--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not that the creative act and the…" description: "\"It's not that the creative act and the critical act are simultaneous. It's more like you blurt something out and then analyze it.\" — Robert Motherwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/robert-motherwell-11726_creative_it-s-not-that-the-creative-act-and-the-c_2245310.png" --- # It's not that the creative act and the critical act are… ![“It's not that the creative act and the critical act are simultaneous. It's more like you blurt something out and then analyze it.” quote by Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/robert-motherwell-11726_creative_it-s-not-that-the-creative-act-and-the-c_2245310.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/robert-motherwell-11726_creative_it-s-not-that-the-creative-act-and-the-c_2245310.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/robert-motherwell-11726_creative_it-s-not-that-the-creative-act-and-the-c_2245310.png) > “It's not that the creative act and the critical act are simultaneous. It's more like you blurt something out and then analyze it.” [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work often follows a spontaneous burst, then critical analysis refines it. **In simple terms:** Create first, then critique. Key Takeaway Balance intuition with evaluation. Themes creativity critique process Mood thoughtful analytical Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - writing - painting - design - music composition - problem solving Key Concepts spontaneity analysis Questions to Reflect On - When do you let intuition lead? - How do you integrate critique without halting creation? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on analysis can stifle flow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-act/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ## Related quotes > [All serious art, music, literature is a critical act. It is so, firstly, in the sense of Matthew Arnold's phrase: "a criticism of life."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/all-serious-art-music-literature-is-a-critical-act-it-is-so-firstly/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it. Robert Motherwell Every man becomes, to a certain degree, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/art-is-much-less-important-than-life-but-what-a-poor-life-without-it/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [There is no future. There is no past. Do you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that humans insist on viewing one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-is-no-future-there-is-no-past-do-you-see-time-is-simultaneous/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Painting, by its nature, cannot provide an object of simultaneous collective reception... as film is able to do today... And while efforts have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/painting-by-its-nature-cannot-provide-an-object-of-simultaneous/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Asia, in cooperation with Europe, is about to take simultaneous action towards realization of a New World Order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunroku-hata/asia-in-cooperation-with-europe-is-about-to-take-simultaneous-action/) [Shunroku Hata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunroku-hata/) > [Some people are happy when they are at the sea; I'm happy when I'm standing in front of a shelf of books. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/some-people-are-happy-when-they-are-at-the-sea-i-m-happy-when-i-m/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [The historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones, but with a feeling that the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-historical-sense-compels-a-man-to-write-not-merely-with-his-own/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The completely simultaneous and perfect possession of unlimited life at a single moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/the-completely-simultaneous-and-perfect-possession-of-unlimited-life/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [Where to start is the problem, because nothing begins when it begins and nothing's over when it's over, and everything needs a preface: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-to-start-is-the-problem-because-nothing-begins-when-it-begins/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [You cannot separate the onset of a disturbing moment in life from the appearance of some simultaneous new possibility to know a deeper and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/you-cannot-separate-the-onset-of-a-disturbing-moment-in-life-from-the/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [It seems to be the special peculiarity of human beings that they reflect: they think about thinking and know that they know. This, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/it-seems-to-be-the-special-peculiarity-of-human-beings-that-they/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Transmitted at the speed of light, all events on this planet are simultaneous. In the electric environment of information all events are simultaneous, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/transmitted-at-the-speed-of-light-all-events-on-this-planet-are/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [I am intrigued with combining the remnant of memories, fragments of relics and ordinary objects, with the components of technology. It's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betye-saar/i-am-intrigued-with-combining-the-remnant-of-memories-fragments-of/) Betye Saar > [To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/to-me-photography-is-the-simultaneous-recognition-in-a-fraction-of-a/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [Like primitive, we now live in a global village of our own making, a simultaneous happening. It doesn't necessarily mean harmony and peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/like-primitive-we-now-live-in-a-global-village-of-our-own-making-a/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) ## More by Robert Motherwell > [It is true that every artist has his own religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/it-is-true-that-every-artist-has-his-own-religion/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [The main thing is not to be dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/the-main-thing-is-not-to-be-dead/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [I have been continuously aware that in painting, I am always dealing with... a relational structure. Which in turn makes permission 'to be abstract'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/i-have-been-continuously-aware-that-in-painting-i-am-always-dealing/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [I started with straight, basic, symbolic structures. My problem now is the opposite; as I get older, I try to make my paintings more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/i-started-with-straight-basic-symbolic-structures-my-problem-now-is/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [An odd contradiction, if the layman were correct in his unconscious assumption that an artist begins with reality and ends with art: the converse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/an-odd-contradiction-if-the-layman-were-correct-in-his-unconscious/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Abstract expressionism was the first American art that was filled with anger as well as beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/abstract-expressionism-was-the-first-american-art-that-was-filled/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [A subject emerges from an interaction between my self, my I, and my medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/a-subject-emerges-from-an-interaction-between-my-self-my-i-and-my/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [A main part of the struggle of art has been to make an art that is direct, simple, humane, unconnected with powers that be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/a-main-part-of-the-struggle-of-art-has-been-to-make-an-art-that-is/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Sometimes images may emerge from some chord in my subconscious, the way a dream might. Even in those paintings where an image unconsciously develops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/sometimes-images-may-emerge-from-some-chord-in-my-subconscious-the/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [The public's appetite for famous people is a mouth as big as a mountain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/the-public-s-appetite-for-famous-people-is-a-mouth-as-big-as-a/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Every picture one paints involves not painting others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/every-picture-one-paints-involves-not-painting-others/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Art is an experience, not an object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/art-is-an-experience-not-an-object/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it. Robert Motherwell Every man becomes, to a certain degree, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/art-is-much-less-important-than-life-but-what-a-poor-life-without-it/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [The problems of inventing a new language are staggering. But what else can one do if one needs to express one's feeling precisely?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/the-problems-of-inventing-a-new-language-are-staggering-but-what-else/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [For twenty years I read a book a day, from the time I was seven until I was twenty-seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/for-twenty-years-i-read-a-book-a-day-from-the-time-i-was-seven-until/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) [Explore all 58 Robert Motherwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not that the creative act and the critical act are simultaneous. 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