--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, these are really dedicated people…" description: "\"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 h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/paul-laffoley-7077_archives_i-mean-these-are-really-dedicated-people_1355532.jpg" --- # I mean, these are really dedicated people \[in Lovecraft… ![“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/i/b7e/paul-laffoley-7077_archives_i-mean-these-are-really-dedicated-people_1355532.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/paul-laffoley-7077_archives_i-mean-these-are-really-dedicated-people_1355532.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/paul-laffoley-7077_archives_i-mean-these-are-really-dedicated-people_1355532.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 are Pickman's paintings." I said, "I thought this was like something he made up, like The Necronomicon, that kind of stuff." And he said no, that the guy actually existed.” [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker discovers that Pickman's paintings, thought fictional, are real, challenging assumptions about myth versus reality. **In simple terms:** Pickman's paintings are real, not fictional. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about fiction. Themes myth reality discovery Mood inquisitive analytical Type educational exploratory When to use this quote - museum tours - academic study - creative writing - fan conventions Key Concepts art history literary myth archival research Questions to Reflect On - How do we verify artistic myths? - What impact does real art have on literary legends? A Different Perspective Real artifacts may be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archives/) [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Librarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarian/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I belong to the Lovecraft Society, which meets at the University. They do things like follow in Lovecraft's footsteps, just like he followed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-belong-to-the-lovecraft-society-which-meets-at-the-university-they/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [H.P.Lovecraft could've been trying to do a Marx to Hegel, that kind of thing, in other words, turn the thing upside down and crawl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/h-p-lovecraft-could-ve-been-trying-to-do-a-marx-to-hegel-that-kind-of/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ It's called "Pickman's Mephitic Models," based on the story \[Pickman's Model by H. P. Lovecraft\].Certain things about it many people don't realize. Pickman was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/it-s-called-pickman-s-mephitic-models-based-on-the-story-pickman-s/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-think-h-p-lovecraft-knew-the-whole-gamut-he-just-didn-t-believe-any/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ In other words, \[ H.P. Lovecraft\] was areligious, asexual, neurasthenic, he just didn't want to react to the world. Like Virginia Woolf, who considered… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/in-other-words-h-p-lovecraft-was-areligious-asexual-neurasthenic-he/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ Now, we know this is what \[H.P.\] Lovecraft was into. Because he kept talking about how he wasn't interested in religion. In a heaven… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/now-we-know-this-is-what-h-p-lovecraft-was-into-because-he-kept/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ \[H.P.Lovecraft\] 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/h-p-lovecraft-is-thrust-into-some-kind-of-outer-space-realm-like-here/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/the-whole-thing-that-dante-alighieri-did-was-summed-up-in-the/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/when-i-was-at-brown-in-other-words-i-d-heard-about-h-p-lovecraft-but/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-think-h-p-lovecraft-recognized-what-he-was-dealing-with-he-was/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-started-with-pickman-s-model-because-it-was-about-boston-i-mean/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ \[Nikola Tesla\] 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/nikola-tesla-said-he-had-no-interest-in-the-spiritual-he-didn-t/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-say-that-it-s-probably-impossible-for-a-lot-of-people-to-even/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/you-know-mick-jagger-s-sympathy-for-the-devil-i-think-it-was-inspired/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ For years \[H.P\] Lovecraft was defined as an atheist. Well, he wasn't saying anything about what he really was at all. He wasn't even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/for-years-h-p-lovecraft-was-defined-as-an-atheist-well-he-wasn-t/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) ## More by Paul Laffoley > [ I first heard of \[Orfeo Angelucci\] from Giuseppe Conti who gave me some books by him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-first-heard-of-orfeo-angelucci-from-giuseppe-conti-who-gave-me-some/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/the-whole-thing-that-dante-alighieri-did-was-summed-up-in-the/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/you-know-mick-jagger-s-sympathy-for-the-devil-i-think-it-was-inspired/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-15-my-father-revolted-against-his-father-like-any-teenager-and/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [At one time in the mid-'70s I became the president of the Boston-Cambridge chapter of the World Future Society. Because I'd been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-one-time-in-the-mid-70s-i-became-the-president-of-the-boston/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ The Babson Institute, which is now an actual university, was started by this guy \[my father\] who also had a problem with believing in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/the-babson-institute-which-is-now-an-actual-university-was-started-by/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [As a kid, I was getting information in areas that no one else was getting. I think that was one of the reasons my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/as-a-kid-i-was-getting-information-in-areas-that-no-one-else-was/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ Stephen Hawking won \[Babson Institute competition \] one year with his black hole stuff. It's keeping an open mind on whether gravity exists or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/stephen-hawking-won-babson-institute-competition-one-year-with-his/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-say-that-it-s-probably-impossible-for-a-lot-of-people-to-even/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [My father was an extremely brilliant man. I consider him a genius, and so he probably could have joined Mensa. But why? I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/my-father-was-an-extremely-brilliant-man-i-consider-him-a-genius-and/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ \[My father\] 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/my-father-was-always-saying-i-d-end-up-like-my-grandfather-okay-my/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ From the time of Dante \[Alighieri\], when you have the Ptolemaic universe, you had God on the outside like a hypersphere, and then in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/from-the-time-of-dante-alighieri-when-you-have-the-ptolemaic-universe/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ Walter C. Wright has a more cogent presentation than my father did about \[gravity\] being a push. But he had the same basic belief,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/walter-c-wright-has-a-more-cogent-presentation-than-my-father-did/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ I would say \[to my father\], "Why don't you actually take some courses in physics instead of saying \[you are not believing in gravity\]?"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-say-to-my-father-why-don-t-you-actually-take-some-courses-in/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [ I began to analyze the movie \[The Day the Earth Stood Still\] and said it was really made out of these two characters \[Nikola… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-began-to-analyze-the-movie-the-day-the-earth-stood-still-and-said/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) [Explore all 95 Paul Laffoley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) ## More Archives quotes > [Research promoted by NARA within a major coalition of Federal and private sector research partners has at last demonstrated that an Electronic Records Archives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-weinstein/research-promoted-by-nara-within-a-major-coalition-of-federal-and/) [Allen Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-weinstein/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) Michael Atherton > [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/) [C. 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I have been free to read his journals, diaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/over-the-last-two-years-i-have-been-able-to-comb-through-the-prince-s/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [We may observe in some of the abrupt grounds we meet with, sections of great masses of strata, where it is as easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-may-observe-in-some-of-the-abrupt-grounds-we-meet-with-sections-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I went to the archives to see what Dumbo work there was, not for current film, but just for my love of animation. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sohn/i-went-to-the-archives-to-see-what-dumbo-work-there-was-not-for/) Peter Sohn > [Whether it's your own material or somebody else's material, it's essential that you identify with it thoroughly. It's like you want to archive it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stookey/whether-it-s-your-own-material-or-somebody-else-s-material-it-s/) [Paul Stookey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stookey/) [Browse all 164 Archives quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archives/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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? 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