---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What interests me is to paint the kind of…"
description: "\"What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-o_419630.png"
---

#  What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity…

![“What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and unrealistic, feeding on art. It is Utopian. It has less and less to do with the world. It looks inward - neo-Zen and all that. Pop Art looks…” quote by Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-o_419630.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-o_419630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fda/roy-lichtenstein-8803_art_what-interests-me-is-to-paint-the-kind-o_419630.png)

> “What interests me is to paint the kind of antisensitivity that impregnates modern civilization. I think art since Cezanne has become extremely romantic and unrealistic, feeding on art. It is Utopian. It has less and less to do with the world. It looks inward - neo-Zen and all that. Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.”

[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 author critiques modern art for becoming overly romantic and detached from reality, contrasting it with Pop Art that directly reflects everyday objects.

**In simple terms:** Modern art is seen as unrealistic; Pop Art mirrors real things.

Key Takeaway

Consider how art can stay connected to everyday life.

Themes

art criticism modernism pop art realism cultural commentary

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

artistic critical

When to use this quote

- museum curation
- art education
- public installations

Key Concepts

Aesthetic theory consumer culture visual representation

Questions to Reflect On

- Can art be both beautiful and socially relevant?
- How does Pop Art influence perception of everyday objects?

A Different Perspective

Pop Art may oversimplify complex subjects.

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[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cezanne/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Modern civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-civilization/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Pop art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-art/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Utopian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopian/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [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/)

> [Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesnt 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-doesnt-look-like-a-painting-of/)

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> [Outside is the world; it's there. Pop Art looks out into the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/outside-is-the-world-it-s-there-pop-art-looks-out-into-the-world/)

[Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/)

> [“Destruction is as valid an artistic statement as construction. Both statements echo the model of the society we live in. The only invalid art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/destruction-is-as-valid-an-artistic-statement-as-construction-both/)

[Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/)

> [I think attempting to make art is a utopian process in itself, definitely. Nothing I do is ever equal to the ideas in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-think-attempting-to-make-art-is-a-utopian-process-in-itself/)

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> [Pop Art is industrial painting. I think the meaning of my work is that it is industrial, it's what all the world will soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/pop-art-is-industrial-painting-i-think-the-meaning-of-my-work-is-that/)

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> [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/)

> [I wasn't sure pop art or my work would last more than six months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-wasn-t-sure-pop-art-or-my-work-would-last-more-than-six-months/)

[Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/)

> [Good art looks new because the artist has recombined something old to make something better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/good-art-looks-new-because-the-artist-has-recombined-something-old-to/)

[Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/)

> [All art is an individual's expression of a culture. Cultures differ, so art looks different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-glassie/all-art-is-an-individual-s-expression-of-a-culture-cultures-differ-so/)

Henry Glassie

> [I think that a lot of artists have succeeded in making what I might call "curator's art." Everybody's being accepted, and I always want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/i-think-that-a-lot-of-artists-have-succeeded-in-making-what-i-might/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [“When, as a woman, you make yourself the work of art, and when you are then what everyone looks at, then whatever else, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/when-as-a-woman-you-make-yourself-the-work-of-art-and-when-you-are/)

[Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/)

> [Such a divine profession is art! When everything else looks so stale and disgustingly vacuous, so enthralls even the littlest real effort of art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/such-a-divine-profession-is-art-when-everything-else-looks-so-stale/)

[Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/)

> [All profoundly original art looks ugly at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-greenberg/all-profoundly-original-art-looks-ugly-at-first/)

[Clement Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-greenberg/)

> [What the work of art looks like isn't too important. It has to look like something if it has a physical form. No matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/what-the-work-of-art-looks-like-isn-t-too-important-it-has-to-look/)

[Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/)

## 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/)

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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> [I don't think there is any question that Picasso is the greatest figure of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/i-don-t-think-there-is-any-question-that-picasso-is-the-greatest/)

[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/)

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> [“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/)

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> [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/)

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> [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/)

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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/)

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> [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/)

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