--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A number of artists have done things with…" description: "\"A number of artists have done things with Mickey Mouse - including Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. He's such an American symbol, and such an anti-art ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_a-number-of-artists-have-done-things-wit_2893043.jpg" --- # A number of artists have done things with Mickey Mouse… ![“A number of artists have done things with Mickey Mouse - including Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. He's such an American symbol, and such an anti-art symbol.” quote by Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_a-number-of-artists-have-done-things-wit_2893043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_a-number-of-artists-have-done-things-wit_2893043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46d/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_a-number-of-artists-have-done-things-wit_2893043.jpg) > “A number of artists have done things with Mickey Mouse - including Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. He's such an American symbol, and such an anti-art symbol.” [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mickey Mouse serves as both a national icon and a critique of art, illustrating cultural duality. **In simple terms:** Mickey is a cultural symbol and anti‑art statement. Key Takeaway Recognize symbols can hold opposing meanings. Themes culture iconography art criticism Mood analytical curious Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - museum displays - media analysis Key Concepts semiotics postmodernism Questions to Reflect On - What does Mickey represent to you? - How do symbols shift meaning over time? A Different Perspective Interpretations can clash with audience expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Symbol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-symbol-4001379/) [Anti Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-art-299163/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Symbol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-symbol-2110361/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disney/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Mice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mice/) [Mickey mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mickey-mouse/) [Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warhol/) [Warhol American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warhol-american-4073612/) ## Related quotes > [When the president of the United States flicks the switch to light up the Christmas tree on the White House lawn, that house ceases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/when-the-president-of-the-united-states-flicks-the-switch-to-light-up/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Art is the symbol of the two noblest human efforts: to construct and to refrain from destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-is-the-symbol-of-the-two-noblest-human-efforts-to-construct-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the things I understood from early on was that art was a symbol of systemic inequity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/one-of-the-things-i-understood-from-early-on-was-that-art-was-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [A weird thing is a strange loop, what some of us call 'an object.' Thus it is looked down on by the constructivist spokespeople…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-morton/a-weird-thing-is-a-strange-loop-what-some-of-us-call-an-object-thus/) [Timothy Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-morton/) > [I'm afraid we get a great deal of our exposure to art through magazines and through slides and I think this is dreadful, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-andre/i-m-afraid-we-get-a-great-deal-of-our-exposure-to-art-through/) [Carl Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-andre/) > ['Art or anti-art?' was the question I asked when I returned from Munich in 1912 and decided to abandon pure painting or painting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/art-or-anti-art-was-the-question-i-asked-when-i-returned-from-munich/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [If being an anti-art artist is difficult, being an anti-art art historian is a hard position indeed. His doctrinal revolutionism brings forth nothing new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/if-being-an-anti-art-artist-is-difficult-being-an-anti-art-art/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [When I was just getting started making my own music, my dad said, "You should think about art, but also anti-art and non-art."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshi-wada/when-i-was-just-getting-started-making-my-own-music-my-dad-said-you/) [Yoshi Wada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshi-wada/) > [PROMOTE A REVOLUTIONARY FLOOD AND TIDE IN ART. Promote living art, anti-art, promote NON ART REALITY to be fully grasped by all peoples, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-maciunas/promote-a-revolutionary-flood-and-tide-in-art-promote-living-art-anti/) [George Maciunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-maciunas/) > [The artist must possess at least as much conviction as does his enemy, the dogmatic, mealy-mouthed, anti-art bigot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/the-artist-must-possess-at-least-as-much-conviction-as-does-his-enemy/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [The final true artform in what we're talking about is the goal itself. And for us to try and stop that from happening, we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasey-keller/the-final-true-artform-in-what-we-re-talking-about-is-the-goal-itself/) [Kasey Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasey-keller/) > [At its core, kitsch feels like something less than art; it panders to the middle and is flagrantly anti-art, though it often apes or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/at-its-core-kitsch-feels-like-something-less-than-art-it-panders-to/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [“If we found a ticket to Disneyland would you think we should arrest Mickey Mouse?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-l-randle/if-we-found-a-ticket-to-disneyland-would-you-think-we-should-arrest/) [Diane L. Randle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-l-randle/) > [Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mickey-mouse-and-minnie-mouse/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The clerk is looking at me. His expression hasn't changed. What I want to do is punch a hole in the front of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/the-clerk-is-looking-at-me-his-expression-hasn-t-changed-what-i-want/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) ## More by Roy Lichtenstein > [I think art was the one thing my high school didn't give. And I think that was probably one reason why I was interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-think-art-was-the-one-thing-my-high-school-didn-t-give-and-i-think/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [In America the biggest is the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/in-america-the-biggest-is-the-best/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Pollock really invented something. No one painted like him - or de Kooning or Still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/pollock-really-invented-something-no-one-painted-like-him-or-de/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/pop-art-looks-out-into-the-world-it-doesn-t-look-like-a-painting-of/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [I think you go nuts when you get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-think-you-go-nuts-when-you-get-older/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [There must be something about art... almost all cultures have done art. It's a refining of the senses, which are there to keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/there-must-be-something-about-art-almost-all-cultures-have-done-art/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [But when I worked on a painting I would do it from a drawing but I would put certain things I was fairly sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/but-when-i-worked-on-a-painting-i-would-do-it-from-a-drawing-but-i/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [When I started to do these Pop paintings seriously, I used all these other paintings - the abstract ones - as mats. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/when-i-started-to-do-these-pop-paintings-seriously-i-used-all-these/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Im not really sure what social message my art carries, if any. And I dont really want it to carry one. Im not interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/im-not-really-sure-what-social-message-my-art-carries-if-any-and-i/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [I'm not really sure what social message my art carries, if any. And I don't really want it to carry one. I'm not interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-m-not-really-sure-what-social-message-my-art-carries-if-any-and-i/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [My direction is very anti-contemplative. If you thought I was for commercial products, you'd think there was no irony. The irony isn't meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/my-direction-is-very-anti-contemplative-if-you-thought-i-was-for/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-of-antisensitivity-that/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [I think that most people think painters are kind of ridiculous, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-think-that-most-people-think-painters-are-kind-of-ridiculous-you/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Everybody has called Pop Art 'American' painting, but it's actually industrial painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/everybody-has-called-pop-art-american-painting-but-it-s-actually/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [Actually, I love the Abstract Expressionists - or I like the ones I like, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/actually-i-love-the-abstract-expressionists-or-i-like-the-ones-i-like/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) [Explore all 77 Roy Lichtenstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) ## 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": "A number of artists have done things with Mickey Mouse - including Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. 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