---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I guess maybe my art can be said to be a…"
description: "\"I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m privileged in that arena to protest or say publicly ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png"
---

#  I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see…

![“I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m privileged in that arena to protest or say publicly what I’m thinking about. Maybe the strongest work I’ve done is because it was done with indignation. Considering myself as a feminist, I don’t want…” quote by Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png)

> “I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m privileged in that arena to protest or say publicly what I’m thinking about. Maybe the strongest work I’ve done is because it was done with indignation. Considering myself as a feminist, I don’t want my work to be a reaction to what male art might be or what art with a capital A would be. I just want it to be art. In a convoluted way, I am protesting- protesting the usual way art is looked at, being shoved into a period or category.”

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Her work serves as protest, driven by indignation, rejecting gendered expectations and categorization.

**In simple terms:** She protests through art, rejecting labels.

Key Takeaway

Create art that challenges imposed narratives.

Themes

art feminism protest

Mood

defiant thoughtful

Type

political inspirational

When to use this quote

- exhibitions
- public murals
- academic lectures
- activist gatherings

Key Concepts

indignation identity category resistance

Questions to Reflect On

- How does protest shape artistic identity?
- Can art be both personal and political?

A Different Perspective

Risk of being misinterpreted as solely political.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Protesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protesting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [Kurt Cobain represents a very legit, realistic outlook. Before that, in my head, to be a white artist was to be privileged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/kurt-cobain-represents-a-very-legit-realistic-outlook-before-that-in/)

[Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/)

> [Protest is when I say this does not please me. Resistance is when I ensure what does not please me occurs no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrike-meinhof/protest-is-when-i-say-this-does-not-please-me-resistance-is-when-i/)

[Ulrike Meinhof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrike-meinhof/)

> [“I see protest as a genuine means of encouraging someone to feel the inconsistencies, the horror, of the lives we are living. Social protest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-see-protest-as-a-genuine-means-of-encouraging-someone-to-feel-the/)

[Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/)

> [Protest is when I say...'I don't agree with something'… Resistance is when I ensure that things with which I disagree no longer take place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrike-meinhof/protest-is-when-i-say-i-don-t-agree-with-something-resistance-is-when/)

[Ulrike Meinhof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrike-meinhof/)

> [Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/just-look-at-the-statistics-each-university-has-tens-of-thousands-of/)

[Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/)

> [“You want your art to be hip and seem cool to people, but a great deal of what passes for hip or cool is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/you-want-your-art-to-be-hip-and-seem-cool-to-people-but-a-great-deal/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [My favorite art, or whatever you want to call it, is art that makes you feel personally addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/my-favorite-art-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it-is-art-that-makes-you/)

[Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/)

> [I think of other artists as generous when I get inspired by their work. That's why I like curating. You don't want to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-lowman/i-think-of-other-artists-as-generous-when-i-get-inspired-by-their/)

[Nate Lowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-lowman/)

> [Art is not that much needed in life, we only need sleep and food. But why do people want art? Because they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiromi/art-is-not-that-much-needed-in-life-we-only-need-sleep-and-food-but/)

[Hiromi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiromi/)

> [“I want art that makes the world seem more unreal. I want fiction that can crumble the world and build it back into something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-michel/i-want-art-that-makes-the-world-seem-more-unreal-i-want-fiction-that/)

Lincoln Michel

> [I want to reach out and entertain people. I want people to come to a museum that have never been in a museum before.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-want-to-reach-out-and-entertain-people-i-want-people-to-come-to-a/)

[Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/)

> [I want my art to make people look at the world in a new way. I mean, what's the point of the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-want-my-art-to-make-people-look-at-the-world-in-a-new-way-i-mean/)

[John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/)

> [Of course I will look at anything, but I have not got the time or the patience to keep on looking at art that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/of-course-i-will-look-at-anything-but-i-have-not-got-the-time-or-the/)

[Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/)

> [I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/i-do-not-want-art-for-a-few-any-more-than-education-for-a-few-or/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [I want to take this art form to a whole new level in India so that kids say that they want to become dancers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-mohan/i-want-to-take-this-art-form-to-a-whole-new-level-in-india-so-that/)

