--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As an artist, I never wanted to be…" description: "\"As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender nor recognized or defined as a female poet, musician or singer. They don't do that with men - nob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/patti-smith-394_art_as-an-artist-i-never-wanted-to-be-fetter_2007061.jpg" --- # As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender nor… ![“As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender nor recognized or defined as a female poet, musician or singer. They don't do that with men - nobody says Picasso, the male artist. Curators call me up and say, "We want your work to be in a show about women artists," and I'm like, why? For…” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/patti-smith-394_art_as-an-artist-i-never-wanted-to-be-fetter_2007061.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/patti-smith-394_art_as-an-artist-i-never-wanted-to-be-fetter_2007061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/patti-smith-394_art_as-an-artist-i-never-wanted-to-be-fetter_2007061.jpg) > “As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender nor recognized or defined as a female poet, musician or singer. They don't do that with men - nobody says Picasso, the male artist. Curators call me up and say, "We want your work to be in a show about women artists," and I'm like, why? For Christ's sake, do we have to attach a gender onto everything?” [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. She rejects gender labels that confine artistic identity, demanding equal treatment regardless of sex. **In simple terms:** Reject gender boxes for art. Key Takeaway Create work without gender bias. Themes gender equality artistic freedom identity Mood defiant thoughtful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - gallery curation - award nominations - media coverage - educational curricula Key Concepts Feminism social constructs Questions to Reflect On - How can artists challenge gender expectations? - What role do institutions play in reinforcing labels? A Different Perspective Some audiences may still demand categorization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attach Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attach-gender-3563182/) [Call me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/call-me/) [Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ/) [Curator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curator/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Fettered Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fettered-gender-3563181/) [Gender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender/) [Gender Recognized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gender-recognized-2695910/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Picasso Male](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picasso-male-3563180/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Singers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singers/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Woman artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-artist/) ## Related quotes > [In the end, we all seek one thing in life, regardless of gender: to be recognized for the hard work we have done and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/in-the-end-we-all-seek-one-thing-in-life-regardless-of-gender-to-be/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [Why are there no great women artists?' sounds as ignorant of human geography as the query 'Why are there no Eskimo tennis teams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/why-are-there-no-great-women-artists-sounds-as-ignorant-of-human/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [If painting is no longer needed, it seems a pity that some of us are born into the world with such a passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cassatt/if-painting-is-no-longer-needed-it-seems-a-pity-that-some-of-us-are/) [Mary Cassatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cassatt/) > [I look at a nude. There are myriads of tiny tints. I must find the ones that will make the flesh on my canvas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/i-look-at-a-nude-there-are-myriads-of-tiny-tints-i-must-find-the-ones/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [I came at a time where male artists where dominating, so I had to do something quick to get people's attention. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-saw/i-came-at-a-time-where-male-artists-where-dominating-so-i-had-to-do/) [Lady Saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-saw/) > [Women artists are still treated differently from men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/women-artists-are-still-treated-differently-from-men/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [I personally have never trusted museums. ... It is because museums, broadly speaking, live off of the art and artifacts of others, often art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-personally-have-never-trusted-museums-it-is-because-museums-broadly/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [It is helpful for a woman artist not to have a husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-is-helpful-for-a-woman-artist-not-to-have-a-husband/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Still, I wonder if more women artists, musicians and writers aren't household names because we don't have enough faith in our own pursuits to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/still-i-wonder-if-more-women-artists-musicians-and-writers-aren-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's an idea that it's hard to be a woman artist. People assume that women have fewer opportunities, less power. But it's not any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/there-s-an-idea-that-it-s-hard-to-be-a-woman-artist-people-assume/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [The bizarre but all too common transformation of the woman artist from a producer in her own right into a subject for representation forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-chadwick/the-bizarre-but-all-too-common-transformation-of-the-woman-artist/) [Whitney Chadwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-chadwick/) > [I paint flowers so they will not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-flowers-so-they-will-not-die/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I've had my bubblegum years and I did them well. Now it's time to come back as the woman, artist, and musician that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-cara/i-ve-had-my-bubblegum-years-and-i-did-them-well-now-it-s-time-to-come/) [Irene Cara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-cara/) > [ A woman artist could be one of those intuitive geniuses \[who\] have kept their childlike spirit and have added to it breadth of vision… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-stieglitz/a-woman-artist-could-be-one-of-those-intuitive-geniuses-who-have-kept/) [Alfred Stieglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-stieglitz/) > [I've always sought to express a tension in form and meaning in order to achieve a veracity. I have come to the conclusion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spero/i-ve-always-sought-to-express-a-tension-in-form-and-meaning-in-order/) [Nancy Spero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spero/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "As an artist, I never wanted to be fettered by gender nor recognized or defined as a female poet, musician or singer. They don't do that with men - nobody says Picasso, the male artist. Curators call me up and say, \"We want your work to be in a show about women artists,\" and I'm like, why? 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