--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be an artist is to enter into…" description: "\"“To be an artist is to enter into competition with god.”\" — Patti Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg" --- # To be an artist is to enter into competition with god. ![“To be an artist is to enter into competition with god.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg) > ““To be an artist is to enter into competition with god.”” [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. Being an artist means challenging divine or ultimate standards, striving to create beyond ordinary limits. **In simple terms:** Artists compete with the highest ideals. Key Takeaway Push creative boundaries beyond the ordinary. Themes creativity spirituality competition self‑transcendence Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - music composition Key Concepts artistic expression philosophical ambition human potential Questions to Reflect On - What does “competition with god” mean to you? - How does this drive artistic innovation? A Different Perspective The notion of competition with God may alienate some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Enter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-enter-4826496/) [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Competition God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition-god-2558000/) [Enter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enter/) [Enter Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enter-competition-648282/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/an-artist-is-somebody-who-enters-into-competition-with-god/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [You enter every competition wanting to go as far as you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasper-schmeichel/you-enter-every-competition-wanting-to-go-as-far-as-you-can/) [Kasper Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasper-schmeichel/) > [You don't enter a competition not to win it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-young/you-don-t-enter-a-competition-not-to-win-it/) [Ashley Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-young/) > [“An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God. The guy who built the Tower of Babel was the first artist. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/an-artist-is-somebody-who-enters-into-competition-with-god-the-guy/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Pride is competition-competition between God and Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/pride-is-competition-competition-between-god-and-man/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [But I think you have to - whatever the environment looks like, it does enter into people's art work one way or another; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/but-i-think-you-have-to-whatever-the-environment-looks-like-it-does/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [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/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am an outsider looking in, absolutely. You're not going to see me at the Academy Awards 'Vanity Fair' party any time soon. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/i-am-an-outsider-looking-in-absolutely-you-re-not-going-to-see-me-at/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [When I work, I'm thinking in terms of purely visual effects and relations, and any verbal equivalent is something that comes afterwards. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/when-i-work-i-m-thinking-in-terms-of-purely-visual-effects-and/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > [We enter the world alone, we leave the world alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/we-enter-the-world-alone-we-leave-the-world-alone/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The cardinal rule for any performer is that they should know themselves before they enter the spotlight, and I didn't. I was just Neil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/the-cardinal-rule-for-any-performer-is-that-they-should-know/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [Schools that are to cater for the whole population must offer courses that are as rich and varied as are the needs and abilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fraser/schools-that-are-to-cater-for-the-whole-population-must-offer-courses/) [Peter Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-fraser/) > [“I'll enter first." "I'm the hunter", Elena reminded him. "I should go first" "Of course you may go first. When I'm dead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-ll-enter-first-i-m-the-hunter-elena-reminded-him-i-should-go-first/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [Enter into the activities of the world, without getting overjoyed by success or totally put out by failure. Whether they love you or hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enter-into-the-activities-of-the-world-without-getting-overjoyed-by/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## 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": "“To be an artist is to enter into competition with god.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patti Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competition-with-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competition-with-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3a/patti-smith-394_art_to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competi_1387586.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be an artist is to enter into competition with god.” — 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": "“To be an artist is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competition-with-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/to-be-an-artist-is-to-enter-into-competition-with-god/#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 } } ] } ```