--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You begin with the possibilities of the…" description: "\"You begin with the possibilities of the material.\" — Robert Rauschenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg" --- # You begin with the possibilities of the material. ![“You begin with the possibilities of the material.” quote by Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg) > “You begin with the possibilities of the material.” [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. He suggests starting creative work by considering material possibilities, letting the medium guide ideas. **In simple terms:** Begin with what the material can do. Key Takeaway Explore material limits before concepts. Themes creativity process materiality Mood inquisitive practical Type artistic educational When to use this quote - studio practice - product design - education - innovation Key Concepts artistic exploration design thinking Questions to Reflect On - What material constraints inspire you? - How does material shape concept? A Different Perspective May limit conceptual depth if over‑focused on material. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin/) [Begin Possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-possibilities-4591537/) [Material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities/) [Possibilities Material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities-material-4964933/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) ## Related quotes > [When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-coltrane/when-you-begin-to-see-the-possibilities-of-music-you-desire-to-do-2/) [John Coltrane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-coltrane/) > [“In dreams begin possibilities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/in-dreams-begin-possibilities/) [Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/) > [The nation did not begin to realize the extraordinary possibilities of the vast Western territory until its attention was thus suddenly and definitely concentrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-moody/the-nation-did-not-begin-to-realize-the-extraordinary-possibilities/) [John Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-moody/) > [“It is never too late to begin living your own dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/it-is-never-too-late-to-begin-living-your-own-dream/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Material success is a way of tightening up your life so that you can move into higher planes of attention. You should try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/material-success-is-a-way-of-tightening-up-your-life-so-that-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I know what it's like to have a bunch of material that's working that you don't care about. You want to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-know-what-it-s-like-to-have-a-bunch-of-material-that-s-working-that/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [To cover politics in Washington allows you to live in the very, very wide gap between what the actual truth is, and how people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/to-cover-politics-in-washington-allows-you-to-live-in-the-very-very/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [If you write really good material, the rest just falls into place. There's really no trick to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/if-you-write-really-good-material-the-rest-just-falls-into-place/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [Is it possible Hanukkah doesn't inspire folksy songs? Plot lines may be a part. The Christmas story has a lot of material to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/is-it-possible-hanukkah-doesn-t-inspire-folksy-songs-plot-lines-may/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [Anything is good painting material once you get to know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milne/anything-is-good-painting-material-once-you-get-to-know-it/) [David Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milne/) > [I want the material I make to be mine; that's always the goal of the record and of the show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/i-want-the-material-i-make-to-be-mine-that-s-always-the-goal-of-the/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/defeat-furnishes-good-material-to-the-poets-and-the-artists-but-none/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [I'm currently trying to direct my own material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-skerritt/i-m-currently-trying-to-direct-my-own-material/) [Tom Skerritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-skerritt/) ## 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](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. 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": "You begin with the possibilities of the material.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Rauschenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the-material/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the-material/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/robert-rauschenberg-5257_art_you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the_3033219.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You begin with the possibilities of the material.” — 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": "You begin with the possibilities of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the-material/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/you-begin-with-the-possibilities-of-the-material/#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 } } ] } ```