--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing you have to remember about…" description: "\"“The thing you have to remember about artists...is never to trust their immediate response. Whatever the news, their reaction will be self-protective. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e01/norman-lebrecht-125870_art_the-thing-you-have-to-remember-about-art_1781602.jpg" --- # The thing you have to remember about artists...is never to… ![“The thing you have to remember about artists...is never to trust their immediate response. Whatever the news, their reaction will be self-protective. The mask goes on, and you see only what they let you see. These creatures carry their emotions around in a violin-case, reserving their only honest…” quote by Norman Lebrecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e01/norman-lebrecht-125870_art_the-thing-you-have-to-remember-about-art_1781602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e01/norman-lebrecht-125870_art_the-thing-you-have-to-remember-about-art_1781602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e01/norman-lebrecht-125870_art_the-thing-you-have-to-remember-about-art_1781602.jpg) > ““The thing you have to remember about artists...is never to trust their immediate response. Whatever the news, their reaction will be self-protective. The mask goes on, and you see only what they let you see. These creatures carry their emotions around in a violin-case, reserving their only honest expression for the public stage. In private, they turn emotion on and off at will. Never believe an artist when he weeps or declares love. It's all a grand performance. Treat their upsets as you would a child's tantrums. Console, then instruct. Show compassion when it's called for, firmness when it runs out. Give them an illusion of your love for them - but never love itself, or they will devour you.”” Norman Lebrecht ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists often mask true feelings, presenting a performative self; their private emotions are controlled and selective. **In simple terms:** Artists hide real emotions behind performance. Key Takeaway Treat artists with balanced compassion and realistic expectations. Themes trust emotions performance relationships boundaries Mood cautious empathetic Type Art:1 Artist:1 Love:0 Remember Artists:0 Honest Expression:0 Emotions Violin:0 Emotion Believe:0 Artist Weeps:0 When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative collaborations - mentoring artists Key Concepts self-protection public persona emotional labor Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine vulnerability from performance? - What boundaries protect both parties? A Different Perspective Artists may genuinely feel; deception is not always intentional. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Try to remember that artists in these catastrophic times, along with the serious scientists, are the only salvation for us, if there is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/try-to-remember-that-artists-in-these-catastrophic-times-along-with/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [The hardest thing to get is true emotion. I always believe you need to earn that with the audience. You can't just tell them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/the-hardest-thing-to-get-is-true-emotion-i-always-believe-you-need-to-2/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [I do believe abstraction is and was meant to embody deep emotion. I believe that's its job, in the history of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-scully/i-do-believe-abstraction-is-and-was-meant-to-embody-deep-emotion-i/) [Sean Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-scully/) > [“Remember, as artists we don't know diddly. We're winging it every day. For us to try to second-guess our Muse the way a hack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/remember-as-artists-we-don-t-know-diddly-we-re-winging-it-every-day/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Make sure the gift you want to share with the world is an honest expression of what's in your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/make-sure-the-gift-you-want-to-share-with-the-world-is-an-honest/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [It is more important to me to make art that is an honest expression of my life than it is to make pictures people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-porcellino/it-is-more-important-to-me-to-make-art-that-is-an-honest-expression/) [John Porcellino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-porcellino/) > [You only get honest expression when I spit in your ear; That means even when I'm dissing you I'm being sincere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-be-lo/you-only-get-honest-expression-when-i-spit-in-your-ear-that-means/) [One Be Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/one-be-lo/) > [I'm committed to an honest expression, not necessarily a performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrianne-lenker/i-m-committed-to-an-honest-expression-not-necessarily-a-performance/) [Adrianne Lenker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrianne-lenker/) > [All martial arts is simply an honest expression of one's body - with a lot of deception in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/all-martial-arts-is-simply-an-honest-expression-of-one-s-body-with-a/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [All martial art is simply an honest expression of one's body — with a lot of deception in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/all-martial-art-is-simply-an-honest-expression-of-one-s-body-with-a/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Artists make art for themselves. Art is an honest expression. Artists who pander to their fans by trying to make music “for” their fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/artists-make-art-for-themselves-art-is-an-honest-expression-artists/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [I'm inspired by anyone who's honest in their own expression, people who truly beat to the rhythm of their own drum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-zinser/i-m-inspired-by-anyone-who-s-honest-in-their-own-expression-people/) [Gillian Zinser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-zinser/) > [Honestly, the most vulnerable part of my life is probably just honest expression, as cliché as that might sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/honestly-the-most-vulnerable-part-of-my-life-is-probably-just-honest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Every new conversation, every new relationship, brings new challenges and opportunities for honest expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/every-new-conversation-every-new-relationship-brings-new-challenges/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## 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. 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