--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The very freedom and expressiveness we…" description: "\"The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in life we find present in art.\" — Nicholas Wolterstorff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png" --- # The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in… ![“The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in life we find present in art.” quote by Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png) > “The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in life we find present in art.” [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art provides the liberty and expressiveness lacking in everyday life, offering a space for authentic self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Art gives freedom missing in daily life. Key Takeaway Engage with art to experience true expressiveness. Themes art freedom expression creativity Mood thoughtful encouraging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative workshops - education curricula - personal therapy - community projects Key Concepts authenticity human flourishing aesthetic experience Questions to Reflect On - How does art fill gaps in your life? - What forms of art best convey freedom for you? A Different Perspective Art may not be accessible to everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Expressiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressiveness/) [Expressiveness Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressiveness-missing-6048920/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Expressiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-expressiveness-6048919/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Present Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-art-1509598/) ## Related quotes > [To be present - really, truly present - in art and life requires empathizing with uncertainty and wrestling with risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-greenwald/to-be-present-really-truly-present-in-art-and-life-requires/) [Andy Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-greenwald/) > [The recognition of the art that informs all pure science need not mean the abandonment for it of all present art, rather it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/the-recognition-of-the-art-that-informs-all-pure-science-need-not/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [It is the death of present art when it returns again and again to the model. Use of the model is only an intermediate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/it-is-the-death-of-present-art-when-it-returns-again-and-again-to-the/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [I love the idea of web design that maximises expressiveness over functionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-robinson/i-love-the-idea-of-web-design-that-maximises-expressiveness-over/) [Porter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-robinson/) > [“The deeper the feeling the less demonstrative will be the expression of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-deeper-the-feeling-the-less-demonstrative-will-be-the-expression/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [ “Clover\['s\] eyes are full of language.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/clover-s-eyes-are-full-of-language/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“He was startled, but there was that about him which made it impossible to show what he felt, an instant and utter reflex of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellery-queen/he-was-startled-but-there-was-that-about-him-which-made-it-impossible/) [Ellery Queen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellery-queen/) > [“Expressiveness in others enriched Mrs. Singer's confidence in her own interpretations, possibly because a certain fear that she had not accomplished anything in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/expressiveness-in-others-enriched-mrs-singer-s-confidence-in-her-own/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Thus the feeling I sometimes have - which all of us who work closely with aphasiacs have - that one cannot lie to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/thus-the-feeling-i-sometimes-have-which-all-of-us-who-work-closely/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [Thought without language, says Lavelle, would not be a purer thought; it would be no more than the intention to think. And his last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/thought-without-language-says-lavelle-would-not-be-a-purer-thought-it/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [Everyone longs for expressiveness. That's why love carries so much weight. Because so many lives are without other means of expressiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/everyone-longs-for-expressiveness-that-s-why-love-carries-so-much/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [You need to express things stronger today, more so than in the Baroque time, and you need to expand the expressiveness of the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michala-petri/you-need-to-express-things-stronger-today-more-so-than-in-the-baroque/) [Michala Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michala-petri/) > [A very intimate sense of the expressiveness of outward things, which ponders, listens, penetrates, where the earlier, less developed consciousness passed lightly by, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/a-very-intimate-sense-of-the-expressiveness-of-outward-things-which/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [“another motive as well—namely, to preserve her voice, which had a quality of expressiveness I have rarely encountered. Customarily she spoke with a soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/another-motive-as-well-namely-to-preserve-her-voice-which-had-a/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [“Sometimes a smile, a giggle can say more than words do; words are not that articulate. And if you use words where a smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/sometimes-a-smile-a-giggle-can-say-more-than-words-do-words-are-not/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) ## More by Nicholas Wolterstorff > [“But we all suffer. For we all prize and love; and in this present existence of ours, prizing and loving yield suffering. Love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/but-we-all-suffer-for-we-all-prize-and-love-and-in-this-present/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“Why are the photographs of him as a little boy so incredibly hard to look at? Something is over. Now instead of those shiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/why-are-the-photographs-of-him-as-a-little-boy-so-incredibly-hard-to/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“Technology does make possible advance toward shalom; progress in mastery of the world can bring shalom nearer. But the limits of technology must also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/technology-does-make-possible-advance-toward-shalom-progress-in/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [I Shall Look At The World Through Tears. Perhaps I Shall See Things That, Dry-Eyed, I Could Not See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/i-shall-look-at-the-world-through-tears-perhaps-i-shall-see-things/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [We strain to hear. But instead of hearing an answer we catch sight of God himself scraped and torn. Through our tears we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/we-strain-to-hear-but-instead-of-hearing-an-answer-we-catch-sight-of/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [In the valley of suffering, despair and bitterness are brewed. But there also character is made. The valley of suffering is the vale of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/in-the-valley-of-suffering-despair-and-bitterness-are-brewed-but/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [The tears of God are the meaning of history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/the-tears-of-god-are-the-meaning-of-history/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“I am at an impasse, and you, O God, have brought me here...From my earliest days, I have believed in you. I shared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/i-am-at-an-impasse-and-you-o-god-have-brought-me-here-from-my/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [And what of regrets? I shall live with them. I shall accept my regrets as part of my life, to be numbered among my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/and-what-of-regrets-i-shall-live-with-them-i-shall-accept-my-regrets/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [Faith is a footbridge that you don't know will hold you up over the chasm until you're forced to walk out onto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/faith-is-a-footbridge-that-you-don-t-know-will-hold-you-up-over-the/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [Choice is always performed against a background of habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/choice-is-always-performed-against-a-background-of-habit/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [How is faith to endure, O God, when you allow all this scraping and tearing on us? You have allowed rivers of blood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/how-is-faith-to-endure-o-god-when-you-allow-all-this-scraping-and/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“Will my eyes adjust to this darkness? Will I find you in the dark – not in the streaks of light which remain, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/will-my-eyes-adjust-to-this-darkness-will-i-find-you-in-the-dark-not/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. ... It is said of God that no one can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/god-is-not-only-the-god-of-the-sufferers-but-the-god-who-suffers-it/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“Many are the scholars who make it their professional occupation to occupy themselves in this towering edifice of culture, exploring its nook and crannies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/many-are-the-scholars-who-make-it-their-professional-occupation-to/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) [Explore all 16 Nicholas Wolterstorff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) ## 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": "The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in life we find present in art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Wolterstorff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-find-missing-in-life-we-find/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-find-missing-in-life-we-find/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/nicholas-wolterstorff-31748_art_the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-f_3219887.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very freedom and expressiveness we find missing in life we find present in art.” — Nicholas Wolterstorff", "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": "Nicholas Wolterstorff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The very freedom and expressiveness we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-find-missing-in-life-we-find/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/the-very-freedom-and-expressiveness-we-find-missing-in-life-we-find/#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 } } ] } ```