--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was going to school and under the…" description: "\"When I was going to school and under the influence of Abstract Expressionism, I believed that if you had a give-and-take rapport with your work that it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract-expressioni_when-i-was-going-to-school-and-under-the_1990797.png" --- # When I was going to school and under the influence of… ![“When I was going to school and under the influence of Abstract Expressionism, I believed that if you had a give-and-take rapport with your work that it would be you, and that would be all that was required. It would be honest, and the core of your personality would come out if you responded to…” quote by Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract-expressioni_when-i-was-going-to-school-and-under-the_1990797.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract-expressioni_when-i-was-going-to-school-and-under-the_1990797.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/roy-lichtenstein-8803_abstract-expressioni_when-i-was-going-to-school-and-under-the_1990797.png) > “When I was going to school and under the influence of Abstract Expressionism, I believed that if you had a give-and-take rapport with your work that it would be you, and that would be all that was required. It would be honest, and the core of your personality would come out if you responded to position and contrasts in your work.” [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 suggests that an authentic artistic process arises from a reciprocal relationship with the work, letting personal honesty and personality emerge through responding to its spatial and tonal dynamics. **In simple terms:** Honest art comes from a give‑and‑take dialogue with the piece. Key Takeaway Engage directly with your work’s form and contrast. Themes artistic authenticity creative process self‑expression Mood introspective inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting practice - art education - creative workshops - self‑reflection in art - gallery critiques Key Concepts Abstract Expressionism dialogue with medium personal voice Questions to Reflect On - How does responding to a work’s contrasts reveal your inner self? - What balance between intuition and technique yields authentic art? A Different Perspective May overlook technical skill or external feedback, limiting growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract expressionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-expressionism/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Expressionism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressionism/) [Expressionism Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressionism-believed-3450816/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Personality Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality-come-677565/) [Required Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/required-honest-3450817/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [I don't use the accident - 'cause I deny the accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-don-t-use-the-accident-cause-i-deny-the-accident/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [There was something about the self-confession and self-confusion of Abstract expressionism - as though the man and the work were the same - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/there-was-something-about-the-self-confession-and-self-confusion-of/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [I went to the Mary Lee Burbank School in Belmont. And it was a place where you, like, learned to go to the store?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-went-to-the-mary-lee-burbank-school-in-belmont-and-it-was-a-place/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [I wanted to be a painter, somewhere between Abstract Expressionism and Pop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-huey/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-somewhere-between-abstract-expressionism-and/) [Aaron Huey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-huey/) > [I was a student at Harvard, and that's where I learned about so-called avant-garde music. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism and painting were well known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-was-a-student-at-harvard-and-that-s-where-i-learned-about-so-called/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [The big shock of my life was Abstract Expressionism - Pollock, de Kooning, those guys. It changed my work. I was an academically trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/the-big-shock-of-my-life-was-abstract-expressionism-pollock-de/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [But no one, when you stop to think, has ever equated abstract expressionism as a movement with jazz music. It's based on improvisation. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/but-no-one-when-you-stop-to-think-has-ever-equated-abstract/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [We live in an age when the traditional great subjects - the human form, the landscape, even newer traditions such as abstract expressionism -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/we-live-in-an-age-when-the-traditional-great-subjects-the-human-form/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I would be constantly brought up on the carpet by these teachers who were brought up with Abstract Expressionism, saying, "You're too uptight, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-be-constantly-brought-up-on-the-carpet-by-these-teachers-who/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [Abstract Expressionism - the first American movement to have a worldwide influence - was remarkably short-lived: It heated up after World War II and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/abstract-expressionism-the-first-american-movement-to-have-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [With experience it seems to be possible to control the flow of paint, to a great extent, and I don't use - I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/with-experience-it-seems-to-be-possible-to-control-the-flow-of-paint/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Abstract expressionism was the first American art that was filled with anger as well as beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/abstract-expressionism-was-the-first-american-art-that-was-filled/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [I think more than writers, the major influences on me have been European movies, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-think-more-than-writers-the-major-influences-on-me-have-been/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When I began as an artist, I already did not like expressionism, or abstract expressionism, because abstract painting had already been done. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-baselitz/when-i-began-as-an-artist-i-already-did-not-like-expressionism-or/) [Georg Baselitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-baselitz/) ## 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 expressionism quotes > [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/) > [I think more than writers, the major influences on me have been European movies, jazz, and Abstract Expressionism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-think-more-than-writers-the-major-influences-on-me-have-been/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“If the West once undermined and helped to ultimately defeat the USSR by uniting free market economics, cool culture, and democratic politics into one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pomerantsev/if-the-west-once-undermined-and-helped-to-ultimately-defeat-the-ussr/) [Peter Pomerantsev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pomerantsev/) > [Abstract expressionism was the first American art that was filled with anger as well as beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-motherwell/abstract-expressionism-was-the-first-american-art-that-was-filled/) [Robert Motherwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-motherwell/) > [The abstract has no emotional content... the abstract is more powerful the more abstract it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-balmond/the-abstract-has-no-emotional-content-the-abstract-is-more-powerful/) [Cecil Balmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-balmond/) > [With experience it seems to be possible to control the flow of paint, to a great extent, and I don't use - I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/with-experience-it-seems-to-be-possible-to-control-the-flow-of-paint/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Abstract Expressionism - the first American movement to have a worldwide influence - was remarkably short-lived: It heated up after World War II and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/abstract-expressionism-the-first-american-movement-to-have-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [“History is ending because the dominator culture has led the human species into a blind alley, and as the inevitable chaostrophie approaches, people look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-is-ending-because-the-dominator-culture-has-led-the-human/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I would be constantly brought up on the carpet by these teachers who were brought up with Abstract Expressionism, saying, "You're too uptight, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/i-would-be-constantly-brought-up-on-the-carpet-by-these-teachers-who/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [We live in an age when the traditional great subjects - the human form, the landscape, even newer traditions such as abstract expressionism -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/we-live-in-an-age-when-the-traditional-great-subjects-the-human-form/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [“In 1972, Bayber's work underwent another metamorphosis, yet refused to be defined by or adhere to any specific style. Elements of abstract expressionism, modernism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/in-1972-bayber-s-work-underwent-another-metamorphosis-yet-refused-to/) [Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/) > [But no one, when you stop to think, has ever equated abstract expressionism as a movement with jazz music. It's based on improvisation. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/but-no-one-when-you-stop-to-think-has-ever-equated-abstract/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [The big shock of my life was Abstract Expressionism - Pollock, de Kooning, those guys. It changed my work. I was an academically trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-neiman/the-big-shock-of-my-life-was-abstract-expressionism-pollock-de/) [LeRoy Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-neiman/) > [I was a student at Harvard, and that's where I learned about so-called avant-garde music. Jackson Pollock, abstract expressionism and painting were well known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-flynt/i-was-a-student-at-harvard-and-that-s-where-i-learned-about-so-called/) [Henry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-flynt/) > [I wanted to be a painter, somewhere between Abstract Expressionism and Pop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-huey/i-wanted-to-be-a-painter-somewhere-between-abstract-expressionism-and/) [Aaron Huey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-huey/) [Browse all 28 Abstract expressionism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-expressionism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was going to school and under the influence of Abstract Expressionism, I believed that if you had a give-and-take rapport with your work that it would be you, and that would be all that was required. 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