--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even at this late date, I go into my…" description: "\"Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see, nearly everything terrorizes me. When an art..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg" --- # Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think… ![“Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see, nearly everything terrorizes me. When an artist loses that terror, he's through.” quote by Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg) > “Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see, nearly everything terrorizes me. When an artist loses that terror, he's through.” [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist confronts mortality and doubt, fearing the end of creative relevance; terror fuels artistic drive. **In simple terms:** Fear of ending fuels artistic urgency. Key Takeaway Embrace creative terror as a catalyst. Themes art mortality creativity Mood introspective serious Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - exhibition preparation - creative blocks - career retrospectives Key Concepts existentialism psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel fear without being overwhelmed? - What rituals sustain creative momentum? A Different Perspective Too much terror can paralyze creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [We cannot let a minority of people hold a viewpoint that terrorizes the majority of people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-cannot-let-a-minority-of-people-hold-a-viewpoint-that-terrorizes/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Cheney is a terrorist. He terrorizes our enemies abroad and innocent citizens here at home indiscriminately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/cheney-is-a-terrorist-he-terrorizes-our-enemies-abroad-and-innocent/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [Nobody's good. I hate it. I truly hate it. I mean, there's a lot of guys doing stuff I admire, but stand-up-wise I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/nobody-s-good-i-hate-it-i-truly-hate-it-i-mean-there-s-a-lot-of-guys/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [“Kill the fears before they endorse your failures. When you attempt to stop the terrorist at the time he's at work, you are too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/kill-the-fears-before-they-endorse-your-failures-when-you-attempt-to/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Tom Stafford was an odd character, you know - a brilliant guy. He looked weird and I think he took a really defensive attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-fritts/tom-stafford-was-an-odd-character-you-know-a-brilliant-guy-he-looked/) [Donnie Fritts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-fritts/) > [And for me the only way to live life is to grab the bull by the horns and call up recording studios and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/and-for-me-the-only-way-to-live-life-is-to-grab-the-bull-by-the-horns/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [I was in the recording studio when Pink was recording for a part of the gay rights anthem. It was just amazing to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-was-in-the-recording-studio-when-pink-was-recording-for-a-part-of/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [Some days I'll be like, "You know what? Why don't I go to my daughter's studio and make a song?!" And then I don't!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tameka-cottle/some-days-i-ll-be-like-you-know-what-why-don-t-i-go-to-my-daughter-s/) [Tameka Cottle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tameka-cottle/) > [I hate studios. A studio is a black hole. I never use a studio to work. It's very artificial to go to a studio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-hate-studios-a-studio-is-a-black-hole-i-never-use-a-studio-to-work/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I love awards, especially if I get them. It's up to the courage of the filmmakers to make art in cinema, not just business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gazzara/i-love-awards-especially-if-i-get-them-it-s-up-to-the-courage-of-the/) [Ben Gazzara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gazzara/) > [I think, if I had my choice, I would spend all my time in the studio writing, and creating music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-condon/i-think-if-i-had-my-choice-i-would-spend-all-my-time-in-the-studio/) [Zach Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-condon/) > [I was focused on The Hunger Games movie with my director, with the studio, and with the cast and crew. We all just focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/i-was-focused-on-the-hunger-games-movie-with-my-director-with-the/) [Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/) > [A creative space is an important thing. There are so many studios that feel like doctor's offices in Nashville. I couldn't write there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/a-creative-space-is-an-important-thing-there-are-so-many-studios-that/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [I remember that the bass was turned up slightly more on the mix from last week, and I thought that was good - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ronson/i-remember-that-the-bass-was-turned-up-slightly-more-on-the-mix-from/) [Mark Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ronson/) ## More by Robert Rauschenberg > [Having to be different is the same trap as having to be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/having-to-be-different-is-the-same-trap-as-having-to-be-the-same/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-is-no-reason-not-to-consider-the-world-as-one-gigantic-painting/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I'm quite taken aback when I get something that appears to be technically a good photograph, because it's not necessarily my intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-m-quite-taken-aback-when-i-get-something-that-appears-to-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I was much happier when I had less responsibility... when my only responsibility was to my work and to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-was-much-happier-when-i-had-less-responsibility-when-my-only/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [It is neither Art for Art, nor Art against Art. I am for Art, but for Art that has nothing to do with Art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/it-is-neither-art-for-art-nor-art-against-art-i-am-for-art-but-for/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' In the first place I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/people-ask-me-don-t-you-ever-run-out-of-ideas-in-the-first-place-i/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [So that ideas of sort of relaxed symmetry have been something for years that I have been concerned with because I think that symmetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/so-that-ideas-of-sort-of-relaxed-symmetry-have-been-something-for/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I don't really trust ideas, especially good ones. Rather I put my trust in the materials that confront me, because they put me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-don-t-really-trust-ideas-especially-good-ones-rather-i-put-my-trust/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I refuse to be in this world by myself. I want an open commitment from the rest of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-refuse-to-be-in-this-world-by-myself-i-want-an-open-commitment-from/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/the-only-thing-that-i-could-get-with-chance-and-i-never-was-able-to/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [This telegram is a work of art if I say it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/this-telegram-is-a-work-of-art-if-i-say-it-is/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [Understanding is a form of blindness. Good art, I think, can never be understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/understanding-is-a-form-of-blindness-good-art-i-think-can-never-be/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [Sometimes I have taken photographs and just felt so excited that I could barely hold the camera steady, and the photo was boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/sometimes-i-have-taken-photographs-and-just-felt-so-excited-that-i/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I am sick of talking about What and Why I am doing. I have always believed that the WORK is the word. Action is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/i-am-sick-of-talking-about-what-and-why-i-am-doing-i-have-always/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [And also the new excitement and variety of ways that the abstract expressionists were applying paint. You could put it on as though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/and-also-the-new-excitement-and-variety-of-ways-that-the-abstract/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) [Explore all 102 Robert Rauschenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) ## 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. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see, nearly everything terrorizes me. When an artist loses that terror, he's through.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Rauschenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-studio-and-i-think-is-this-going/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-studio-and-i-think-is-this-going/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-stud_405335.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even at this late date, I go into my studio, and I think 'Is this going to be it? Is it the end?' You see…” — Robert Rauschenberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Rauschenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even at this late date, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-studio-and-i-think-is-this-going/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/even-at-this-late-date-i-go-into-my-studio-and-i-think-is-this-going/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```