--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's the procedures in and for themselves…" description: "\"It's the procedures in and for themselves that interest me. The picture isn't really necessary.\" — Sigmar Polke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/sigmar-polke-26523_interest_it-s-the-procedures-in-and-for-themselve_2977921.jpg" --- # It's the procedures in and for themselves that interest… ![“It's the procedures in and for themselves that interest me. The picture isn't really necessary.” quote by Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/sigmar-polke-26523_interest_it-s-the-procedures-in-and-for-themselve_2977921.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/sigmar-polke-26523_interest_it-s-the-procedures-in-and-for-themselve_2977921.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/sigmar-polke-26523_interest_it-s-the-procedures-in-and-for-themselve_2977921.jpg) > “It's the procedures in and for themselves that interest me. The picture isn't really necessary.” [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Polke is fascinated by the underlying processes of art rather than its visual outcome. **In simple terms:** He values method over appearance. Key Takeaway Focus on process, not just product. Themes art process philosophy Mood analytical contemplative Type artistic theoretical When to use this quote - creative practice - art criticism - educational workshops Key Concepts methodology conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - How does process shape meaning? - When is visual result essential? A Different Perspective Method alone may ignore emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picture/) ## Related quotes > [As for a picture, if it isn't worth a thousand words, the hell with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/as-for-a-picture-if-it-isn-t-worth-a-thousand-words-the-hell-with-it/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [When a picture isn't realized, you pitch it in the fire and start another one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/when-a-picture-isn-t-realized-you-pitch-it-in-the-fire-and-start/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-hall/i-realize-that-every-picture-isn-t-a-work-of-art/) [Conrad Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-hall/) > [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/) [Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/) > [The United States need to put internet processes, policies, and procedures in place with real laws that forbid going beyond the borders of what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-united-states-need-to-put-internet-processes-policies-and/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Change isn't always bad; we should always be learning and improving. But the change I was seeing involved principles, not procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-dungy/change-isn-t-always-bad-we-should-always-be-learning-and-improving/) [Tony Dungy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-dungy/) > [There are only two feelings, Love and fear: There are only two languages, Love and fear: There are only two activities, Love and fear:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-leunig/there-are-only-two-feelings-love-and-fear-there-are-only-two/) [Michael Leunig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-leunig/) > [Two to 4% of cancers respond to chemotherapy…The bottom line is for a few kinds of cancer chemo is a life extending procedure-Hodgkin's disease,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/two-to-4-of-cancers-respond-to-chemotherapy-the-bottom-line-is-for-a/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) > [The CIA has acknowledged that it has detained about 100 terrorists since 9/11, and about a third of them have been subjected to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/the-cia-has-acknowledged-that-it-has-detained-about-100-terrorists/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [To become a saint in the Catholic Church, the normal procedure is, beatification, requiring one miracle in your name, then canonization, roughly in five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/to-become-a-saint-in-the-catholic-church-the-normal-procedure-is/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [As the practical value of altering consciousness becomes recognized, procedures to effect these alterations will become increasingly ordinary and unremarkable. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/as-the-practical-value-of-altering-consciousness-becomes-recognized/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-behavior-and-reactions-of-the-oppressed-which-lead-the-oppressor/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Something is wrong if workers do not look around each day, find things that are tedious or boring, and then rewrite the procedures. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taiichi-ohno/something-is-wrong-if-workers-do-not-look-around-each-day-find-things/) [Taiichi Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taiichi-ohno/) > [“All the tools, techniques and technology in the world are nothing without the head, heart and hands to use them wisely, kindly and mindfully”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/all-the-tools-techniques-and-technology-in-the-world-are-nothing/) [Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## More by Sigmar Polke > [There has to be an element of risk-taking for me in my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/there-has-to-be-an-element-of-risk-taking-for-me-in-my-work/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [Mostly, drawings are things I make for myself - I do them in sketchbooks. They are mental experiments - private inner thoughts when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/mostly-drawings-are-things-i-make-for-myself-i-do-them-in-sketchbooks/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [A negative is never finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/a-negative-is-never-finished/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [When I was young, I was interested in Renaissance art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/when-i-was-young-i-was-interested-in-renaissance-art/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [We were very poor and my family lost everything during the war - our home and our identity. But I'm a believer in luck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/we-were-very-poor-and-my-family-lost-everything-during-the-war-our/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [People expect things from art that are horrible for us who make it! They put the things we make in these restrictive places called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/people-expect-things-from-art-that-are-horrible-for-us-who-make-it/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [The conventional definition of reality, and the idea of 'normal life', mean nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/the-conventional-definition-of-reality-and-the-idea-of-normal-life/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [As a child, I copied Duerer drawings and Bruegel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/as-a-child-i-copied-duerer-drawings-and-bruegel/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [What interests me is the unforeseeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/what-interests-me-is-the-unforeseeable/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [By making pictures, you learn the many different properties of photography. I use those properties differently than, say, an advertising agency would, but we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/by-making-pictures-you-learn-the-many-different-properties-of/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [I’m a believer in luck and think the social conditions you’re born into provide the opportunity for you to prove your luck. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/i-m-a-believer-in-luck-and-think-the-social-conditions-you-re-born/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [I've never been interested in philosophy, but some of Jung's ideas seem useful in helping people understand pictures and so forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/i-ve-never-been-interested-in-philosophy-but-some-of-jung-s-ideas/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [Picabia is a very old painter who some people try to connect me to, but I refuse such comparisons very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/picabia-is-a-very-old-painter-who-some-people-try-to-connect-me-to/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [When I came to the West, I saw many, many things for the first time. But I also saw the prosperity of the West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/when-i-came-to-the-west-i-saw-many-many-things-for-the-first-time-but/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) > [Yes, my works... are enshrined in museums, but I don't care if the pieces fall apart in 20 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-polke/yes-my-works-are-enshrined-in-museums-but-i-don-t-care-if-the-pieces/) [Sigmar Polke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) [Explore all 21 Sigmar Polke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-polke/) ## More Interest quotes > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Teachers' unions don't act in the interest of most teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-khan/teachers-unions-don-t-act-in-the-interest-of-most-teachers/) [Sal Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-khan/) > [I really like female singers; I've got zero interest in working with male singers. Any male voice I need to do, I can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-townsend/i-really-like-female-singers-i-ve-got-zero-interest-in-working-with/) [Devin Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-townsend/) > [I could not identify with harming my child or giving up my child. But I could identify with giving up my child if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drea-de-matteo/i-could-not-identify-with-harming-my-child-or-giving-up-my-child-but/) [Drea De Matteo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drea-de-matteo/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [I think another thing is that we don't really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist's interest to be on sale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-think-another-thing-is-that-we-don-t-really-want-exclusivity-we/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [My dream is to play ordinary characters. 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