--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art doesn't come in measured quantities…" description: "\"Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be too much or it's not enough.\" — Pauline Kael" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg" --- # Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be… ![“Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be too much or it's not enough.” quote by Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg) > “Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be too much or it's not enough.” [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art cannot be measured; it must be either overwhelming or insufficient, never just right. **In simple terms:** Art is either too much or not enough. Key Takeaway Accept the impossibility of perfect balance. Themes art measurement excess Mood analytical critical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - gallery c - creative projects - art criticism Key Concepts Aesthetics subjectivity creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - When does excess become detrimental? - Can minimalism be powerful? A Different Perspective Some art thrives on restraint. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Quantities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quantities/) ## Related quotes > [I have a very, very healthy relationship with food in that I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I never restrict quantities or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-have-a-very-very-healthy-relationship-with-food-in-that-i-eat/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [We turn to quantities when we can't compare the qualities of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/we-turn-to-quantities-when-we-can-t-compare-the-qualities-of-things/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Arms cannot be regarded as merchandise in our world. They should be delivered to the peoples asking for them for use against the common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/arms-cannot-be-regarded-as-merchandise-in-our-world-they-should-be/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [Numbers are the product of counting. Quantities are the product of measurement. This means that numbers can conceivably be accurate because there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/numbers-are-the-product-of-counting-quantities-are-the-product-of/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Wherever there are qualities there are likewise quantities, but not always vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/wherever-there-are-qualities-there-are-likewise-quantities-but-not/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [The more I study the things of the mind the more mathematical I find them. In them as in mathematics it is a question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/the-more-i-study-the-things-of-the-mind-the-more-mathematical-i-find/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [ He \[Bernardo Bertolucci\] has the kind of talent that breaks one's heart: where can it go, what will happen to it? In this country… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/he-bernardo-bertolucci-has-the-kind-of-talent-that-breaks-one-s-heart/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Energy is one topic on which different countries can work together collaboratively. If we can all produce energy from an element that's available in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/energy-is-one-topic-on-which-different-countries-can-work-together/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Potato-chip news' is news that's repetitive, requires little effort to absorb, and is consumable in massive quantities: true crime, natural disasters, political punditry, celebrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/potato-chip-news-is-news-that-s-repetitive-requires-little-effort-to/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [If we emit massive quantities of untested chemicals into the environment, some of them are bound to end up in places that surprise us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/if-we-emit-massive-quantities-of-untested-chemicals-into-the/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [People simply don't have room, physical room, to keep, for instance, 2-inch tape in the sort of quantities that are required to hold a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mason/people-simply-don-t-have-room-physical-room-to-keep-for-instance-2/) [Nick Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mason/) > [Cows, after leaving the low lands near the coast, are found to be plentiful everywhere, and to produce milk in small quantities, from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cows-after-leaving-the-low-lands-near-the-coast-are-found-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My plat de resistance is potato salad with garlic and olive oil which we press from the olives from my trees in the grounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-reno/my-plat-de-resistance-is-potato-salad-with-garlic-and-olive-oil-which/) [Jean Reno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-reno/) > [At my heaviest, I was 5'8" and 175 pounds. I ate well, but in too large quantities, and I rarely made a concerted effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/at-my-heaviest-i-was-5-8-and-175-pounds-i-ate-well-but-in-too-large/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [Of course, the kind of support that Cuba could give us was very limited when it came to building up our army, since they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ortega/of-course-the-kind-of-support-that-cuba-could-give-us-was-very/) [Daniel Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ortega/) ## More by Pauline Kael > [The worst thing about movie-making is that it's like life: nobody can go back to correct the mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-worst-thing-about-movie-making-is-that-it-s-like-life-nobody-can/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Movies have been doing so much of the same thing - in slightly different ways - for so long that few of the possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/movies-have-been-doing-so-much-of-the-same-thing-in-slightly/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/a-good-movie-can-take-you-out-of-your-dull-funk-and-the-hopelessness/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The movies have been so rank the last couple of years that when I see people lining up to buy tickets I sometimes think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-movies-have-been-so-rank-the-last-couple-of-years-that-when-i-see/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/movies-are-so-rarely-great-art-that-if-we-cannot-appreciate-great/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [If you use Hollywood as the test tissue for mankind, what could the prognosis be?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/if-you-use-hollywood-as-the-test-tissue-for-mankind-what-could-the/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/where-there-is-a-will-there-is-a-way-if-there-is-a-chance-in-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [What this generation was bred to at television's knees was not wisdom, but cynicism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/what-this-generation-was-bred-to-at-television-s-knees-was-not-wisdom/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Watching old movies is like spending an evening with those people next door. They bore us, and we wouldn't go out of our way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/watching-old-movies-is-like-spending-an-evening-with-those-people/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [I felt as if I had attended the funeral of someone I didn't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/i-felt-as-if-i-had-attended-the-funeral-of-someone-i-didn-t-know/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Protagonists are always loners, almost by definition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/protagonists-are-always-loners-almost-by-definition/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [if you think it so easy to be a critic, so difficult to be a poet or a painter or film experimenter, may I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/if-you-think-it-so-easy-to-be-a-critic-so-difficult-to-be-a-poet-or-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Writers who go to Hollywood still follow the classic pattern: either you get disgusted by 'them' and you leave or you want the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/writers-who-go-to-hollywood-still-follow-the-classic-pattern-either/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [Robert Redford ... has turned almost alarmingly blond-he's gone past platinum, he must be into plutonium; his hair is coordinated with his teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/robert-redford-has-turned-almost-alarmingly-blond-he-s-gone-past/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) [Explore all 96 Pauline Kael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) ## 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 > [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": "Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be too much or it's not enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pauline Kael" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities-it-s-got-to-be-too-much-or-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities-it-s-got-to-be-too-much-or-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/pauline-kael-6910_art_art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities_2084184.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art doesn't come in measured quantities: it's got to be too much or it's not enough.” — Pauline Kael", "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": "Pauline Kael", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art doesn't come in measured quantities:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities-it-s-got-to-be-too-much-or-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/art-doesn-t-come-in-measured-quantities-it-s-got-to-be-too-much-or-it/#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 } } ] } ```