--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is what we call...the thing an artist…" description: "\"Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist_147816.png" --- # Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not… ![“Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something…” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist_147816.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist_147816.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/seth-godin-152_art_art-is-what-we-call-the-thing-an-artist_147816.png) > “Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. It's not the medium or the oil or the price or whether it hangs on a wall or you eat it. What matters, what makes it art, is that the person who made it overcame the resistance, ignored the voice of doubt and made something worth making. Something risky. Something human. Art is not in the ...eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist.” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is defined by the creator's courage to overcome doubt and take risks, not by medium or price. **In simple terms:** Art comes from the artist's daring, not the material. Key Takeaway Create despite fear. Themes creativity risk authenticity Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - personal project - public performance - digital art Key Concepts artist's soul overcoming doubt Questions to Reflect On - What risk will you take in your work? - How does doubt shape your creative process? A Different Perspective May be perceived as elitist or inaccessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Killing Eve' was kind of the road for me as an art person, where you have this opportunity to work with so many different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-bodnia/killing-eve-was-kind-of-the-road-for-me-as-an-art-person-where-you/) [Kim Bodnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-bodnia/) > [That the best piece of art a person is capable of making is the one that only they could create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-karam/that-the-best-piece-of-art-a-person-is-capable-of-making-is-the-one/) [Stephen Karam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-karam/) > [As an art person, I think all television changed me a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-bodnia/as-an-art-person-i-think-all-television-changed-me-a-lot/) [Kim Bodnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-bodnia/) > [Art is a person's private vision expressed in aesthetic forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/art-is-a-person-s-private-vision-expressed-in-aesthetic-forms/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Art is not in the ...eye of the beholder. It's in the soul of the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/art-is-not-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-it-s-in-the-soul-of-the-artist/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I'm not a very creative person, you know? I'm not really an art person. I'm not a great reader or writer or artist or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brady/i-m-not-a-very-creative-person-you-know-i-m-not-really-an-art-person/) [Tom Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brady/) > [In the past, art was admired and revered from afar. Today, there is more of an interactive relationship between the art and the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/in-the-past-art-was-admired-and-revered-from-afar-today-there-is-more/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [I'm not as much a history person as an art person, but I mean, you can read history through art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/i-m-not-as-much-a-history-person-as-an-art-person-but-i-mean-you-can/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [“By art alone we can get out of ourselves, find out what another person sees of this universe which is not the same as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/by-art-alone-we-can-get-out-of-ourselves-find-out-what-another-person/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“To be an artist was to interpret experiences for others. 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What is great art to one person isn't necessarily to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-blecher/art-is-incredibly-subjective-what-is-great-art-to-one-person-isn-t/) [Sara Blecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-blecher/) > [“And I'll go even further and say that mathematics, this art of abstract pattern-making — even more than storytelling, painting, or music - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/and-i-ll-go-even-further-and-say-that-mathematics-this-art-of/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [“Certainly, we can no longer look upon the canon of Western art - Greco-Roman as revived, extended, and graced by the Renaissance - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/certainly-we-can-no-longer-look-upon-the-canon-of-western-art-greco/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## 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": "Art is what we call...the thing an artist does. 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