--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Violence is central in our lives, a…" description: "\"“Violence is central in our lives, a constant and unavoidable reality. Experience is not a linear construct moving from one point to another - childhoo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg" --- # Violence is central in our lives, a constant and… ![“Violence is central in our lives, a constant and unavoidable reality. Experience is not a linear construct moving from one point to another - childhood to maturity, "bad" to "good," beginning to end - but a wheel turning around a point that shifts between hope and despair. "At the still point of…” quote by Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg) > ““Violence is central in our lives, a constant and unavoidable reality. Experience is not a linear construct moving from one point to another - childhood to maturity, "bad" to "good," beginning to end - but a wheel turning around a point that shifts between hope and despair. "At the still point of the turning world," the job of the artist is not to resolve or beautify, but to hold complexities, to see and make clear.”” [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is a constant, cyclical force; artists should expose its complexities rather than simplify. **In simple terms:** Artists reveal life's cycles. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in creative work. Themes art violence philosophy human experience Mood thoughtful provocative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - visual arts - poetry - theatre productions Key Concepts cyclical narratives existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How can art balance truth and accessibility? - What responsibilities do artists have to society? A Different Perspective Simplifying may miss nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope and despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-and-despair/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Turning point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-point/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [My father's violence is the central fact of my art and my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/my-father-s-violence-is-the-central-fact-of-my-art-and-my-life/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [In my opinion, all relationships between people have some sort of violence, and it is central.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-chan-wook/in-my-opinion-all-relationships-between-people-have-some-sort-of/) [Park Chan-wook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-chan-wook/) > [“Prison is a still point in a turning world, and it is very easy to remain in the same place in jail while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/prison-is-a-still-point-in-a-turning-world-and-it-is-very-easy-to/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/at-the-still-point-of-the-turning-world-neither-flesh-nor-fleshless-2/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The coronavirus is turning everyone's world upside-down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-gordon/the-coronavirus-is-turning-everyone-s-world-upside-down/) [Aaron Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-gordon/) > [“Does this seem to be a place that concerns itself overmuch with the turning of the world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/does-this-seem-to-be-a-place-that-concerns-itself-overmuch-with-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Going nowhere isn’t about turning your back on the world; it’s about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/going-nowhere-isn-t-about-turning-your-back-on-the-world-it-s-about/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Pranking is ultimately turning the world upside down. It's in good fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/pranking-is-ultimately-turning-the-world-upside-down-it-s-in-good-fun/) [Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/) > [We Abolition Women are turning the world upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-grimke/we-abolition-women-are-turning-the-world-upside-down/) [Angelina Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-grimke/) > [The kiss became the narrowed center of the still point of the turning world, so that even the park was turning in comparison to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/the-kiss-became-the-narrowed-center-of-the-still-point-of-the-turning/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Names and knowledge change, the way the turning world brings color or deep shadows, without a sound even as soft as the twist of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannine-atkins/names-and-knowledge-change-the-way-the-turning-world-brings-color-or/) Jeannine Atkins > [...the still point in a turning world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-still-point-in-a-turning-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Moyers: {TS\] Eliot speaks about the still point of the turning world, where motion and stasis are together, the hub where the movement of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/moyers-ts-eliot-speaks-about-the-still-point-of-the-turning-world/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More by Toi Derricotte > [“...we were brave before memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/we-were-brave-before-memory/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [Poetry asks people to have values, form opinions, care about some other part of experience besides making money and being successful on the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/poetry-asks-people-to-have-values-form-opinions-care-about-some-other/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [These are the stories of travelers on a spiritual quest between worlds. Part mythmaker, part poet, Omar Castaeda is an original, and these stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/these-are-the-stories-of-travelers-on-a-spiritual-quest-between/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [“-----What is more punished among the angry than anger? among the unsatisfied than desire? among the hate-filled than hate? among the frightened than fear? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/what-is-more-punished-among-the-angry-than-anger-among-the/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [“My Father Still Sleeping After Surgery In spite of himself, my father loved me. In spite of the hands that beat me, in spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/my-father-still-sleeping-after-surgery-in-spite-of-himself-my-father/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [The job of the artist is not to resolve or beautify, but to hold complexities, to see and make clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/the-job-of-the-artist-is-not-to-resolve-or-beautify-but-to-hold/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [“A picture in a book, a lynching. The bland faces of men who watch a Christ go up in flames, smiling, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/a-picture-in-a-book-a-lynching-the-bland-faces-of-men-who-watch-a/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [I hate it when, after I let a white person know they've said something racist, I end up having to listen for hours to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/i-hate-it-when-after-i-let-a-white-person-know-they-ve-said-something/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) > [“Poem for My Father You closed the door. I was on the other side, screaming. It was black in your mind. Blacker than burned-out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/poem-for-my-father-you-closed-the-door-i-was-on-the-other-side/) [Toi Derricotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) [Explore all 10 Toi Derricotte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/) ## 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": "“Violence is central in our lives, a constant and unavoidable reality. Experience is not a linear construct moving from one point to another - childhood to maturity, \"bad\" to \"good,\" beginning to end - but a wheel turning around a point that shifts between hope and despair. \"At the still point of the turning world,\" the job of the artist is not to resolve or beautify, but to hold complexities, to see and make clear.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Toi Derricotte" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-constant-and-unavoidable-reality/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-constant-and-unavoidable-reality/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/toi-derricotte-42934_art_violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-const_2656891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Violence is central in our lives, a constant and unavoidable reality. Experience is not a linear construct…” — Toi Derricotte", "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": "Toi Derricotte", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toi-derricotte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Violence is central in our lives,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-constant-and-unavoidable-reality/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toi-derricotte/violence-is-central-in-our-lives-a-constant-and-unavoidable-reality/#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 } } ] } ```