---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The interesting artists I know are the…"
description: "\"The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the people who care about politics.\" — Nell Zink"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg"
---

#  The interesting artists I know are the ones doing…

![“The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the people who care about politics.” quote by Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg)

> “The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the people who care about politics.”

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

## About This Quote

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

Artists who engage with politics are seen as most compelling, and those who care about politics are considered the most interesting people.

**In simple terms:** Political engagement makes artists and people interesting.

Key Takeaway

Value political awareness in art and life.

Themes

art politics creativity social engagement

Mood

thoughtful inspired

Type

observational commentary

When to use this quote

- gallery openings
- community meetings
- activist events
- media interviews

Key Concepts

civic responsibility artistic expression public discourse

Questions to Reflect On

- How does political art influence public opinion?
- What responsibilities do artists have to society?

A Different Perspective

Political art can alienate audiences who prefer escapism.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Interesting people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [I should have written more. I should have written more during the period when I just liked so much doing the political work in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-should-have-written-more-i-should-have-written-more-during-the/)

[Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/)

> [London was an exciting place to work at one point because, socially, it was very progressive - a catalyst. There were very interesting artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ofili/london-was-an-exciting-place-to-work-at-one-point-because-socially-it/)

[Chris Ofili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ofili/)

> [I wouldn't be happy to be a specialist. There are some very interesting artists in history who refused to be nailed down into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/i-wouldn-t-be-happy-to-be-a-specialist-there-are-some-very/)

[Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/)

> [Geeks are generally the most interesting people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wood/geeks-are-generally-the-most-interesting-people/)

[Elijah Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wood/)

> [The thing that is most interesting about people is the way they are when no one is looking at them or the way they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/the-thing-that-is-most-interesting-about-people-is-the-way-they-are/)

[Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/)

> [I was once asked if I'd like to meet the president of a certain country. I said, "No, but I'd love to meet some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/i-was-once-asked-if-i-d-like-to-meet-the-president-of-a-certain/)

[James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/)

> [Other people have suggested that I write about teens because I'm perpetually stuck in that stage of my own development. That could very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/other-people-have-suggested-that-i-write-about-teens-because-i-m/)

[Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/)

> [The most interesting people are never perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/the-most-interesting-people-are-never-perfect/)

[David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/)

> [Everybody thought New York was this hard, cruel place, and I found it to be an extraordinarily wonderful place filled with the most interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benton/everybody-thought-new-york-was-this-hard-cruel-place-and-i-found-it/)

[Robert Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benton/)

> [I actually think some of my best moments in life have been while I was with people from Instagram - whether it's super late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-systrom/i-actually-think-some-of-my-best-moments-in-life-have-been-while-i/)

[Kevin Systrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-systrom/)

> [The most interesting people I know drink in life and savor every drop-the sweet and the sour. The good and the bad. The planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luci-swindoll/the-most-interesting-people-i-know-drink-in-life-and-savor-every-drop/)

[Luci Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luci-swindoll/)

> [The truth is the best brands, like the most interesting people, have a keen sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-d-alessandro/the-truth-is-the-best-brands-like-the-most-interesting-people-have-a/)

[David F. D'Alessandro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-d-alessandro/)

> [and that, in the end, the most interesting people always leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/and-that-in-the-end-the-most-interesting-people-always-leave/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [A woman called me interesting once, and it kind of blew my mind. She said, 'You're one of the most interesting people I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-woman-called-me-interesting-once-and-it-kind-of-blew-my-mind-she/)

[Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/)

> [Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schmich/don-t-feel-guilty-if-you-don-t-know-what-you-want-to-do-with-your/)

[Mary Schmich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schmich/)

## More by Nell Zink

> [“They should build a monument,” Cary said. “All the times I got my ass beat to a pulp so the youth of today could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/they-should-build-a-monument-cary-said-all-the-times-i-got-my-ass/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [“I saw that I had followed the chief guiding principle of the petty bourgeoisie in modernity and made a virtue of necessity in telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-saw-that-i-had-followed-the-chief-guiding-principle-of-the-petty/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [I never take pictures. Skies are much larger in reminiscences and my friends are much better-looking. Photos crop reality into little squares; instead, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-never-take-pictures-skies-are-much-larger-in-reminiscences-and-my/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [People wanted to get me published, and my early work was so weird that they weren't getting anywhere. I thought, okay, I'll do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/people-wanted-to-get-me-published-and-my-early-work-was-so-weird-that/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [I'm enough of an anarchist aesthetically, when it comes to art - I want people to be reading my stuff voluntarily. They should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-m-enough-of-an-anarchist-aesthetically-when-it-comes-to-art-i-want/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [I'd say it's never a challenge to present white and heteronormative privilege. The hard thing is to write any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-d-say-it-s-never-a-challenge-to-present-white-and-heteronormative/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [I really like writing in English, and it's the best job I've ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-really-like-writing-in-english-and-it-s-the-best-job-i-ve-ever-had/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [“Why shouldn’t loving puppets be a revolutionary act, in a world where so many people love drone warfare?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/why-shouldn-t-loving-puppets-be-a-revolutionary-act-in-a-world-where/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [What's important is the tolerance. If people are not beating other people up, or shooting them for being different, then that's progress. Even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/what-s-important-is-the-tolerance-if-people-are-not-beating-other/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [I have known many people who were seduced as children by same-sex partners and then spent their teen years being gay, and then found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-have-known-many-people-who-were-seduced-as-children-by-same-sex/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [Human beings are just way more complex than they'd like to be. They like to be simple machines. And they'll set up fantasy scenarios…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/human-beings-are-just-way-more-complex-than-they-d-like-to-be-they/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [In the rural South, the only interesting people were the sexual deviants. Everybody else was able to be part of the mainstream, and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/in-the-rural-south-the-only-interesting-people-were-the-sexual/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [“I mean No South. You can’t have ‘New’ and ‘South.’ It’s oxymoronic. I’m talking about the No South. The unstoppable force that’s putting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/i-mean-no-south-you-can-t-have-new-and-south-it-s-oxymoronic-i-m/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [“For jobs and men, it’s a seller’s market. There are no other fish in the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/for-jobs-and-men-it-s-a-seller-s-market-there-are-no-other-fish-in/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

> [There are terrible things that never get easier, and there are things even more terrible that get easier with time and repetition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/there-are-terrible-things-that-never-get-easier-and-there-are-things/)

[Nell Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

[Explore all 21 Nell Zink quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/)

## 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": "The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the people who care about politics.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nell Zink"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-ones-doing-political-work-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-ones-doing-political-work-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f43/nell-zink-26443_art_the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-o_573897.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The interesting artists I know are the ones doing political work. The most interesting people I know are the…” — Nell Zink",
                "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": "Nell Zink",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-zink/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The interesting artists I know are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-ones-doing-political-work-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-zink/the-interesting-artists-i-know-are-the-ones-doing-political-work-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
