--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The \"happening\" operates by creating an…" description: "\"The \"happening\" operates by creating an asymmetrical network of surprises, without climax or consummation, this is the alogism of dreams rather than th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg" --- # The "happening" operates by creating an asymmetrical… ![“The "happening" operates by creating an asymmetrical network of surprises, without climax or consummation, this is the alogism of dreams rather than the logic of most art.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg) > “The "happening" operates by creating an asymmetrical network of surprises, without climax or consummation, this is the alogism of dreams rather than the logic of most art.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreamlike art creates unexpected connections without a clear climax, contrasting logical structures. **In simple terms:** Dream art is surprising and non‑linear. Key Takeaway Appreciate the unexpected in creative work. Themes art surprise logic dreams Mood thoughtful analytical Type theoretical critical When to use this quote - film criticism - visual art - creative brainstorming - design process Key Concepts aesthetic theory non‑linear narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does surprise affect meaning? - Can art be both dreamlike and logical? A Different Perspective Dream logic may lack coherence for some audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alogism Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alogism-dreams-2494912/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Climax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climax/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-logic-2494911/) [Happening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening/) [Happening Operates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happening-operates-2494910/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Surprises Climax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprises-climax-2494913/) ## Related quotes > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The dog is dressed just like me at the climax of my act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gypsy-rose-lee/the-dog-is-dressed-just-like-me-at-the-climax-of-my-act/) [Gypsy Rose Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gypsy-rose-lee/) > [“A plot-structure is a series of integrated, logically connected events, moved by a central purpose, leading to the resolution of a climax.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-branden/a-plot-structure-is-a-series-of-integrated-logically-connected-events/) [Barbara Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-branden/) > [“I’m pretty sure I had a romance novel climax.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-c-jamison/i-m-pretty-sure-i-had-a-romance-novel-climax/) [Jade C. Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-c-jamison/) > [Oh, is this the climax? Well, I hope you don't mind if I fake it! -Buffy Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scary-movie/oh-is-this-the-climax-well-i-hope-you-don-t-mind-if-i-fake-it-buffy/) [Scary Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scary-movie/) > [More than working toward the book's climax, I work toward the denouement. As a reader and a writer, that's where I find the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-van-eekhout/more-than-working-toward-the-book-s-climax-i-work-toward-the/) [Greg van Eekhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-van-eekhout/) > [Even the classics that we read to our young children are full of wolves' fangs and burning ovens and bloody feet and ice shards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/even-the-classics-that-we-read-to-our-young-children-are-full-of/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [The climax of absurdity to which art may be carried when led away from nature by fashion, may be best seen in the works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/the-climax-of-absurdity-to-which-art-may-be-carried-when-led-away/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [Think 'Game of Thrones.' In the old days, this sort of show might be considered bad writing. It doesn't really seem to be moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/think-game-of-thrones-in-the-old-days-this-sort-of-show-might-be/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [I don't view any of the hits I've ever written as the climax of my career. They're just minor stepping stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bellion/i-don-t-view-any-of-the-hits-i-ve-ever-written-as-the-climax-of-my/) [Jon Bellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bellion/) > [“And in that full day, while Jed slept and woke and worked and loved, the forces in the world around him rushed headlong toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bunker/and-in-that-full-day-while-jed-slept-and-woke-and-worked-and-loved/) [Michael Bunker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bunker/) > [Going nowhere fast. We've reached the climax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usher/going-nowhere-fast-we-ve-reached-the-climax/) [Usher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usher/) > ['Prom' is a movie that follows a bunch of high-schoolers' lives leading up to the prom, the climax of the movie. It focuses all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-monaghan/prom-is-a-movie-that-follows-a-bunch-of-high-schoolers-lives-leading/) [Cameron Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-monaghan/) > [I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hatethe corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-love-the-pure-peaceable-and-impartial-christianity-of-christ-i/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [The climax of terror is reached when the police state begins to devour its own children, when yesterday's executioner becomes today's victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-climax-of-terror-is-reached-when-the-police-state-begins-to/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## 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": "The \"happening\" operates by creating an asymmetrical network of surprises, without climax or consummation, this is the alogism of dreams rather than the logic of most art.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Sontag" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-asymmetrical-network-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-asymmetrical-network-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/susan-sontag-332_art_the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-as_2669847.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The \"happening\" operates by creating an asymmetrical network of surprises, without climax or consummation…” — Susan Sontag", "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": "Susan Sontag", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The \"happening\" operates by creating an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-asymmetrical-network-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-happening-operates-by-creating-an-asymmetrical-network-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 } } ] } ```