--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is an artist's duty to reflect the…" description: "\"“It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.”\" — Nina Simone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png" --- # It is an artist's duty to reflect the times. ![“It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.” quote by Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png) > ““It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.”” [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists should mirror contemporary issues in their work **In simple terms:** Artists reflect current times Key Takeaway Create work that comments on today Themes art society responsibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery shows - public murals - social media campaigns - political art Key Concepts cultural critique social commentary Questions to Reflect On - How does your art speak to current events? - What responsibilities do artists have to society? A Different Perspective May be limited by personal bias or censorship ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It's an artist's duty to reflect the times in which we live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-times-in-which-we-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/you-can-t-help-it-an-artist-s-duty-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-is-to/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [There is a Nina Simone quote, 'It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.' This quote is everything to me and I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/there-is-a-nina-simone-quote-it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/how-can-you-be-an-artist-and-not-reflect-the-times/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [It's interesting how thrillers reflect the times we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/it-s-interesting-how-thrillers-reflect-the-times-we-live-in/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) > [“Love me, love me, love me, Say you do. Let me fly away with you. For my love is like the wind, And wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-washington/love-me-love-me-love-me-say-you-do-let-me-fly-away-with-you-for-my/) Ned Washington > [The most powerful element is that a designer has to reflect the times. So often you can only sense a change, and not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-menkes/the-most-powerful-element-is-that-a-designer-has-to-reflect-the-times/) [Suzy Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-menkes/) > [If the function of the artist is to see, the first duty of the critic is to understand what the artist saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-e-h-macdonald/if-the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-see-the-first-duty-of-the-critic/) [J. E. H. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-e-h-macdonald/) > [It is an artist's duty to be on the wrong end of the see-saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-childish/it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-be-on-the-wrong-end-of-the-see-saw/) [Billy Childish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-childish/) > [An artist's duty is rather to stay open-minded and in a state where he can receive information and inspiration. You always have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/an-artist-s-duty-is-rather-to-stay-open-minded-and-in-a-state-where/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [The artist has a duty to be calm. He has no right to show his emotion, his involvement, to go pouring it all out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/the-artist-has-a-duty-to-be-calm-he-has-no-right-to-show-his-emotion/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“A writer is lost when he grows interested in such questions as 'what is art?' and 'what is an artist's duty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/a-writer-is-lost-when-he-grows-interested-in-such-questions-as-what/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I think carrying moral baggage is very dangerous for an artist. If you have a duty, it's to be true and not cover up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bono/i-think-carrying-moral-baggage-is-very-dangerous-for-an-artist-if-you/) [Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bono/) > [The artist's duty to himself is a combination of immense responsibility and immense irresponsibility. I think those two interlock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/the-artist-s-duty-to-himself-is-a-combination-of-immense/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [I'm not a politician. I don't know how to solve the problems of the world. But as an artist, I have one duty: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-m-not-a-politician-i-don-t-know-how-to-solve-the-problems-of-the/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) ## More by Nina Simone > [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [My love is like the wind and wild is the wind. Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness. Let the wind blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/my-love-is-like-the-wind-and-wild-is-the-wind-give-me-more-than-one/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I can't stand loud guitars that make me deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-can-t-stand-loud-guitars-that-make-me-deaf/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I don't like to go to strange places. I was in Italy for about five hours on my way to Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-don-t-like-to-go-to-strange-places-i-was-in-italy-for-about-five/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [We have ordered things so long in a certain way, we are numb. Nobody dares question it. This is what is wrong, symbolically, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/we-have-ordered-things-so-long-in-a-certain-way-we-are-numb-nobody/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I wasn't a jazz player, but a classical musician, and I improvised arrangements of popular songs using classical motifs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-wasn-t-a-jazz-player-but-a-classical-musician-and-i-improvised/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I think the rich will eventually have to cave in too, because the economic situation around the world is not gonna tolerate the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-think-the-rich-will-eventually-have-to-cave-in-too-because-the/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [There's no excuse for the young...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/there-s-no-excuse-for-the-young/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/everything-that-happened-to-me-as-a-child-involved-music-it-was-part/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [When I was studying... there weren't any black concert pianists. My choices were intuitive, and I had the technique to do it. People have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/when-i-was-studying-there-weren-t-any-black-concert-pianists-my/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/you-have-to-learn-to-get-up-from-the-table-when-love-is-not-being/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [That's a very high goal to have, study eight hours a day to be a concert pianist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/that-s-a-very-high-goal-to-have-study-eight-hours-a-day-to-be-a/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/don-t-let-me-be-misunderstood-a-song-that-was-written-for-simone-she/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/this-is-the-world-you-have-made-yourself-now-you-have-to-live-in-it/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-ll-tell-you-what-freedom-is-to-me-no-fear-i-mean-really-no-fear/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) [Explore all 132 Nina Simone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## 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": "“It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nina Simone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-times/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-times/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/nina-simone-3396_art_it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-ti_2084099.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is an artist's duty to reflect the times.” — Nina Simone", "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": "Nina Simone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is an artist's duty to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-times/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/it-is-an-artist-s-duty-to-reflect-the-times/#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 } } ] } ```