[Shakti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-mohan/)

## More by Nancy Spero

> [I've always sought to express a tension in form and meaning in order to achieve a veracity. I have come to the conclusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-ve-always-sought-to-express-a-tension-in-form-and-meaning-in-order/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

> [I suppose I felt doomed to be an artist early on because of the way I drew all over the books that I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-suppose-i-felt-doomed-to-be-an-artist-early-on-because-of-the-way-i/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

> [An artist's job is to articulate what might otherwise be incoherent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/an-artist-s-job-is-to-articulate-what-might-otherwise-be-incoherent/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

> [I never thought of my work in terms of being radical, although I tried to make it radical- that is, to shift the premise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-never-thought-of-my-work-in-terms-of-being-radical-although-i-tried/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

> [When I showed ‘Black and the Red III’ in Malmö, Sweden, it was a continuum- a band- all around the galleryseeing this huge space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/when-i-showed-black-and-the-red-iii-in-malm-sweden-it-was-a-continuum/)

[Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

[Explore all 6 Nancy Spero quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/)

## More Arena quotes

> [The sidelines are not where you want to live your life. The world needs you in the arena!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/the-sidelines-are-not-where-you-want-to-live-your-life-the-world/)

[Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/)

> [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/)

[Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/)

> [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [Cannes is a sort of gladiators' arena, and that's the fun part of it. When you accept to come here to open the festival,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-dahan/cannes-is-a-sort-of-gladiators-arena-and-that-s-the-fun-part-of-it/)

[Olivier Dahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-dahan/)

> [ We're striving to stay in the arenas. We \[Papa Roach\] had just little things that just took our show a step up and were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-palermo/we-re-striving-to-stay-in-the-arenas-we-papa-roach-had-just-little/)

[Tony Palermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-palermo/)

> [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/)

[Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/)

> [I've never liked talking about my personal life, ever. Ever since I was 20, I've lived in a kind of public arena; and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/i-ve-never-liked-talking-about-my-personal-life-ever-ever-since-i-was/)

[Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/)

> [Every NBA arena has six cameras in the ceiling. The question is what does the software do with video feeds? How to surface that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/every-nba-arena-has-six-cameras-in-the-ceiling-the-question-is-what/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Most of my films I call arena films. I deal with a confined area -- an arena -- and I try to cover every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/most-of-my-films-i-call-arena-films-i-deal-with-a-confined-area-an/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [If you're also in the arena and you're putting your ideas out and you're owning them and you're saying "I disagree with you about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/if-you-re-also-in-the-arena-and-you-re-putting-your-ideas-out-and-you/)

[Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/)

> [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/)

[David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/)

> [The rules of survival never change, whether you're in a desert or in an arena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/the-rules-of-survival-never-change-whether-you-re-in-a-desert-or-in/)

[Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/)

> [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/we-live-in-a-very-pluralistic-society-today-there-are-buddhists/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

> [I just like playing music and doing it with people that I care about. It doesn't really matter where. It's like, 'Why don't we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-klinghoffer/i-just-like-playing-music-and-doing-it-with-people-that-i-care-about/)

[Josh Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-klinghoffer/)

> [Successful weight management really means a permanent change in lifestyle - and success in this arena provides that person with a great opportunity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/successful-weight-management-really-means-a-permanent-change-in/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

Browse all 674 Arena quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m privileged in that arena to protest or say publicly what I’m thinking about. Maybe the strongest work I’ve done is because it was done with indignation. Considering myself as a feminist, I don’t want my work to be a reaction to what male art might be or what art with a capital A would be. I just want it to be art. In a convoluted way, I am protesting- protesting the usual way art is looked at, being shoved into a period or category.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nancy Spero"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a-protest-i-see-things-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arena"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a-protest-i-see-things-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/nancy-spero-56278_arena_i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a_1326366.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I guess maybe my art can be said to be a protest. I see things a certain way, and as an artist I’m…” — Nancy Spero",
                "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": "Nancy Spero",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I guess maybe my art can...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a-protest-i-see-things-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-guess-maybe-my-art-can-be-said-to-be-a-protest-i-see-things-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
