--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists are mystics rather than…" description: "\"Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.\" — Sol LeWitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-are-mystics-rather-than-rational_2952531.jpg" --- # Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to… ![“Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.” quote by Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-are-mystics-rather-than-rational_2952531.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-are-mystics-rather-than-rational_2952531.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8e/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-are-mystics-rather-than-rational_2952531.jpg) > “Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach.” [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists rely on intuition and mysticism, reaching insights beyond logical reasoning. **In simple terms:** Artists use intuition over logic. Key Takeaway Trust creative intuition. Themes art intuition mysticism creativity Mood philosophical inspirational Type artistic creative When to use this quote - Art workshops - creative brainstorming - design thinking sessions - improvisation classes Key Concepts Non‑rational insight creative process artistic leap Questions to Reflect On - How can logic and mysticism coexist in art? - When does intuition mislead? A Different Perspective Logic still guides execution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artists Mystics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artists-mystics-2330328/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Mystics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystics/) [Mystics Rationalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystics-rationalists-4457995/) [Rationalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalists-319667/) [Rationalists Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalists-leap-4457996/) ## Related quotes > [For millennia, artists and mystics have pondered the question of how to represent that which, by definition, cannot or must not be represented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/for-millennia-artists-and-mystics-have-pondered-the-question-of-how/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [The various systems of doctrine that have held dominion over man have been demonstrated to be true beyond all question by rationalists of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-trotter/the-various-systems-of-doctrine-that-have-held-dominion-over-man-have/) [Wilfred Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-trotter/) > [“There are no rationalists. We all believe fairy-tales, and live in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-no-rationalists-we-all-believe-fairy-tales-and-live-in-them/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [You're either a rationalist, or you're not. And the good news is a recent poll found 20% of adults under 30 say they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/you-re-either-a-rationalist-or-you-re-not-and-the-good-news-is-a/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“One of chief pieces of advice I give to aspiring rationalists is "Don't try to be clever." And, "Listen to those quiet, nagging doubts."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/one-of-chief-pieces-of-advice-i-give-to-aspiring-rationalists-is-don/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“The very rationalists who jeer at the trial by combat, in the old feudal ordeal, do in fact accept a trial by combat as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-very-rationalists-who-jeer-at-the-trial-by-combat-in-the-old/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Rationalists are admirable beings, rationalism is a hideous monster when it claims for itself omnipotence. Attribution of omnipotence to reason is as bad a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/rationalists-are-admirable-beings-rationalism-is-a-hideous-monster/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“With the exception of professional rationalists, today people despair of true knowledge. If only the significant history of human thought were to be written,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/with-the-exception-of-professional-rationalists-today-people-despair/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Just as eunuchs will never know aesthetics as applied to the selection of beautiful women, so neither will pure rationalists ever know ethics, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel/just-as-eunuchs-will-never-know-aesthetics-as-applied-to-the/) [Miguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel/) > [“What we want to believe and what is true are, I think, more closely related than the Rationalists would sometimes have us believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/what-we-want-to-believe-and-what-is-true-are-i-think-more-closely/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“There comes a time when one must be strong with rationalists, for they can reduce anything whatever to dust, if they happen not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-comes-a-time-when-one-must-be-strong-with-rationalists-for-they/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“Some of them are blinding glimpses of the obvious (BGOs), several overlap, and I make no claims of discovery. The fundamental proposition – and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/some-of-them-are-blinding-glimpses-of-the-obvious-bgos-several/) [Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-andrew-hugh-gordon/) > [“So we invent reasons for the unreasonable. We are rationalists of the irrational. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/so-we-invent-reasons-for-the-unreasonable-we-are-rationalists-of-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Mystics love to make things as obscure as possible, I've learned, and never use a sentence when a paragraph of riddles will do. Priests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dietrich/mystics-love-to-make-things-as-obscure-as-possible-i-ve-learned-and/) [William Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dietrich/) > [The mystics always say that the experience they're talking about is ineffable, that you can't say it. Rumi was asked one time why he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/the-mystics-always-say-that-the-experience-they-re-talking-about-is/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) ## More by Sol LeWitt > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The artist is seen like a producer of commodities, like a factory that turns our refrigerators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-artist-is-seen-like-a-producer-of-commodities-like-a-factory-that/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Most ideas that are successful are ludicrously simple. Successful ideas generally have the appearance of simplicity because they seem inevitable. In terms of idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/most-ideas-that-are-successful-are-ludicrously-simple-successful/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-critics-repeat-what-the-artists/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [In my case, I used the elements of these simple forms - square, cube, line and color - to produce logical systems. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/in-my-case-i-used-the-elements-of-these-simple-forms-square-cube-line/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [The narrative of serial art works more like music than like literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-narrative-of-serial-art-works-more-like-music-than-like-literature/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Just as the development of earth art and installation art stemmed from the idea of taking art out of the galleries, the basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/just-as-the-development-of-earth-art-and-installation-art-stemmed/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I didn't want to save art - I respected the older artists too much to think art needed saving. But I knew it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-didn-t-want-to-save-art-i-respected-the-older-artists-too-much-to/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [One should be intelligent enough to know when not to be too intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/one-should-be-intelligent-enough-to-know-when-not-to-be-too/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I wasn't really that interested in objects. I was interested in ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-wasn-t-really-that-interested-in-objects-i-was-interested-in-ideas/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Your work isn't a high stakes, nail-biting professional challenge. It's a form of play. Lighten up and have fun with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/your-work-isn-t-a-high-stakes-nail-biting-professional-challenge-it-s/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [All of the significant art of today stems from Conceptual art. This includes the art of installation, political, feminist and socially directed art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/all-of-the-significant-art-of-today-stems-from-conceptual-art-this/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [A work of art may be understood as a conductor from the artist's mind to the viewer's. But it may never reach the viewer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/a-work-of-art-may-be-understood-as-a-conductor-from-the-artist-s-mind/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I was not interested in irony; I wanted to emphasize the primacy of the idea in making art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/i-was-not-interested-in-irony-i-wanted-to-emphasize-the-primacy-of/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) [Explore all 57 Sol LeWitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. 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