--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good artist's always got his hand in…" description: "\"A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.\" — Patti Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg" --- # A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper. ![“A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg) > “A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## 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 engage in private, perhaps taboo, acts that influence their work, hinting at hidden personal quirks. **In simple terms:** Artists have secret habits that shape their art. Key Takeaway Acknowledge hidden influences. Themes creativity privacy humor artistic process taboo Mood playful edoking Type creative humorous When to use this quote - studio work - performance - interviews - creative brainstorming Key Concepts personal expression subconscious influence artistic authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What hidden habits affect your work? - How do private quirks shape public art? A Different Perspective May be misinterpreted as crude. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Good art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-art/) [Zipper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zipper/) [Zippers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zippers/) ## Related quotes > [Isn't your pants' zipper supposed to be in the front?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/isn-t-your-pants-zipper-supposed-to-be-in-the-front/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Ill buy an old jacket and attach gold buttons and a couple royal patches. Or Ill find an old busted sweatshirt, tear out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/ill-buy-an-old-jacket-and-attach-gold-buttons-and-a-couple-royal/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) > [The zipper opened all the way down our spines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-spines/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Nobody notices it when your zipper is up, but everyone notices when it's down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-lewis/nobody-notices-it-when-your-zipper-is-up-but-everyone-notices-when-it/) [Cynthia Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-lewis/) > [If zipper catches skin, I'll know I had it out when I should a kept it in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/if-zipper-catches-skin-i-ll-know-i-had-it-out-when-i-should-a-kept-it/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [So, we get into the first piece. Then, layer, layer, layer, do all of this. Then we jump into the trousers. Then I'm zip-tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-feore/so-we-get-into-the-first-piece-then-layer-layer-layer-do-all-of-this/) [Colm Feore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-feore/) > [I don't wait till stage to use my sexuality. My zipper's down right now. I mean, I use it all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/i-don-t-wait-till-stage-to-use-my-sexuality-my-zipper-s-down-right/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [I think, as most of us do, I put such high expectations on myself that this spills over onto other people. And not everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/i-think-as-most-of-us-do-i-put-such-high-expectations-on-myself-that/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) > [An artist has got to be constantly in a state of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/an-artist-has-got-to-be-constantly-in-a-state-of-becoming/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [An artist has got to be careful never really to arrive at a place where he thinks he's AT somewhere. You always have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/an-artist-has-got-to-be-careful-never-really-to-arrive-at-a-place/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I'm the only artist who got paid by Puff, like really, really, paid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mase/i-m-the-only-artist-who-got-paid-by-puff-like-really-really-paid/) [Mase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mase/) > [I was an artist before I got into interiors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/i-was-an-artist-before-i-got-into-interiors/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“An artist has got to get acquainted with himself just as much as he can. It is no easy job, for it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/an-artist-has-got-to-get-acquainted-with-himself-just-as-much-as-he/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [A silly row which got out of hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/a-silly-row-which-got-out-of-hand/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) ## More by Patti Smith > [I had a really happy childhood - my siblings were great, my mother was very fanciful, and I loved to read. But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) [Explore all 595 Patti Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## 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": "A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patti Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-his-zipper/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-his-zipper/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/patti-smith-394_art_a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-h_166841.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good artist's always got his hand in his zipper.” — Patti Smith", "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": "Patti Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good artist's always got his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-his-zipper/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/a-good-artist-s-always-got-his-hand-in-his-zipper/#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 } } ] } ```