--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I see people making 'abstract'…" description: "\"When I see people making 'abstract' painting, I think it's just a dialogue and a dialogue isn't enough. That is to say, there is you painting and this ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/philip-guston-13611_abstract_when-i-see-people-making-abstract-painti_2833070.jpg" --- # When I see people making 'abstract' painting, I think it's… ![“When I see people making 'abstract' painting, I think it's just a dialogue and a dialogue isn't enough. That is to say, there is you painting and this canvas. I think there has to be a third thing; it has to be a trialogue.” quote by Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/philip-guston-13611_abstract_when-i-see-people-making-abstract-painti_2833070.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/philip-guston-13611_abstract_when-i-see-people-making-abstract-painti_2833070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c8/philip-guston-13611_abstract_when-i-see-people-making-abstract-painti_2833070.jpg) > “When I see people making 'abstract' painting, I think it's just a dialogue and a dialogue isn't enough. That is to say, there is you painting and this canvas. I think there has to be a third thing; it has to be a trialogue.” [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abstract art needs dialogue; a third element creates a trialogue, enriching meaning. **In simple terms:** Art needs more than just dialogue. Key Takeaway Encourage collaborative creation. Themes art dialogue collaboration creativity Mood analytical creative Type theoretical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - art workshops - creative brainstorming Key Concepts aesthetics communication Questions to Reflect On - How can a third perspective enhance art? - What risks arise from adding more voices? A Different Perspective Too many voices can dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-painting/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Canvas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas/) [Canvas Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canvas-think-3281588/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-think-706725/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Say Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-painting-1897866/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) ## Related quotes > [I hope and dream the time will come when serious artists will make marvelous pictures that will love and live in life-like manner and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winsor-mccay/i-hope-and-dream-the-time-will-come-when-serious-artists-will-make/) [Winsor McCay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winsor-mccay/) > [Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/abstract-painting-is-abstract-it-confronts-you-there-was-a-reviewer-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult. It demands that you know how to draw well, that you have a heightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/of-all-the-arts-abstract-painting-is-the-most-difficult-it-demands/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Painting is a duality and abstract painting is an entirely aesthetic thing. It always remains on one level. It is only really interesting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-is-a-duality-and-abstract-painting-is-an-entirely-aesthetic/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [That’s the huge problem with an abstract painting. When are you done? You’re done when you don’t want to do it anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sillman/that-s-the-huge-problem-with-an-abstract-painting-when-are-you-done/) [Amy Sillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sillman/) > [A lot of my work is about what's abstract and what's pictorial. Is it bubblegum, or is it an abstract painting using bubblegum? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-is-about-what-s-abstract-and-what-s-pictorial-is-it/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [I guess I have no motivation to make an abstract painting, even if they sometimes read as abstract. I think, with abstraction, it's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-guess-i-have-no-motivation-to-make-an-abstract-painting-even-if/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [I began in 1976, with small abstract paintings that allowed me to do what I had never let myself do: put something down at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-began-in-1976-with-small-abstract-paintings-that-allowed-me-to-do/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [When I'm not working on a children's book, I'm painting abstract paintings. That's probably the most joyous thing for me as an artist. 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"Don't patronize me." "No, really, Your Highness. When you started painting five years ago, I could never tell what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-re-getting-better-my-lady-don-t-patronize-me-no-really-your/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Something sacred, that's it. We ought to be able to say that such and such a painting is as it is, with its capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/something-sacred-that-s-it-we-ought-to-be-able-to-say-that-such-and/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) ## More by Philip Guston > [That's what I mean by something grips in a canvas. The moment that happens you are then sucked into the whole thing. Like some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/that-s-what-i-mean-by-something-grips-in-a-canvas-the-moment-that/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Then you learn about composition, you learn about old masters, you form certain ideas about structure. But the inhuman activity of trying to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/then-you-learn-about-composition-you-learn-about-old-masters-you-form/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [I go to the studio everyday because one day I may go and the Angel will be there. What if I don't go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/i-go-to-the-studio-everyday-because-one-day-i-may-go-and-the-angel/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [Sometimes I scrape off a lot. 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No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) [Anthony W. Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-w-ivins/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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