--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...the right to free expression is…" description: "\"...the right to free expression is something one seizes, not something one is given… if it does exist, it exists to be used against the established ord..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/pablo-picasso-552_absolutes_the-right-to-free-expression-is-somethin_2978133.jpg" --- # ...the right to free expression is something one seizes… ![“...the right to free expression is something one seizes, not something one is given… if it does exist, it exists to be used against the established order… There is absolute opposition between the artist and the state.” quote by Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/pablo-picasso-552_absolutes_the-right-to-free-expression-is-somethin_2978133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/pablo-picasso-552_absolutes_the-right-to-free-expression-is-somethin_2978133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/pablo-picasso-552_absolutes_the-right-to-free-expression-is-somethin_2978133.jpg) > “...the right to free expression is something one seizes, not something one is given… if it does exist, it exists to be used against the established order… There is absolute opposition between the artist and the state.” [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free expression is seized, not given, to challenge authority. **In simple terms:** Expression is a tool against power. Key Takeaway Use art to question the status quo. Themes art politics freedom of speech Mood defiant inspirational Type political philosophical When to use this quote - protests - public installations - media campaigns Key Concepts activism revolutionary art Questions to Reflect On - How can art responsibly challenge power? - What risks accompany dissent? A Different Perspective May provoke backlash or censorship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-opposition-1402569/) [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-state-3675499/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Expression Seizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression-seizes-4617757/) [Free expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Opposition Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition-artist-4617756/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [As regards the Liberal doctrines, the attitude of Fascism is one of absolute opposition both in the political and in the economical field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/as-regards-the-liberal-doctrines-the-attitude-of-fascism-is-one-of/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [An artist is always in the state of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/an-artist-is-always-in-the-state-of-becoming/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Freedom demands that we struggle for an extension of both equality and free expression, not regard one as inimical to the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/freedom-demands-that-we-struggle-for-an-extension-of-both-equality/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [I have I guess 3 passions. One is the Constitution. The other is jazz and the other is being an atheist prolifer which, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-have-i-guess-3-passions-one-is-the-constitution-the-other-is-jazz/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-free-expression-of-the-hopes-and-aspirations-of-a-people-is-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [No, nothing is sacred. 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Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [How odd that the proponents of free expression think 'free' only applies to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/how-odd-that-the-proponents-of-free-expression-think-free-only/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [“In our haste to disseminate news, it should not be forgotten that the Framers intended copyright itself to be the engine of free expression.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-weinstock-netanel/in-our-haste-to-disseminate-news-it-should-not-be-forgotten-that-the/) [Neil Weinstock Netanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-weinstock-netanel/) > [The Human Rights Act is not a terrorists' charter. It enables ordinary citizens to seek redress when the government breaches fundamental freedoms enshrined in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-human-rights-act-is-not-a-terrorists-charter-it-enables-ordinary/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) > [ \[Christian rebellion\] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/christian-rebellion-arises-from-the-doctrine-of-mankind-made-in-the/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [After the revolution the borders were left open. Pens were free, expression was free, political parties were free. Even if these people are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayatollah-khomeini/after-the-revolution-the-borders-were-left-open-pens-were-free/) [Ayatollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayatollah-khomeini/) > [In a nation as dynamic and diverse as the United States, what makes us great is that our founding principles are rooted in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/in-a-nation-as-dynamic-and-diverse-as-the-united-states-what-makes-us/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [“Character gains through its expression, and loses through its repression. Love grows through its expression. Sympathy grows through its expression. Knowledge grows through its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay-trumbull/character-gains-through-its-expression-and-loses-through-its/) [Henry Clay Trumbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay-trumbull/) ## More by Pablo Picasso > [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/) > [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [One never knows what one is going to do. One starts a painting and then it becomes something quite different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/one-never-knows-what-one-is-going-to-do-one-starts-a-painting-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Now there is fame! Of all - hunger, misery, the incomprehension by the public - fame is by far the worst. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/now-there-is-fame-of-all-hunger-misery-the-incomprehension-by-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [It takes a long time to become young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/it-takes-a-long-time-to-become-young/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/we-all-know-that-art-is-not-truth-art-is-a-lie-that-makes-us-realize/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [You see these thick curtains shut out the daylight: artificial light suits me a great deal better; it's absolutely steady, and much more exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/you-see-these-thick-curtains-shut-out-the-daylight-artificial-light/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The best calculation is the absence of calculation. Once you have attained a certain level of recognition, others generally figure that when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-best-calculation-is-the-absence-of-calculation-once-you-have/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Action is the foundational key to all success. --Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/action-is-the-foundational-key-to-all-success-pablo-picasso/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The earth doesn't have a housekeeper to do the dusting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-earth-doesn-t-have-a-housekeeper-to-do-the-dusting/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/god-is-really-only-another-artist-he-invented-the-giraffe-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/a-baby-will-make-love-stronger-days-shorter-nights-longer-bankroll/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Explore all 477 Pablo Picasso quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. 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I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/those-are-decisions-only-the-lord-will-make-i-believe-the-love-of-god/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“The Gods know what it is to be eternal, and they love to toy with mortals who use absolutes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/the-gods-know-what-it-is-to-be-eternal-and-they-love-to-toy-with/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [The only "definitive truth" for Buddhism is the absolute negation of any one truth as the Definitive Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/the-only-definitive-truth-for-buddhism-is-the-absolute-negation-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The nature of the Absolute is neither perceptible nor imperceptible; and with phenomena it is just the same. 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