--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And yet the artist will go on with his…" description: "\"And yet the artist will go on with his work without knowing in some way if any of his representations are sound or unsound. The artist knows nothing wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/plato-103_art_and-yet-the-artist-will-go-on-with-his-w_2236459.jpg" --- # And yet the artist will go on with his work without… ![“And yet the artist will go on with his work without knowing in some way if any of his representations are sound or unsound. The artist knows nothing worth mentioning about the subjects he represents, and that art is a form of play, not to be taken seriously.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/plato-103_art_and-yet-the-artist-will-go-on-with-his-w_2236459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/plato-103_art_and-yet-the-artist-will-go-on-with-his-w_2236459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/plato-103_art_and-yet-the-artist-will-go-on-with-his-w_2236459.jpg) > “And yet the artist will go on with his work without knowing in some way if any of his representations are sound or unsound. The artist knows nothing worth mentioning about the subjects he represents, and that art is a form of play, not to be taken seriously.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is a playful activity, not a serious pursuit, and the artist lacks deep knowledge of his subjects. **In simple terms:** Art is a game, not a serious study. Key Takeaway Recognize art’s playful nature. Themes art play knowledge seriousness Mood contemplative skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - art criticism - creative workshops - educational settings Key Concepts epistemology aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Is all art frivolous? - How does playfulness affect artistic value? A Different Perspective May undervalue the cultural impact of art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-form/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-knows-506348/) [Artist Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-work/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Represents Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/represents-art-3619476/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Unsound Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsound-artist-5051574/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I want to be remembered as a guy who goes out and represents the art of jiu-jitsu.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demian-maia/i-want-to-be-remembered-as-a-guy-who-goes-out-and-represents-the-art/) [Demian Maia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demian-maia/) > [You know, for a long time being a heavily tattooed woman was viewed as something gross, or you're either a criminal or a drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-von-d/you-know-for-a-long-time-being-a-heavily-tattooed-woman-was-viewed-as/) [Kat Von D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-von-d/) > [Hence it is from the representation of things spoken by means of posture and gesture that the whole of the art of dance has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/hence-it-is-from-the-representation-of-things-spoken-by-means-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The artist is the only one who knows that the world is a subjective creation, that there is a choice to be made, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-artist-is-the-only-one-who-knows-that-the-world-is-a-subjective/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [One travels so as to learn once more how to marvel at life in the way a child does. 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I'm not doing this for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-just-a-pop-artist-but-someone-who-knows/) [Robyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn/) > [The ideal artist is he who knows everything, feels everything, experiences everything, and retains his experience in a spirit of wonder and feeds upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bellows/the-ideal-artist-is-he-who-knows-everything-feels-everything/) [George Bellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bellows/) > [No artist knows everything... but since every artist knows more than he can tell, all art is lying by omission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/no-artist-knows-everything-but-since-every-artist-knows-more-than-he/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/a-craftsman-knows-in-advance-what-the-finished-result-will-be-while/) [W. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## 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. 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