--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I…" description: "\"I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look at that painting and I want it to affect you in some way, to change what you see, to change ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/pat-steir-31386_art_i-m-purposeless-i-m-making-art-because-i_3168117.jpg" --- # I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look… ![“I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look at that painting and I want it to affect you in some way, to change what you see, to change how you see it. To change how you see something, whatever.” quote by Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/pat-steir-31386_art_i-m-purposeless-i-m-making-art-because-i_3168117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/pat-steir-31386_art_i-m-purposeless-i-m-making-art-because-i_3168117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92b/pat-steir-31386_art_i-m-purposeless-i-m-making-art-because-i_3168117.jpg) > “I'm purposeless. I'm making art because I want you to look at that painting and I want it to affect you in some way, to change what you see, to change how you see it. To change how you see something, whatever.” [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist admits creating work without a clear purpose, aiming instead to provoke viewers’ perception and emotional response, emphasizing art’s power to shift viewpoints. **In simple terms:** He makes art to change how people see things. Key Takeaway Create work that challenges and expands audience perception. Themes art perception purpose emotion creativity Mood thought‑provoking introspective creative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public installations - art education workshops Key Concepts Aesthetic theory viewer engagement intentional ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - How does intentional ambiguity affect viewer interpretation? - What responsibilities do artists have toward their audience? A Different Perspective Lack of defined purpose may hinder artistic direction or audience connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Purposeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purposeless/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think of myself as making art. I do what I do because I want to, because painting is the best way I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-making-art-i-do-what-i-do-because-i-want/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! 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The enlarged version is so changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rowe/make-a-small-painting-of-what-you-want-to-do-and-project-it-up-on-a/) [Jim Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rowe/) > [The process is only a means to an end-creating the painting I want. It doesn't mean anything itself. It's only a way of creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-process-is-only-a-means-to-an-end-creating-the-painting-i-want-it/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [“It is the last painting that I want to do, but I want to surpass myself in it. I am putting into it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/it-is-the-last-painting-that-i-want-to-do-but-i-want-to-surpass/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [In a painting I want to say something comforting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-a-painting-i-want-to-say-something-comforting/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I don't life to imitate art. I want life to be art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldyna-threesya/i-don-t-life-to-imitate-art-i-want-life-to-be-art/) [Aldyna Threesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldyna-threesya/) > [People will always need art and want fashion as a way of channeling their inner selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/people-will-always-need-art-and-want-fashion-as-a-way-of-channeling/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) > [I guess that's the big challenge of any art: Do you want to be something for everyone or everything for someone?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ross-bowie/i-guess-that-s-the-big-challenge-of-any-art-do-you-want-to-be/) [John Ross Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ross-bowie/) > [Just give us 50 years where we're the only ones who are allowed to profit from art, and then you can do whoever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/just-give-us-50-years-where-we-re-the-only-ones-who-are-allowed-to/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [What kind of art do I want to make? What do I stand for? What inspires me? And then to have people in return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-hervey/what-kind-of-art-do-i-want-to-make-what-do-i-stand-for-what-inspires/) [Jillian Hervey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-hervey/) > [Even if it's a song I know isn't gonna do that well, I'm dropping it as a piece of art, so I always want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj-tracey/even-if-it-s-a-song-i-know-isn-t-gonna-do-that-well-i-m-dropping-it/) [AJ Tracey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aj-tracey/) > [Artists make their work to be seen by others. Well, really we do it to please ourselves, but whatever your art is, you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/artists-make-their-work-to-be-seen-by-others-well-really-we-do-it-to/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) ## More by Pat Steir > [Art as a political gesture is committed to making something beautiful, and then understanding what beauty is in your own time, because what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/art-as-a-political-gesture-is-committed-to-making-something-beautiful/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [Art is the most important way of recording history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/art-is-the-most-important-way-of-recording-history/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [Every piece of art will be if it's lucky enough to be dug up, if there's anything to dig up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/every-piece-of-art-will-be-if-it-s-lucky-enough-to-be-dug-up-if-there/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [Art is a way you discover the past, and so it brings the past into the present and the future. That's why we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/art-is-a-way-you-discover-the-past-and-so-it-brings-the-past-into-the/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [I have my moods, but I can always see something beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/i-have-my-moods-but-i-can-always-see-something-beautiful/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [The spiritual in my art is giving up control. My paintings are based on what I can do, and what I can do is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/the-spiritual-in-my-art-is-giving-up-control-my-paintings-are-based/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [I consider my work non-objective and I think abstract is an abstraction of something, like a landscape. Abstraction means something is abstracted. It relates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/i-consider-my-work-non-objective-and-i-think-abstract-is-an/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [To handle paint the way Pollock did, you need the muscularity of a ballet dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/to-handle-paint-the-way-pollock-did-you-need-the-muscularity-of-a/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [Everything you do on Earth is political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/everything-you-do-on-earth-is-political/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [Painting is an object, but it's also a voice. I don't see them as objects; I see them as voices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/painting-is-an-object-but-it-s-also-a-voice-i-don-t-see-them-as/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [When you see the holy halo around the holy heads on holy paintings - the halo is a bright light so you can't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/when-you-see-the-holy-halo-around-the-holy-heads-on-holy-paintings/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [We live in a time when people are afraid of beauty, because beauty passes; you can't hang on to it. And even if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/we-live-in-a-time-when-people-are-afraid-of-beauty-because-beauty/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [An artist needs to become familiar with that which is most hidden from the self by the self. For this one thing which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/an-artist-needs-to-become-familiar-with-that-which-is-most-hidden/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [I want art to affect the viewer and for the viewer to take it away to enhance, embrace, and elevate life. That's the spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/i-want-art-to-affect-the-viewer-and-for-the-viewer-to-take-it-away-to/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [I have a friend who says a beautiful painting can cure headaches, but I want it to cure a little bit more! I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/i-have-a-friend-who-says-a-beautiful-painting-can-cure-headaches-but/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) [Explore all 16 Pat Steir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) ## 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": "I'm purposeless. 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