Impossible Quote by Paul Laffoley
“I would say that it's probably impossible for a lot of people to even think what H.P. Lovecraft's theological state was.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Art and Philosophy Podcast, 2015
Understanding an artist’s spiritual beliefs is often impossible due to their complex, private nature.
In simple terms: Artists’ beliefs are hard to know.
Key Takeaway
Accept uncertainty and focus on their work.
Themes
art
philosophy
spirituality
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
analytical
When to use this quote
- art criticism
- creative workshops
- academic research
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
existentialism
mysticism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does an artist’s unknown spirituality affect interpretation?
- Can art stand alone without knowing the creator’s beliefs?
A Different Perspective
Assuming certainty can misrepresent the artist’s intent.
![“I think [H. P. Lovecraft] knew the whole gamut. He just didn't believe any of it! He probably liked to use the esoteric stuff because he knew it would tick people off and freak them out.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f1b/paul-laffoley-7077_believe_i-think-h-p-lovecraft-knew-the-whole-gam_2392914.jpg)
![“I think [H.P. Lovecraft] recognized what he was dealing with, he was dealing with demons. And he was dealing with creatures that're suffering. There's no way out of this suffering.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/30b/paul-laffoley-7077_creatures_i-think-h-p-lovecraft-recognized-what-he_1239860.jpg)
![“When I was at Brown. In other words, I'd heard about [H.P. Lovecraft], but I didn't pay that much attention till I happened to go to a meeting about it. And then I got just totally turned on.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b87/paul-laffoley-7077_attention_when-i-was-at-brown-in-other-words-i-d-h_1277057.jpg)
![“I mean, these are really dedicated people [in Lovecraft Society] when it comes to [h.P.] Lovecraft. But in the top floor of the John Hay Library, you have all of Lovecraft's archives. And messing around in there, I noticed, I said, what are these paintings? And the librarian told me, "Well, those…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b7e/paul-laffoley-7077_archives_i-mean-these-are-really-dedicated-people_1355532.jpg)
![“[H.P.Lovecraft] is thrust into some kind of outer space realm, like here [pointing toward the painting in progress]. In other words, he's recognized he's gone through R'lyeh, the Sunken City of R'lyeh, and then Cthulhu, the extraterrestrial, calls his band of worshippers home to recognize him as…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/464/paul-laffoley-7077_anti-christ_h-p-lovecraft-is-thrust-into-some-kind-o_1509500.jpg)
![“I started with "Pickman's Model," because it was about Boston. I mean, what I loved about [H. P. Lovecraft], at first is his sense of scholarship of an area, setting an environment, enlivening it. I think that's one of the secrets of writing.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c64/paul-laffoley-7077_areas_i-started-with-pickman-s-model-because-i_699330.jpg)
![“[Nikola Tesla] said he had no interest in the spiritual. He didn't believe in telepathy, didn't believe in any of that stuff, didn't believe in any religion, and he just thought all these people were being superstitious and wanted them to go away. And in that way he was very close to H.P…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b16/paul-laffoley-7077_atheist_nikola-tesla-said-he-had-no-interest-in_504374.jpg)
![“I first heard of [Orfeo Angelucci] from Giuseppe Conti who gave me some books by him.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b19/paul-laffoley-7077_book_i-first-heard-of-orfeo-angelucci-from-gi_53732.jpg)
![“The whole thing that Dante [Alighieri] did was summed up in the medieval world. It's like St. Thomas Aquinas, the Summa Theologica. He didn't invent it, he just put it all in one package. You get twelve fat books there sitting in any library. Whereas... I think if Joshi thinks [H.P.] Lovecraft was…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a35/paul-laffoley-7077_book_the-whole-thing-that-dante-alighieri-did_82075.jpg)
![“You know, Mick Jagger's "Sympathy for the Devil." I think it was inspired by that [H.P.Lovecraft stories]. You don't know who's reading what, you know. It just comes out once in a while in the pop culture.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b25/paul-laffoley-7077_culture_you-know-mick-jagger-s-sympathy-for-the_104239.jpg)
![“At 15 [my father] revolted against his father like any teenager, and said, "I'm out of here! What are you doing to me?" He thought he wouldn't be involved in that kind of stuff for the rest of his life. He just wanted to make money. He was one of those people who took over the family…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a7c/paul-laffoley-7077_borrowed_at-15-my-father-revolted-against-his-fat_149241.jpg)
![“The Babson Institute, which is now an actual university, was started by this guy [my father] who also had a problem with believing in gravity. And so he started the Babson Institute in New Boston, New Hampshire, which then moved to Gloucester. Each year they have a competition of one thousand…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cc2/paul-laffoley-7077_believe_the-babson-institute-which-is-now-an-act_213586.jpg)
![“Stephen Hawking won [Babson Institute competition ] one year with his black hole stuff. It's keeping an open mind on whether gravity exists or not. I think my father believed this because ... when the wind blew on him, he'd get angry, because it was something he couldn't control.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d2f/paul-laffoley-7077_angry_stephen-hawking-won-babson-institute-com_267232.jpg)
![“[My father] was always saying I'd end up like my grandfather. Okay. My grandfather was an architect, I'm an architect. It's true, certain characteristics are similar.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/683/paul-laffoley-7077_architect_my-father-was-always-saying-i-d-end-up-l_329214.jpg)
![“From the time of Dante [Alighieri], when you have the Ptolemaic universe, you had God on the outside like a hypersphere, and then in the center you have the Earth, all the seven heavens and layers, and then you have the Mount of Purgatory and Hell right in the center, and here's Satan flapping his…” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/df2/paul-laffoley-7077_earth_from-the-time-of-dante-alighieri-when-yo_360603.jpg)
![“Walter C. Wright has a more cogent presentation than my father did about [gravity] being a push. But he had the same basic belief, that the idea of magnetism attracting something was not the reason why the effects of what we call gravity occur.” quote by Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8a2/paul-laffoley-7077_belief_walter-c-wright-has-a-more-cogent-presen_373692.jpg)
