--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All paintings are abstract ideas, not…" description: "\"All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.\" — Mike Svob" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg" --- # All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a… ![“All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.” quote by Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg) > “All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.” [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) ## 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 a conceptual expression rather than a literal depiction of reality. **In simple terms:** Art expresses ideas, not literal scenes. Key Takeaway Focus on meaning over realism. Themes art abstraction perception Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - creative brainstorming - visual communication Key Concepts conceptualism representation phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How does abstraction affect viewer engagement? - What does “true reality” mean in art? A Different Perspective Abstract art can be misinterpreted as lacking skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Paintings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paintings/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [True reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-reality/) ## Related quotes > [When I started to do these Pop paintings seriously, I used all these other paintings - the abstract ones - as mats. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/when-i-started-to-do-these-pop-paintings-seriously-i-used-all-these/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [“All of our ideas in physics require a certain amount of common sense in their application; they are not purely mathematical or abstract ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/all-of-our-ideas-in-physics-require-a-certain-amount-of-common-sense/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [“The world was ready for greater discoveries two thousand years ago. (Heron of Alexandria is an excellent example of an inventor who invented the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-world-was-ready-for-greater-discoveries-two-thousand-years-ago/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [A philosopher of imposing stature doesn't think in a vacuum. Even his most abstract ideas are, to some extent, conditioned by what is or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/a-philosopher-of-imposing-stature-doesn-t-think-in-a-vacuum-even-his/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Abstract ideas are the patterns two or more memories have in common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-flesch/abstract-ideas-are-the-patterns-two-or-more-memories-have-in-common/) [Rudolf Flesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-flesch/) > [“Between ourselves and our real natures we interpose that wax figure of idealizations and selections which we call our character. We extend this into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/between-ourselves-and-our-real-natures-we-interpose-that-wax-figure-2/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [My notion's to think of the human beings first and let the abstract ideas take care of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/my-notion-s-to-think-of-the-human-beings-first-and-let-the-abstract/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [... my whole existence is governed by abstract ideas… the ideal must be preserved regardless of fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/my-whole-existence-is-governed-by-abstract-ideas-the-ideal-must-be/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [General and abstract ideas are the source of the greatest errors of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/general-and-abstract-ideas-are-the-source-of-the-greatest-errors-of/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Just because I try to read a lot of stuff doesn't mean I can fully conceptualize all of these intense, big, abstract ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ransone/just-because-i-try-to-read-a-lot-of-stuff-doesn-t-mean-i-can-fully/) [James Ransone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ransone/) > [Abstract ideas like equality and liberty have a spurious transparency, and can be used to derive pleasing theorems in the manner of Jean-Jacques Rousseau…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/abstract-ideas-like-equality-and-liberty-have-a-spurious-transparency/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [It is so much easier to talk of poverty than to think of the poor, to argue the rights of capital than to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/it-is-so-much-easier-to-talk-of-poverty-than-to-think-of-the-poor-to/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [Photography Cannot Record Abstract Ideas (Title of a 16x20 inch photograph depicting an index card on which that phrase is handwritten.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-bochner/photography-cannot-record-abstract-ideas-title-of-a-16x20-inch/) Mel Bochner > [Sometimes I have these abstract ideas and then lose track of myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-stiles/sometimes-i-have-these-abstract-ideas-and-then-lose-track-of-myself/) [Julia Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-stiles/) > [I'm not in any way trying to make statements that are not also invaded by emotions and abstract ideas that I don't really understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-m-not-in-any-way-trying-to-make-statements-that-are-not-also/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) ## More by Mike Svob > [The person viewing your work has no idea what the scene really looked like, nor do they care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/the-person-viewing-your-work-has-no-idea-what-the-scene-really-looked/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [The theme, or harmony, of a painting can be created by any one of its visual elements. A single colour... repetition of shapes... Light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/the-theme-or-harmony-of-a-painting-can-be-created-by-any-one-of-its/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [Think of the centre of interest in a painting as you would read it in a novel or see it in a movie. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/think-of-the-centre-of-interest-in-a-painting-as-you-would-read-it-in/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [Put a symbol, or language of some sort, in a painting and it will be noticed by the viewer whether or not they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/put-a-symbol-or-language-of-some-sort-in-a-painting-and-it-will-be/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [The wide open nature of any truly creative artistic endeavor is one of its most important virtues, and one of its harshest realities. 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It happens when you place elements in their order of importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/a-painting-with-a-message-does-not-happen-by-accident-it-happens-when/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [All artists are illusionists of one kind or another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/all-artists-are-illusionists-of-one-kind-or-another/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [By merely increasing or decreasing the amount of contrast in any area we can move the observer through the painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/by-merely-increasing-or-decreasing-the-amount-of-contrast-in-any-area/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [Being true to oneself more often leads one toward success rather than away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/being-true-to-oneself-more-often-leads-one-toward-success-rather-than/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [Realistically there is no limit to the possibilities. How does an artist make decisions?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/realistically-there-is-no-limit-to-the-possibilities-how-does-an/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [The way we see is critical to understanding how others will read our compositions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/the-way-we-see-is-critical-to-understanding-how-others-will-read-our/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [That a viewer does not see what the artist intended does not make the composition a failure... In reality all artists speak first to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/that-a-viewer-does-not-see-what-the-artist-intended-does-not-make-the/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) > [The difficult part of the process is the long exploration and discovery of your own soul and living with the results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/the-difficult-part-of-the-process-is-the-long-exploration-and/) [Mike Svob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) [Explore all 18 Mike Svob quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Svob" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-representations-of-a-true-reality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstract" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-representations-of-a-true-reality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c91/mike-svob-29261_abstract_all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-rep_1796861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All paintings are abstract ideas, not representations of a true reality.” — Mike Svob", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Svob", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-svob/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All paintings are abstract ideas, not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-representations-of-a-true-reality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-svob/all-paintings-are-abstract-ideas-not-representations-of-a-true-reality/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```