--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we're much smarter than we were…" description: "\"I think we're much smarter than we were. Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they und..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract_i-think-we-re-much-smarter-than-we-were_1400770.png" --- # I think we're much smarter than we were. Everybody knows… ![“I think we're much smarter than we were. Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they understand there's another purpose to it.” quote by Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract_i-think-we-re-much-smarter-than-we-were_1400770.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract_i-think-we-re-much-smarter-than-we-were_1400770.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract_i-think-we-re-much-smarter-than-we-were_1400770.png) > “I think we're much smarter than we were. Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they understand there's another purpose to it.” [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. The quote reflects on how abstract art challenges traditional notions of intelligence and taste, acknowledging both its legitimacy and the discomfort it can cause. **In simple terms:** Abstract art is valid but can be unsettling. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse art forms despite personal discomfort. Themes art perception culture discomfort intelligence Mood curious reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery visits - art education - personal reflection - public debates - museum curation Key Concepts aesthetics subjectivity cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How does abstract art expand your understanding of creativity? - What makes you resist certain art styles? A Different Perspective Some may argue that artistic value is purely subjective, making consensus impossible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-art/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody knows that abstract art can be art, and most people know that they may not like it, even if they understand there's another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/everybody-knows-that-abstract-art-can-be-art-and-most-people-know/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [There are two ways to do great mathematics. The first is to be smarter than everybody else. The second way is to be stupider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-bott/there-are-two-ways-to-do-great-mathematics-the-first-is-to-be-smarter/) Raoul Bott > [Oh, you got an 'A' on your test? Please brag about how much smarter you are than everybody else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-you-got-an-a-on-your-test-please-brag-about-how-much-smarter-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought I was so much smarter than everybody. And I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/i-thought-i-was-so-much-smarter-than-everybody-and-i-m-not/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [The only and one way to say what abstract art or art-as-art is, is to say what it is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-only-and-one-way-to-say-what-abstract-art-or-art-as-art-is-is-to/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Among those born into chaos, some will imagine an order and become scientists; a few will recognize the chaos and become abstract artists; most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/among-those-born-into-chaos-some-will-imagine-an-order-and-become/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with 'reality,' next to the 'real' world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/abstract-art-places-a-new-world-which-on-the-surface-has-nothing-to/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Abstract art is a fundamental distrust of the theory of reality concocted by the eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/abstract-art-is-a-fundamental-distrust-of-the-theory-of-reality/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The only thing I collect is art. I collect it because I like looking at it. A lot of it is really personal stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/the-only-thing-i-collect-is-art-i-collect-it-because-i-like-looking/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [I shall never forget what I saw at the Museum of Modern Art: in a spotless schoolroom, fifty little girls painting away at tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/i-shall-never-forget-what-i-saw-at-the-museum-of-modern-art-in-a/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [We are not talking about a new cognition in relation to abstract art, rather a new area of cognition...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/we-are-not-talking-about-a-new-cognition-in-relation-to-abstract-art/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [Abstract means literally to draw from or separate. In this sense every artist is abstract for he must create his own work from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-diebenkorn/abstract-means-literally-to-draw-from-or-separate-in-this-sense-every/) [Richard Diebenkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-diebenkorn/) > [Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes... Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshile-gorky/abstraction-allows-man-to-see-with-his-mind-what-he-cannot-physically/) [Arshile Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshile-gorky/) > [In abstract mathematics or abstract art, the purpose is to describe inner states of our mind, and to explore the limits of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/in-abstract-mathematics-or-abstract-art-the-purpose-is-to-describe/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) ## 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 Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think we're much smarter than we were. 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