--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great art is not a matter of presenting…" description: "\"Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the contradictions, tragedies, [and] insights of the p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg" --- # Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or… ![“Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the contradictions, tragedies, [and] insights of the period that the impact is at once disturbing and satisfying.” quote by Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg) > “Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the contradictions, tragedies, \[and\] insights of the period that the impact is at once disturbing and satisfying.” [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great art must capture the era’s contradictions and tragedies, delivering both discomfort and fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Art should show both conflict and insight, making us feel uneasy yet satisfied. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in creative work. Themes art contradiction history emotion Mood provocative reflective Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - museum curation - film direction - literary analysis - social commentary Key Concepts Aesthetic theory cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How does conflict enhance artistic impact? - When does complexity become overwhelming? A Different Perspective May alienate audiences seeking simple narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Art Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-matter-592936/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Contradictions Tragedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions-tragedies-592935/) [Disturbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disturbing/) [Disturbing Satisfying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disturbing-satisfying-592937/) [Great art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-art/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Presenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presenting/) [Satisfying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfying/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Tragedies Insights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedies-insights-592938/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Art is a matter strictly of experience, not of principles and what counts first and last in art is quality, all other things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/art-is-a-matter-strictly-of-experience-not-of-principles-and-what/) [Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/) > [If buying art is to matter to us deeply, then it has to engage with our emotions and bring something to what one might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/if-buying-art-is-to-matter-to-us-deeply-then-it-has-to-engage-with/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Good art, no matter how simple or casual-seeming, always carries a high density of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/good-art-no-matter-how-simple-or-casual-seeming-always-carries-a-high/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Science is a matter of adjusting language to explain material reality. Art is a matter of adjusting material reality to create a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/science-is-a-matter-of-adjusting-language-to-explain-material-reality/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [“When art is not only a matter of inspiring colors and techniques but a permanent questioning of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latino-professional-network/when-art-is-not-only-a-matter-of-inspiring-colors-and-techniques-but/) [Latino Professional Network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latino-professional-network/) > [I was asked in 1969 by Lucy Lippard to define art. I think at the time I said that art was a matter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-shafrazi/i-was-asked-in-1969-by-lucy-lippard-to-define-art-i-think-at-the-time/) [Tony Shafrazi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-shafrazi/) > [“He can be so appreciative of all forms of art, but so matter-of-fact and unemotional about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/he-can-be-so-appreciative-of-all-forms-of-art-but-so-matter-of-fact/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [I tend not to work with a specific person in mind. Art is a matter of statistics. It's not about individuals. It's about people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-cattelan/i-tend-not-to-work-with-a-specific-person-in-mind-art-is-a-matter-of/) [Maurizio Cattelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-cattelan/) > [“Much later on, I read a statement of Bruce Nauman's: “Art is a matter of life and death.” It sounds melodramatic, but it's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/much-later-on-i-read-a-statement-of-bruce-nauman-s-art-is-a-matter-of/) [Marina Abramović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Art is all a matter of personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/art-is-all-a-matter-of-personality/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [“A pear, an apple, and a banana in a basket on a table isn’t art, no matter how skillfully painted. But it is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-pear-an-apple-and-a-banana-in-a-basket-on-a-table-isn-t-art-no/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [A work of art is not a matter of thinking beautiful thoughts or experiencing tender emotions , but of intelligence, skill, taste, proportion, knowledge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/a-work-of-art-is-not-a-matter-of-thinking-beautiful-thoughts-or/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The finest works of art are those in which there is the least matter. The closer expression comes to thought, the more the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-finest-works-of-art-are-those-in-which-there-is-the-least-matter/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Art is a serious matter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/art-is-a-serious-matter/) [umberto eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are only fools who believe that art is a serious matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-torma/there-are-only-fools-who-believe-that-art-is-a-serious-matter/) [Julien Torma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-torma/) ## More by Pauli Murray > [True community is based on upon equality, mutuality, and reciprocity. It affirms the richness of individual diversity as well as the common human ties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/true-community-is-based-on-upon-equality-mutuality-and-reciprocity-it/) [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) > [Black women, historically, have been doubly victimized by the twin immoralities of Jim Crow and Jane Crow. ... Black women, faced with these dual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/black-women-historically-have-been-doubly-victimized-by-the-twin/) [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) > [Hope is a song in a weary throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/hope-is-a-song-in-a-weary-throat/) [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) > [One person plus one typewriter constitutes a movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/one-person-plus-one-typewriter-constitutes-a-movement/) [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) > [What is often called exceptional ability is nothing more than persistent endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/what-is-often-called-exceptional-ability-is-nothing-more-than/) [Pauli Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) [Explore all 6 Pauli Murray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/) ## 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": "Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the contradictions, tragedies, [and] insights of the period that the impact is at once disturbing and satisfying.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pauli Murray" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting-one-side-or-another-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting-one-side-or-another-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/pauli-murray-57661_art_great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting_834967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great art is not a matter of presenting one side or another, but presenting a picture so full of the…” — Pauli Murray", "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": "Pauli Murray", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauli-murray/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great art is not a matter...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting-one-side-or-another-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauli-murray/great-art-is-not-a-matter-of-presenting-one-side-or-another-but/#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 } } ] } ```