--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today is such a time, when the project of…" description: "\"Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation is largely reactionary, stifling. Like the fumes of the automobile and of heavy industry which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/susan-sontag-332_art_today-is-such-a-time-when-the-project-of_871380.jpg" --- # Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation… ![“Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation is largely reactionary, stifling. Like the fumes of the automobile and of heavy industry which befoul the urban atmosphere, the effusion of interpretations of art today poisons our sensibilities. In a culture whose already classical dilemma…” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/susan-sontag-332_art_today-is-such-a-time-when-the-project-of_871380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/susan-sontag-332_art_today-is-such-a-time-when-the-project-of_871380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/585/susan-sontag-332_art_today-is-such-a-time-when-the-project-of_871380.jpg) > “Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation is largely reactionary, stifling. Like the fumes of the automobile and of heavy industry which befoul the urban atmosphere, the effusion of interpretations of art today poisons our sensibilities. In a culture whose already classical dilemma is the hypertrophy of the intellect at the expense of energy and sensual capability, interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon 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. Contemporary art criticism is dominated by intellectual analysis that suppresses sensory experience, reducing art to a battle of ideas. **In simple terms:** Art criticism now favors intellect over feeling. Key Takeaway Rebalance analysis with sensory appreciation. Themes art criticism intellectualism culture sensuality Mood critical reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - museum visits - art education - creative practice - public discourse Key Concepts aesthetics philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can you experience art more fully? - What role should intellect play in art appreciation? A Different Perspective Intellectual focus can deepen understanding despite sensory loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dilemma/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Interpretations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretations/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) [Sensual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensual/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [“Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation is largely reactionary, stifling. 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But it all started when I was 20, and by the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvind-swami/i-had-no-intention-of-being-an-actor-in-the-first-place-but-it-all/) [Arvind Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvind-swami/) > [Every time you have a new tax, or every time you have to pay really an inordinate amount for a regulation, it's really stifling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-raese/every-time-you-have-a-new-tax-or-every-time-you-have-to-pay-really-an/) [John Raese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-raese/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) ## 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. 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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. 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