--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think there's the apparent lack of…" description: "\"I think there's the apparent lack of subtlety and sort of make-believe anti-sensibility connected with American art. I think this is a style, and it do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/roy-lichtenstein-8803_america_i-think-there-s-the-apparent-lack-of-sub_2690597.png" --- # I think there's the apparent lack of subtlety and sort of… ![“I think there's the apparent lack of subtlety and sort of make-believe anti-sensibility connected with American art. I think this is a style, and it does relate to our culture, and I think it would be anachronistic maybe to pretend to be involved with subtle changes and modulations and things like…” quote by Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/roy-lichtenstein-8803_america_i-think-there-s-the-apparent-lack-of-sub_2690597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/roy-lichtenstein-8803_america_i-think-there-s-the-apparent-lack-of-sub_2690597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/roy-lichtenstein-8803_america_i-think-there-s-the-apparent-lack-of-sub_2690597.png) > “I think there's the apparent lack of subtlety and sort of make-believe anti-sensibility connected with American art. I think this is a style, and it does relate to our culture, and I think it would be anachronistic maybe to pretend to be involved with subtle changes and modulations and things like that, because it's really not part of America.” [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. American art often lacks subtlety, favoring overt, stylized expression that mirrors cultural attitudes. **In simple terms:** American art is bold, not nuanced. Key Takeaway Recognize cultural context in artistic critique. Themes art culture style subtlety Mood critical analytical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curation - art education - media analysis Key Concepts Americanism postmodernism visual rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your appreciation? - Can subtlety coexist with boldness? A Different Perspective May ignore nuanced works within American art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [“Your lyrics lack subtlety! You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/your-lyrics-lack-subtlety-you-can-t-just-have-your-characters/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [One of the biggest problems in literature is the lack of subtlety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-literature-is-the-lack-of-subtlety/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [Undeniably the American art form, too. And yet more and more, we see films made that diminish the American experience and example. And sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/undeniably-the-american-art-form-too-and-yet-more-and-more-we-see/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [Im interested in what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art. I think its the tension between what seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/im-interested-in-what-would-normally-be-considered-the-worst-aspects/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [I'm interested in what would normally be considered the worst aspects of commercial art. I think it's the tension between what seems to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-m-interested-in-what-would-normally-be-considered-the-worst-aspects/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [As a culture, I think we need to redefine what it means to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/as-a-culture-i-think-we-need-to-redefine-what-it-means-to-be-happy/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [There's this belief that some things can be taken seriously in an intellectual way, while some things are only entertainment or only a commodity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/there-s-this-belief-that-some-things-can-be-taken-seriously-in-an/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [There's a lot of funding of the media and film in particular, literary publishing gets recognized as culture. I think fashion should too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mimran/there-s-a-lot-of-funding-of-the-media-and-film-in-particular-literary/) [Joe Mimran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mimran/) > [Industrial culture? There has been a phenomena; I don't know whether it's strong enough to be a culture. I do think what we did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-p-orridge/industrial-culture-there-has-been-a-phenomena-i-don-t-know-whether-it/) [Genesis P-Orridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-p-orridge/) > [What is acceptable in our culture, I think, is really detrimental. I think we ought to have a little more ownership over the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/what-is-acceptable-in-our-culture-i-think-is-really-detrimental-i/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [Randomness has an incredibly powerful place in our culture. If you think about it, you can see it driving the algorithms that run our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-spooky/randomness-has-an-incredibly-powerful-place-in-our-culture-if-you/) [DJ Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-spooky/) > [When people say that L.A. doesn't have a culture, I think it really does: a very old culture, and very specific. There's streets named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-armisen/when-people-say-that-l-a-doesn-t-have-a-culture-i-think-it-really/) [Fred Armisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-armisen/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There's a big culture I think that kicked off with reality TV and the Brit-pop '90s in the U.K. of people being like, 'I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/there-s-a-big-culture-i-think-that-kicked-off-with-reality-tv-and-the/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## 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 America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think there's the apparent lack of subtlety and sort of make-believe anti-sensibility connected with American art. 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