--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes…" description: "\"Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes art mean the things he does.\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/tom-stoppard-437_art_nowadays-an-artist-is-someone-who-makes_2323372.png" --- # Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes art mean the… ![“Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes art mean the things he does.” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/tom-stoppard-437_art_nowadays-an-artist-is-someone-who-makes_2323372.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/tom-stoppard-437_art_nowadays-an-artist-is-someone-who-makes_2323372.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/tom-stoppard-437_art_nowadays-an-artist-is-someone-who-makes_2323372.png) > “Nowadays, an artist is someone who makes art mean the things he does.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is defined by the creator’s intent, not by external standards. **In simple terms:** Artists give meaning to their work. Key Takeaway Consider your purpose when creating. Themes creativity meaning intent Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal projects - public installations - digital media - teaching art Key Concepts existentialism subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what your art should mean? - What role does viewer perception play? A Different Perspective Audience interpretation can differ from artist intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-mean-1429811/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-makes/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Makes Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-art-1651645/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Nowadays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nowadays/) [Nowadays Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nowadays-artist-2967676/) ## Related quotes > [Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/whatever-an-artist-s-personal-feelings-are-as-soon-as-an-artist-fills-2/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [An artist is someone who makes art... He didn't invent it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/an-artist-is-someone-who-makes-art-he-didn-t-invent-it/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [“An artist is someone who makes art;only artist can create a work of art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asaid/an-artist-is-someone-who-makes-art-only-artist-can-create-a-work-of/) [ASAID](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asaid/) > [The artist makes art not to save mankind but to save himself. Every benevolent comment by an artist is a fog to cover his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-artist-makes-art-not-to-save-mankind-but-to-save-himself-every/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [You cannot just be the feature act, not that that's a bad thing, because that's a good thing, especially nowadays. But as an artist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo/you-cannot-just-be-the-feature-act-not-that-that-s-a-bad-thing/) [MO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo/) > [Making people dance has another function that has nothing to do with art, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/making-people-dance-has-another-function-that-has-nothing-to-do-with/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [I am aware, as everybody has to be, that there's more competition for one's attention nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-am-aware-as-everybody-has-to-be-that-there-s-more-competition-for/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We're all busy. It's a very fast-paced world. 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Like my wife, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-toro/art-can-mean-a-lot-of-things-at-the-heart-of-it-art-is-doing/) [Ray Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-toro/) > [What does art mean to me? I never really think about the 'meaning' of art. Yet, obviously, that's what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-malanga/what-does-art-mean-to-me-i-never-really-think-about-the-meaning-of/) [Gerard Malanga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-malanga/) > [Human nature is full of riddles and contradictions; its very complexity engenders art-and by art I mean the search for something more than simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-and-contradictions-its-very/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“A genuine work of art must mean many things; the truer its art, the more things it will mean. If my drawing, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/a-genuine-work-of-art-must-mean-many-things-the-truer-its-art-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be reduced to what we nowadays call 'motivation.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/chekhov-understood-that-people-are-mysterious-and-can-t-be-reduced-to/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## 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. 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