? A Different Perspective Art may be undervalued in profit‑driven cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-work/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Eccentric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentric/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Hobbies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbies/) [Homage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homage/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Leisure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leisure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Value of human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-human-life/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Art, along with all work is the ordering of creation toward the intention of the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/art-along-with-all-work-is-the-ordering-of-creation-toward-the/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/every-production-of-an-artist-should-be-the-expression-of-an/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Now the images and temples constructed by mechanics are made of inert matter, so that they too are inert, material, and profane. Even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-of-alexandria/now-the-images-and-temples-constructed-by-mechanics-are-made-of-inert/) [Clement of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-of-alexandria/) > [My notion of art is very maximalist and souped-up: I love spectacle, overload, magic materials, magic words, incantation and litany, incarnation and possession, spilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyelle-mcsweeney/my-notion-of-art-is-very-maximalist-and-souped-up-i-love-spectacle/) [Joyelle McSweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyelle-mcsweeney/) > [In art, immorality cannot exist. Art is always sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-rodin/in-art-immorality-cannot-exist-art-is-always-sacred/) [Auguste Rodin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-rodin/) > [Dancing is surely the most basic and relevant of all forms of expression. Nothing else can so effectively give outward form to an inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyall-watson/dancing-is-surely-the-most-basic-and-relevant-of-all-forms-of/) [Lyall Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyall-watson/) > [“Art is sacred. Punk rock is freedom. Expression and right to express is vital. Anyone can be artistic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/art-is-sacred-punk-rock-is-freedom-expression-and-right-to-express-is/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [Drawing is the most inalienable medium. It is private; it practically doesn't have an audience in mind, just the artist's expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-goodwin/drawing-is-the-most-inalienable-medium-it-is-private-it-practically/) Betty Goodwin > [The sincerity of delivery is what always strikes me when I hear a good band. It's artist-expression driven, as opposed to being record-producer driven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-carey/the-sincerity-of-delivery-is-what-always-strikes-me-when-i-hear-a/) [Danny Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-carey/) > [Air, food, shelter, clothing and water are the means of life. Yet, next to the love of God and others, it is art that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lars-zwerenz/air-food-shelter-clothing-and-water-are-the-means-of-life-yet-next-to/) [John Lars Zwerenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lars-zwerenz/) > [Life is sacred. Life is art. Life is sacred art. The art of sacred living means being a holy actor, acting from the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-roth/life-is-sacred-life-is-art-life-is-sacred-art-the-art-of-sacred/) [Gabrielle Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-roth/) > [It is the poet and philosopher who provide the community of objectives in which the artist participates. Their chief preoccupation, like the artist, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rothko/it-is-the-poet-and-philosopher-who-provide-the-community-of/) [Mark Rothko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rothko/) > [An artist must find his expression closely linked to his individual experience or else follow in the old grooves resulting in lifeless forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-tobey/an-artist-must-find-his-expression-closely-linked-to-his-individual/) [Mark Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-tobey/) > [I’ve come to believe that, fundamentally, art matters more than politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-luther-adams/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-fundamentally-art-matters-more-than-politics/) [John Luther Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-luther-adams/) > [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/) ## More by Michael Gungor > [I used to flirt with fundamentalism, and I had this idea that creation was something that happened. Now I see creation as something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/i-used-to-flirt-with-fundamentalism-and-i-had-this-idea-that-creation/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [The more successful the work, the more people will step in to try to influence and manipulate the work for their own benefit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/the-more-successful-the-work-the-more-people-will-step-in-to-try-to/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [We are all creators. Whether or not we create is not up to us. We are human, and creating is what we do. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/we-are-all-creators-whether-or-not-we-create-is-not-up-to-us-we-are/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [I'm not one to call out an individual and say "I don't think that is honest." Who am I to know what is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/i-m-not-one-to-call-out-an-individual-and-say-i-don-t-think-that-is/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [“To truly see is to find hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/to-truly-see-is-to-find-hope/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [Any religious, philosophical or political idea that doesn't lead one towards love ought to be forsaken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/any-religious-philosophical-or-political-idea-that-doesn-t-lead-one/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [I think I'm just trying to be myself and write songs that are honest. That's what I hear in artist's that I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/i-think-i-m-just-trying-to-be-myself-and-write-songs-that-are-honest/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [“Entitlement is not a friend of art. Work is. Pain is. Pain is that blessed and despised universal experience that creates more true art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/entitlement-is-not-a-friend-of-art-work-is-pain-is-pain-is-that/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [Burnout is what happens when you try to avoid being human for too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/burnout-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-avoid-being-human-for-too-long/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [Creativity is simply the human brain forming new connections between ideas, and we all are engaged in this process every day. The common idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/creativity-is-simply-the-human-brain-forming-new-connections-between/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [To me, God is the basic Reality of the universe. God is what is. That's how Moses wrote that God introduced Himself, isn't it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/to-me-god-is-the-basic-reality-of-the-universe-god-is-what-is-that-s/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [Money is not the root of all kinds of evil. The love of money is. It’s also the root of a lot of bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/money-is-not-the-root-of-all-kinds-of-evil-the-love-of-money-is-it-s/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [I've found that limitations can be an artist's best friend sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/i-ve-found-that-limitations-can-be-an-artist-s-best-friend-sometimes/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [The danger of art created to rise above the noise is that it may end up being noise itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/the-danger-of-art-created-to-rise-above-the-noise-is-that-it-may-end/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) > [To me genres were always an imaginary things, they're just marketing channels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gungor/to-me-genres-were-always-an-imaginary-things-they-re-just-marketing/) [Michael Gungor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) [Explore all 43 Michael Gungor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gungor/) ## 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": "Art matters. 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