--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During the '70s I was interested in words…" description: "\"During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a way of making art.\" — Sol LeWitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg" --- # During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a… ![“During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a way of making art.” quote by Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg) > “During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a way of making art.” [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. The artist explored language and meaning as artistic mediums during the 1970s, emphasizing conceptual art. **In simple terms:** Words and meaning became artistic tools. Key Takeaway Explore concepts through language. Themes art language conceptualism creativity Mood introspective academic Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - exhibitions - education - writing - public talks - creative workshops Key Concepts semiotics conceptual art art history Questions to Reflect On - How can language shape visual art? - What concepts inspire you? A Different Perspective It may overlook visual aspects of his work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“He grew interested in words as a means of communicating thoughts and feelings, and majored in linguistics in college.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shion-miura/he-grew-interested-in-words-as-a-means-of-communicating-thoughts-and/) [Shion Miura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shion-miura/) > [I'm not interested in the words or the meaning of the words. I'm interested in disappearing in it completely, to not be aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-m-not-interested-in-the-words-or-the-meaning-of-the-words-i-m/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [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/) > [“Words have meaning beyond the obvious. Words have consequences beyond intentions. Civil words align risk and reward of such unknowns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-dallas-jr/words-have-meaning-beyond-the-obvious-words-have-consequences-beyond/) [John R. Dallas Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-dallas-jr/) > [I find it difficult to believe that words have no meaning in themselves, hard as I try. Habits of a lifetime are not lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/i-find-it-difficult-to-believe-that-words-have-no-meaning-in/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [And the good writer chooses his words for their 'meaning', but that meaning is not a a set, cut-off thing like the move of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/and-the-good-writer-chooses-his-words-for-their-meaning-but-that/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Your words and my words are the same, but not our meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/your-words-and-my-words-are-the-same-but-not-our-meaning/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Always" and "never" are not words that have much meaning in literary study. For one thing, as soon as something seems to always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/always-and-never-are-not-words-that-have-much-meaning-in-literary/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [Never generally means "at no point in time." The term comes from the words 'no' and 'ever', meaning that something is not ever going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/never-generally-means-at-no-point-in-time-the-term-comes-from-the/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [Is there a meaning to music? Yes. Can you state in so many words what the meaning is? No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-copland/is-there-a-meaning-to-music-yes-can-you-state-in-so-many-words-what/) [Aaron Copland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-copland/) > [And people get all fouled up because they want the world to have meaning as if it were words... As if you had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-people-get-all-fouled-up-because-they-want-the-world-to-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [8 letters 3 words 1 meaning I love you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/8-letters-3-words-1-meaning-i-love-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Get rid of words and meaning, and there is still poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yang-wanli/get-rid-of-words-and-meaning-and-there-is-still-poetry/) Yang Wanli > [Through words to the meaning of thoughts with no words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/through-words-to-the-meaning-of-thoughts-with-no-words/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“I love you = 8 letters 3 words but 1 meaning”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-roberts/i-love-you-8-letters-3-words-but-1-meaning/) [Allie Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-roberts/) ## 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 > [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": "During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a way of making art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sol LeWitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words-and-meaning-as-a-way-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words-and-meaning-as-a-way-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/sol-lewitt-11839_art_during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words_1656236.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During the '70s I was interested in words and meaning as a way of making art.” — Sol LeWitt", "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": "Sol LeWitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "During the '70s I was interested...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words-and-meaning-as-a-way-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/during-the-70s-i-was-interested-in-words-and-meaning-as-a-way-of/#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 } } ] } ```