--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is not just about what's great or…" description: "\"Art is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. It's a mirror we hold up that looks different to everyone who sees it, and who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/michael-kimmelman-33676_art_art-is-not-just-about-what-s-great-or-ex_1309026.jpg" --- # Art is not just about what's great or expensive or… ![“Art is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. It's a mirror we hold up that looks different to everyone who sees it, and whose beauty lies as much in us, and our capacity to dream...” quote by Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/michael-kimmelman-33676_art_art-is-not-just-about-what-s-great-or-ex_1309026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/michael-kimmelman-33676_art_art-is-not-just-about-what-s-great-or-ex_1309026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/848/michael-kimmelman-33676_art_art-is-not-just-about-what-s-great-or-ex_1309026.jpg) > “Art is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. It's a mirror we hold up that looks different to everyone who sees it, and whose beauty lies as much in us, and our capacity to dream...” [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art reflects individual perception, its value lies in personal interpretation and imagination. **In simple terms:** Art mirrors viewers’ dreams. Key Takeaway Value personal interpretation of art. Themes art perception imagination Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - museum visits - creative workshops - personal journaling - design thinking Key Concepts subjectivity cultural reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does your background shape art perception? - What dreams does art inspire? A Different Perspective May ignore societal impact of art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Expensive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expensive/) [Famous Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-mirror-4325313/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirror Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-hold-661719/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Scandalous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandalous/) [Sees Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sees-beauty-872535/) ## Related quotes > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“I step over to the mirror and hold up a lacy, foam green taffeta dress in front of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-step-over-to-the-mirror-and-hold-up-a-lacy-foam-green-taffeta-dress/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I once taught art to adults in a night course. I had a woman who painted her back yard, and she said it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/i-once-taught-art-to-adults-in-a-night-course-i-had-a-woman-who/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [“Not every one of us sees the beauty of the stars and innocence of the moon by looking at sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/not-every-one-of-us-sees-the-beauty-of-the-stars-and-innocence-of-the/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“One who only sees beauty in others has inconceivable beauty in himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/one-who-only-sees-beauty-in-others-has-inconceivable-beauty-in-himself/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Others can't always define your true identity. They see what they 'want' to see but beyond your mess, God sees the beauty He created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinonye-j-chidolue/others-can-t-always-define-your-true-identity-they-see-what-they-want/) [Chinonye J. Chidolue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinonye-j-chidolue/) > [He that sees the beauty of holiness or true moral good ,sees the greatest and most important thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/he-that-sees-the-beauty-of-holiness-or-true-moral-good-sees-the/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [“The universe sees your beauty; now see the beauty in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/the-universe-sees-your-beauty-now-see-the-beauty-in-others/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“He is both the artist and the work of art. He sees beauty, he creates beauty, and he is beauty. He is the lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisa-lorello/he-is-both-the-artist-and-the-work-of-art-he-sees-beauty-he-creates/) [Elisa Lorello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisa-lorello/) > [The most useful man in the most useful world, so long as only commodity was served, would remain unsatisfied. But, as fast as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-most-useful-man-in-the-most-useful-world-so-long-as-only/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If he still sees the beauty in you and still falls more in love with you after seeing your weird facial expressions, your unusual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-he-still-sees-the-beauty-in-you-and-still-falls-more-in-love-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-soul-that-sees-beauty-may-sometimes-walk-alone/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [When a photographer or a person sees your beauty, your inner beauty, it makes you feel special like, "Wow, someone saw that within me."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamel-shabazz/when-a-photographer-or-a-person-sees-your-beauty-your-inner-beauty-it/) [Jamel Shabazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamel-shabazz/) > [One does not see anything until one sees its beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/one-does-not-see-anything-until-one-sees-its-beauty/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [You may look into your mirror and see flaws, but someone else looks at you, and only sees beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/you-may-look-into-your-mirror-and-see-flaws-but-someone-else-looks-at/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) ## More by Michael Kimmelman > [“Art provides us with clues about how to live our lives more fully...about how creating, collecting, and even just appreciating art can make daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-provides-us-with-clues-about-how-to-live-our-lives-more-fully/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Drawing used to be a civilized thing to do, like reading and writing. It was taught in elementary schools. It was democratic. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/drawing-used-to-be-a-civilized-thing-to-do-like-reading-and-writing/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [The consolation of art comes in many forms... For some it is making, for others it is having.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/the-consolation-of-art-comes-in-many-forms-for-some-it-is-making-for/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Art, not unlike raising children... may entail much sacrifice and periods of despair, but, with luck, the effort will produce something that outlives you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-not-unlike-raising-children-may-entail-much-sacrifice-and-periods/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [ “\[Robert Rauschenberg, 1925-2008\] helped to obscure the lines between painting and sculpture, painting and photography, photography and printmaking, sculpture and photography, sculpture and dance,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/robert-rauschenberg-1925-2008-helped-to-obscure-the-lines-between/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Everything, even the most ordinary daily affair, is enriched by the lessons that can be gleaned from art...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/everything-even-the-most-ordinary-daily-affair-is-enriched-by-the/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Out of routine comes inspiration. That's the idea, anyway. To grasp what's exceptional, you first have to know what's routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/out-of-routine-comes-inspiration-that-s-the-idea-anyway-to-grasp-what/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [It's not that there is no such thing as truth. But we come to like and trust a certain story, not because it's necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/it-s-not-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as-truth-but-we-come-to-like-and/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/under-ordinary-circumstances-bad-art-naturally-gets-sorted-out-and/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [Art provides us with clues about how to live our own lives more fully... art becomes our entree to the sublime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/art-provides-us-with-clues-about-how-to-live-our-own-lives-more-fully/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [“Under ordinary circumstances, bad art naturally gets sorted out and disappears. That is how history works when it is left alone to do its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/under-ordinary-circumstances-bad-art-naturally-gets-sorted-out-and-2/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [All writers, all storytellers, are imposing their own narrative on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/all-writers-all-storytellers-are-imposing-their-own-narrative-on/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) > [The paradox of the culture wars is that they have made celebrities out of some artists who would otherwise vanish. Censorship has become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kimmelman/the-paradox-of-the-culture-wars-is-that-they-have-made-celebrities/) [Michael Kimmelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) [Explore all 14 Michael Kimmelman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kimmelman/) ## 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. 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 is not just about what's great or expensive or scandalous or famous. 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