--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You need intelligence, and you need to…" description: "\"You need intelligence, and you need to look. You need a gaze, a wide gaze, penetrating and roving - thats what's useful for art.\" — Toni Morrison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/toni-morrison-271_art_you-need-intelligence-and-you-need-to-lo_1377593.jpg" --- # You need intelligence, and you need to look. You need a… ![“You need intelligence, and you need to look. You need a gaze, a wide gaze, penetrating and roving - thats what's useful for art.” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/toni-morrison-271_art_you-need-intelligence-and-you-need-to-lo_1377593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/toni-morrison-271_art_you-need-intelligence-and-you-need-to-lo_1377593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/toni-morrison-271_art_you-need-intelligence-and-you-need-to-lo_1377593.jpg) > “You need intelligence, and you need to look. You need a gaze, a wide gaze, penetrating and roving - thats what's useful for art.” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art requires a wide, penetrating gaze that captures depth and nuance. **In simple terms:** Seeing broadly fuels artistic insight. Key Takeaway Cultivate a broad, attentive perspective. Themes art perception creativity Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - painting - writing - design - research - education Key Concepts visual literacy critical observation Questions to Reflect On - How can you expand your visual awareness? - What habits sharpen artistic perception? A Different Perspective A narrow focus can miss subtle details. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ## Related quotes > [What the economy requires now is a whole different set of skills: You need intelligence, you need an ability to sit still and focus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/what-the-economy-requires-now-is-a-whole-different-set-of-skills-you/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) > [Every day we need our gaze redirected from ourselves to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-b-ferguson/every-day-we-need-our-gaze-redirected-from-ourselves-to-god/) [Sinclair B. Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-b-ferguson/) > [Are you sure you want me to go after Christina? Lately I've kind of thought I might just give up on that. Plus, didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaclyn-moriarty/are-you-sure-you-want-me-to-go-after-christina-lately-i-ve-kind-of/) [Jaclyn Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaclyn-moriarty/) > [“The only two useful art forms are religion and stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-only-two-useful-art-forms-are-religion-and-stories/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Most arts require long study and application, but the most useful art of all, that of pleasing, requires only the desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/most-arts-require-long-study-and-application-but-the-most-useful-art/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Art is useful. Through art we can start building a world that works differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tania-bruguera/art-is-useful-through-art-we-can-start-building-a-world-that-works/) [Tania Bruguera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tania-bruguera/) > [“As, in useful art, so far as it is useful, the work must be strictly subordinated to the laws of Nature, so as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/as-in-useful-art-so-far-as-it-is-useful-the-work-must-be-strictly/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [You don't need intelligence to have luck, but you do need luck to have intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewish-proverb/you-don-t-need-intelligence-to-have-luck-but-you-do-need-luck-to-have/) Jewish Proverb > [To protect any community, we need intelligence and to nourish it we need humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/to-protect-any-community-we-need-intelligence-and-to-nourish-it-we/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [We need intelligence in this country. We need a certain toughness in this country, or we're going to end up like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-intelligence-in-this-country-we-need-a-certain-toughness-in/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I have heard it very often said that an artist does not need intelligence, that his is the province of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/i-have-heard-it-very-often-said-that-an-artist-does-not-need/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [“Hard work eventually solves all problems, but to solve problems quickly you need intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/hard-work-eventually-solves-all-problems-but-to-solve-problems/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [To make war all you need is intelligence. But to win you need talent and material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/to-make-war-all-you-need-is-intelligence-but-to-win-you-need-talent/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The implication of any well-designed calibrated question is that you want what the other guy wants but you need his intelligence to overcome the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-voss/the-implication-of-any-well-designed-calibrated-question-is-that-you/) [Chris Voss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-voss/) > [If we had complete knowledge, you wouldn't need any intelligence gathering whatsoever. The president isn't god. We do have intelligence gathering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/if-we-had-complete-knowledge-you-wouldn-t-need-any-intelligence/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## 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": "You need intelligence, and you need to look. 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