--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's…" description: "\"Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing, unfortunately, you can't help being.\" — Salvador Dali" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png" --- # Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing… ![“Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing, unfortunately, you can't help being.” quote by Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png) > “Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing, unfortunately, you can't help being.” [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being an artist is inevitable; you cannot escape your creative identity. **In simple terms:** You cannot avoid being an artist. Key Takeaway Embrace your artistic nature. Themes identity creativity inevitability Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choice - personal development - creative blocks - self‑expression Key Concepts self‑realization artistic destiny Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel forced into a creative role? - Can one be content without artistic pursuits? A Different Perspective It may overlook those who choose non‑artistic paths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Modern art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-art/) ## Related quotes > [It was not very easy for a woman to impose herself as a modern artist in Germany… Most of our male colleagues continued for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-hoch/it-was-not-very-easy-for-a-woman-to-impose-herself-as-a-modern-artist/) Hannah Hoch > [Well, method is, it seems to me, a natural growth out of a need, and from a need the modern artist has found new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/well-method-is-it-seems-to-me-a-natural-growth-out-of-a-need-and-from/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [The skills of the modern artist are the opposite of those of the craftsman: instead of acquiring techniques for producing classes of objects, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/the-skills-of-the-modern-artist-are-the-opposite-of-those-of-the/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [The modern artist, by nature and destiny, is always an individualist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/the-modern-artist-by-nature-and-destiny-is-always-an-individualist/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The modern artist is living in a mechanical age and we have a mechanical means of representing objects in nature such as the camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-living-in-a-mechanical-age-and-we-have-a-2/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Modern man has been in search of a new language of form to satisfy new longings and aspirations - longings for mental appeasement, aspirations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/modern-man-has-been-in-search-of-a-new-language-of-form-to-satisfy/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/the-truly-modern-artist-is-aware-of-abstraction-in-an-emotion-of/) [Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/) > [The modern artist is living in a mechanical age and we have a mechanical means of representing objects in nature such as the camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-living-in-a-mechanical-age-and-we-have-a/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Innocence is indeed a glorious thing; but, unfortunately, it does not keep very well and is easily led astray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/innocence-is-indeed-a-glorious-thing-but-unfortunately-it-does-not/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The thing is, unfortunately, I write the best songs when I'm miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-weiland/the-thing-is-unfortunately-i-write-the-best-songs-when-i-m-miserable/) [Scott Weiland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-weiland/) > [The modern artist... is working and expressing an inner world - in other words - expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-working-and-expressing-an-inner-world-in-other/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [Style is the most valuable asset of the modern artist. That's probably why so many styles are reported lost or stolen each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-holland/style-is-the-most-valuable-asset-of-the-modern-artist-that-s-probably/) [Brad Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-holland/) > [“I had not then acquired the technique that I flatter myself now enables me to deal competently with the works of modern artist. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-had-not-then-acquired-the-technique-that-i-flatter-myself-now/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-working-with-space-and-time-and-expressing-his/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [This grandiose tragedy that we call modern art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/this-grandiose-tragedy-that-we-call-modern-art/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) ## More by Salvador Dali > [Since I don't smoke, I decided to grow a mustache - it is better for the health. However, I always carried a jewel-studded cigarette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/since-i-don-t-smoke-i-decided-to-grow-a-mustache-it-is-better-for-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/there-is-only-one-difference-between-a-madman-and-me-the-madman/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/those-who-do-not-want-to-imitate-anything-produce-nothing/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Someone like myself, who claimed to be a real madman, living and organized with a Pythagorean precision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/someone-like-myself-who-claimed-to-be-a-real-madman-living-and/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [I seated ugliness on my knee, and almost immediately grew tired of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/i-seated-ugliness-on-my-knee-and-almost-immediately-grew-tired-of-it/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Great wine requires a mad man to grow the vine, a wise man to watch over it, a lucid poet to make it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/great-wine-requires-a-mad-man-to-grow-the-vine-a-wise-man-to-watch/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Liking money like I like it, is nothing less than mysticism. Money is a glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/liking-money-like-i-like-it-is-nothing-less-than-mysticism-money-is-a/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Instead of stubbornly attempting to use surrealism for purposes of subversion, it is necessary to try to make of surrealism something as solid, complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/instead-of-stubbornly-attempting-to-use-surrealism-for-purposes-of/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [It is mostly with your blood, Gala that I paint my pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/it-is-mostly-with-your-blood-gala-that-i-paint-my-pictures/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/at-the-age-of-six-i-wanted-to-be-a-cook-at-seven-i-wanted-to-be/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [To be interesting, one has to provoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/to-be-interesting-one-has-to-provoke/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Beauty should be edible, or not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/beauty-should-be-edible-or-not-at-all/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [The thermometer of success is merely the jealousy of the malcontents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/the-thermometer-of-success-is-merely-the-jealousy-of-the-malcontents/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Democratic governments are not suited to the publication of the thunderous revelations I am in the habit of making. The unpublished parts will appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/democratic-governments-are-not-suited-to-the-publication-of-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [Without hesitation, I place Freud among the heroes. He dispossessed the Jewish people of the greatest and most influential of all heroes-Moses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/without-hesitation-i-place-freud-among-the-heroes-he-dispossessed-the/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) [Explore all 153 Salvador Dali quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) ## 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 > [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": "Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing, unfortunately, you can't help being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Salvador Dali" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s-the-one-thing-unfortunately/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s-the-one-thing-unfortunately/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/947/salvador-dali-2350_art_do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s_1363159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not strive to be a modern artist: it's the one thing, unfortunately, you can't help being.” — Salvador Dali", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Salvador Dali", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not strive to be a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s-the-one-thing-unfortunately/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/do-not-strive-to-be-a-modern-artist-it-s-the-one-thing-unfortunately/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```