--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All artists and creative people are…" description: "\"All artists and creative people are basically unhappy people. If you were happy, that would mean you were content with the world as it was and why woul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f5/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_all-artists-and-creative-people-are-basi_1050242.png" --- # All artists and creative people are basically unhappy… ![“All artists and creative people are basically unhappy people. If you were happy, that would mean you were content with the world as it was and why would you ever want to change it?” quote by Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f5/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_all-artists-and-creative-people-are-basi_1050242.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f5/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_all-artists-and-creative-people-are-basi_1050242.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f5/peter-schjeldahl-12992_art_all-artists-and-creative-people-are-basi_1050242.png) > “All artists and creative people are basically unhappy people. If you were happy, that would mean you were content with the world as it was and why would you ever want to change it?” [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative dissatisfaction fuels the desire to reshape reality, making unhappiness a catalyst for artistic innovation. **In simple terms:** Unhappiness drives creators to change the world. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort as a source of inspiration. Themes creativity discontent innovation Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - design - social activism Key Concepts existentialism artistic drive Questions to Reflect On - How does discomfort inspire your work? - Can content coexist with creativity? A Different Perspective Unhappiness can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-people/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Happy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-people/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Unhappy people needs your smile more than Happy people do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vianka-van-bokkem/unhappy-people-needs-your-smile-more-than-happy-people-do/) [Vianka Van Bokkem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vianka-van-bokkem/) > [“We are a society of notoriously unhappy people: lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, dependent — people who are glad when we have killed the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/we-are-a-society-of-notoriously-unhappy-people-lonely-anxious/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The exit from agony is always there. 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Once you realize that, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-j-grande/bullies-are-ultimately-unhappy-people-who-try-to-inflict-pain-and/) [Frankie J. Grande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-j-grande/) > [I understand why creative people like dark, but American audiences dont like dark. They like story. They do not respond to nervous breakdowns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/i-understand-why-creative-people-like-dark-but-american-audiences/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [“Happy people generally are more forgiving, helpful, and charitable, have better self-control, and are more tolerant of frustration than unhappy people, while unhappy people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/happy-people-generally-are-more-forgiving-helpful-and-charitable-have/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [I think the Muslim religious is a little too tight. It doesn't fit humans. Humans can't possibly fit into it, so there are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/i-think-the-muslim-religious-is-a-little-too-tight-it-doesn-t-fit/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [In order to run a great business, you must know that a bunch of really intrinsically unhappy people, that's not a recipe for success.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-fleetwood/in-order-to-run-a-great-business-you-must-know-that-a-bunch-of-really/) [Mick Fleetwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-fleetwood/) > [A lot of people love what I do and a lot of people don't like or hate my style, so it's external - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demian-maia/a-lot-of-people-love-what-i-do-and-a-lot-of-people-don-t-like-or-hate/) [Demian Maia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demian-maia/) > [I think that in free societies, and we're constantly talking about living in free societies, aren't we, in contradiction with unhappy people who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-that-in-free-societies-and-we-re-constantly-talking-about/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) ## More by Peter Schjeldahl > [A word is a thought, of course. But any image, including a photograph, may become an instrument of sufficiently lucid cogitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/a-word-is-a-thought-of-course-but-any-image-including-a-photograph/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Artists are people who are subject to irrational convictions of the sacred. Baudelaire said that an artist is a child who has acquired adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-people-who-are-subject-to-irrational-convictions-of-the/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [You don't need everybody to agree with you, but you do need a few people. And by this point I have a fairly high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/you-don-t-need-everybody-to-agree-with-you-but-you-do-need-a-few/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I think being interested is really what being civilized is about. I mean, you have to be conscious of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-think-being-interested-is-really-what-being-civilized-is-about-i/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Beauty is a physiological reaction. Beauty is not an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/beauty-is-a-physiological-reaction-beauty-is-not-an-object/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I have painted enough to have a lot of respect for mediocre painters. It's really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-have-painted-enough-to-have-a-lot-of-respect-for-mediocre-painters/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Artists are sometimes in a position to tell the truth, but they're positioned as a Cassandra. They're gifted with impeccable prophecy and the assurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-sometimes-in-a-position-to-tell-the-truth-but-they-re/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [The aesthetic experience has to be given. And beauty is a regular experience of every person - every person who is not clinically depressed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/the-aesthetic-experience-has-to-be-given-and-beauty-is-a-regular/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Everything I've learned about art was (a) because I was actually interested, or (b) I was actually interested in covering my ass because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/everything-i-ve-learned-about-art-was-a-because-i-was-actually/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Matisse can make you hate your life for its comparatively insipid joys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/matisse-can-make-you-hate-your-life-for-its-comparatively-insipid-joys/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Beauty makes us more like ourselves and more like each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/beauty-makes-us-more-like-ourselves-and-more-like-each-other/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Everybody's got plants, but most are just growing weeds. The cultivated have greater gardens, finer and gaudier gardens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/everybody-s-got-plants-but-most-are-just-growing-weeds-the-cultivated/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [I find that the mask of the critic is to have distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-find-that-the-mask-of-the-critic-is-to-have-distance/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Picasso had nicknamed Georges Braque "Wilbur," thereby becoming "Orville" in their Wright Brothers-like ambition to get painting off the ground of conventional representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/picasso-had-nicknamed-georges-braque-wilbur-thereby-becoming-orville/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [Artists are expected to talk about their work but writers aren't expected to talk about their writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/artists-are-expected-to-talk-about-their-work-but-writers-aren-t/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) [Explore all 52 Peter Schjeldahl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) ## 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. 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