--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Artists teach critics what to think…" description: "\"Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.\" — Sol LeWitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-crit_229777.jpg" --- # Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what… ![“Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.” quote by Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-crit_229777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-crit_229777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6d/sol-lewitt-11839_art_artists-teach-critics-what-to-think-crit_229777.jpg) > “Artists teach critics what to think. Critics repeat what the artists teach them.” [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 shape critical discourse, and critics echo those ideas, reinforcing the artist's perspective. **In simple terms:** Artists guide critics; critics repeat. Key Takeaway Recognize how influence circulates. Themes art criticism power dynamics Mood reflective analytical Type theoretical observational When to use this quote - gallery openings - art reviews - academic seminars - media coverage Key Concepts conceptual art authority dialogue Questions to Reflect On - How does this dynamic affect artistic innovation? - Can critics maintain independence? A Different Perspective Critics may also challenge artists, not just repeat. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ## Related quotes > [Many of my sharpest critics have decided to take a position of ignoring me - because they feel that by attacking me, they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bartlett/many-of-my-sharpest-critics-have-decided-to-take-a-position-of/) [Bruce Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bartlett/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' 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But I think that they, in a way, betray their position when they stop people looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/well-i-think-critics-are-very-useful-but-i-think-that-they-in-a-way/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [It's very hard, I think, for critics to write positive reviews, because there's not that much to say about something you like. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitchell-hurwitz/it-s-very-hard-i-think-for-critics-to-write-positive-reviews-because/) [Mitchell Hurwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitchell-hurwitz/) > [I think it's for the critics to decide whether or not their loathing of the play is based on something other than the play's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-think-it-s-for-the-critics-to-decide-whether-or-not-their-loathing/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I think the harsh reviews helped, in that I spent way more energy in the preproduction and development. From this point of view, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uwe-boll/i-think-the-harsh-reviews-helped-in-that-i-spent-way-more-energy-in/) [Uwe Boll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uwe-boll/) > [I think sometimes the critics want me to beat people down, and that's not in me. I want to lift people up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-think-sometimes-the-critics-want-me-to-beat-people-down-and-that-s/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“For (strange as it may sound to many people, who tend to think of critics as being motivated by the lower emotions: envy, disdain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/for-strange-as-it-may-sound-to-many-people-who-tend-to-think-of/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [I don't think the critics could understand what we were doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/i-don-t-think-the-critics-could-understand-what-we-were-doing/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [People think I'm against critics because they are negative to my work. That's not what bothers me. What bothers me is they didn't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lewis/people-think-i-m-against-critics-because-they-are-negative-to-my-work/) [Jerry Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lewis/) > [If you think about it, critics are an unnecessary life-form on the planet Earth, and here's why: because it's a job without credentials. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-simmons/if-you-think-about-it-critics-are-an-unnecessary-life-form-on-the/) [Gene Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-simmons/) > [I don't really care very much if I don't think that the critics really understand music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lloyd-webber/i-don-t-really-care-very-much-if-i-don-t-think-that-the-critics/) [Andrew Lloyd Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lloyd-webber/) > [I think critics are very useful. But I think that they, in a way, betray their position when they stop people looking for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-think-critics-are-very-useful-but-i-think-that-they-in-a-way-betray/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) ## 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/) > [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. 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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/) > [ \[The artist's aim is\] not to instruct the viewer, but to give him information... . The artist would follow his predetermined premise to its… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/the-artist-s-aim-is-not-to-instruct-the-viewer-but-to-give-him/) [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. 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