--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whereas life separates meaning from…" description: "\"Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/robert-mckee-8479_aesthetic_whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emot_2959009.jpg" --- # Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites… ![“Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known as aesthetic emotion...Life on its own, without art to shape it, leaves you in confusion and chaos, but aesthetic emotion harmonizes what you know…” quote by Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/robert-mckee-8479_aesthetic_whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emot_2959009.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/robert-mckee-8479_aesthetic_whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emot_2959009.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fc/robert-mckee-8479_aesthetic_whereas-life-separates-meaning-from-emot_2959009.jpg) > “Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known as aesthetic emotion...Life on its own, without art to shape it, leaves you in confusion and chaos, but aesthetic emotion harmonizes what you know with what you feel to give you a heightened awareness and a sureness of your place in reality.” [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art bridges the gap between rational understanding and emotional experience, creating moments of insight that clarify our place in the world. **In simple terms:** Art connects mind and feeling for insight. Key Takeaway Use art to clarify and deepen perception. Themes creativity insight meaning emotion Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - music - theatre - personal reflection Key Concepts aesthetic emotion epiphanies harmonization Questions to Reflect On - How can you use art to resolve personal confusion? - What role does aesthetic emotion play in decision making? A Different Perspective Art may not resolve practical problems, only provide perspective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Aesthetic Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic-emotion-482149/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-art-626869/) [Emotion Harmonizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-harmonizes-4497214/) [Epiphany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphany/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Meaning Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-emotion-4497213/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion. Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/aesthetic-emotion-puts-man-in-a-state-favorable-to-the-reception-of/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [Without hugs seeing a face on a screen carries a weight of meaning and emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/without-hugs-seeing-a-face-on-a-screen-carries-a-weight-of-meaning/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [The painter doesn't try to reproduce the scene before him... he simplifies and eliminates until he knows exactly what stirred him, sets this down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/the-painter-doesn-t-try-to-reproduce-the-scene-before-him-he/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [The Puritan, of course, is not entirely devoid of aesthetic feeling. He has a taste for good form; he responds to style; he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-puritan-of-course-is-not-entirely-devoid-of-aesthetic-feeling-he/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Architecture is an art when one consciously or unconsciously creates aesthetic emotion in the atmosphere and when this enviroment produces well being”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-barragan/architecture-is-an-art-when-one-consciously-or-unconsciously-creates/) [Luis Barragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-barragan/) > [It is the mark of great art that its appeal is universal and eternal…… Great art remains stable and unobscure because the feelings that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-bell/it-is-the-mark-of-great-art-that-its-appeal-is-universal-and-eternal/) [Clive Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-bell/) > [So long as painting deals with objective nature, it is an impure art, for recognizability precludes the highest aesthetic emotion. All painting, ancient or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawren-harris/so-long-as-painting-deals-with-objective-nature-it-is-an-impure-art/) [Lawren Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawren-harris/) > [“We have no other means of recognising a work of art than our feeling for it. The objects that provoke aesthetic emotion vary with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-bell/we-have-no-other-means-of-recognising-a-work-of-art-than-our-feeling/) [Clive Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-bell/) > [Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in-which-emotion-is-expressed/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [“The emotion of art is impersonal. And the poet cannot reach this impersonality without surrendering himself wholly to the work to be done. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-3/the-emotion-of-art-is-impersonal-and-the-poet-cannot-reach-this/) [T S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-3/) > [Nature is a mere pretext for a decorative composition, plus sentiment. It suggests emotion, and I translate that emotion into art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/nature-is-a-mere-pretext-for-a-decorative-composition-plus-sentiment/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/a-work-of-art-which-did-not-begin-in-emotion-is-not-art/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [Fashion is another way of expressing emotion and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/fashion-is-another-way-of-expressing-emotion-and-art/) [Ruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruel/) > [Art is about emotion; if art needs to be explained it is no longer art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/art-is-about-emotion-if-art-needs-to-be-explained-it-is-no-longer-art/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [In my sculpture, it's not an image I am seeking, it's not an idea. My goal is to re-live a past emotion. My art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/in-my-sculpture-it-s-not-an-image-i-am-seeking-it-s-not-an-idea-my/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## More by Robert McKee > [Story isn't a flight from reality but a vehicle that carries us on our search for reality,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/story-isn-t-a-flight-from-reality-but-a-vehicle-that-carries-us-on/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Don't be didactic - don't write about poverty. Write about poor people. When you dramatize their lives and let life and characters be your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/don-t-be-didactic-don-t-write-about-poverty-write-about-poor-people/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [To connect to people at the deepest level, you need stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/to-connect-to-people-at-the-deepest-level-you-need-stories/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Talent without craft is like fuel without an engine, it burns wildly but accomplishes nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/talent-without-craft-is-like-fuel-without-an-engine-it-burns-wildly/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [“If the story you're telling, is the story you're telling, you're in deep shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/if-the-story-you-re-telling-is-the-story-you-re-telling-you-re-in/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Classical design is a mirror of the human mind. It's how we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/classical-design-is-a-mirror-of-the-human-mind-it-s-how-we-see-the/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [To get the truth, you want to get your own heart to pound while you write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/to-get-the-truth-you-want-to-get-your-own-heart-to-pound-while-you/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [What happens is fact, not truth. Truth is what we think about what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/what-happens-is-fact-not-truth-truth-is-what-we-think-about-what/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [The universal erosion of values has lead to the universal erosion of story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/the-universal-erosion-of-values-has-lead-to-the-universal-erosion-of/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [In a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/in-a-world-of-lies-and-liars-an-honest-work-of-art-is-always-an-act/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Influence is just persuasion in slow motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/influence-is-just-persuasion-in-slow-motion/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Good story' means something worth telling that the world wants to hear. Finding this is your lonely task...But the love of a good story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/good-story-means-something-worth-telling-that-the-world-wants-to-hear/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Most of life's actions are within our reach, but decisions take willpower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/most-of-life-s-actions-are-within-our-reach-but-decisions-take/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [We realize we can't go around saying and doing what we're actually thinking and feeling. If we all did that, life would be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/we-realize-we-can-t-go-around-saying-and-doing-what-we-re-actually/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Oh, by the way, I tend to use a lot of profanities. I do that for a reason: I like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/oh-by-the-way-i-tend-to-use-a-lot-of-profanities-i-do-that-for-a/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) [Explore all 78 Robert McKee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) [John Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-metcalf/) [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. 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