--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you don't enjoy making work, then it's…" description: "\"If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough. Artwork is brutal for so many people. They let it happen to them, but it's brutal. I like th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg" --- # If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough… ![“If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough. Artwork is brutal for so many people. They let it happen to them, but it's brutal. I like the idea of an artist as somebody who works. A lot of the artists I like share this understanding.” quote by Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg) > “If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough. Artwork is brutal for so many people. They let it happen to them, but it's brutal. I like the idea of an artist as somebody who works. A lot of the artists I like share this understanding.” [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work should be enjoyable; when it feels brutal, it reflects a disconnect between passion and labor. **In simple terms:** Enjoy work or it feels harsh. Key Takeaway Seek purpose and joy in creative labor. Themes work creativity ful meaning Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - freelance projects - studio practice - team collaborations - career planning Key Concepts labor theory of art psychology of motivation Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your work feel rewarding? - How can hardship fuel growth? A Different Perspective Not all art can be joyful; struggle can be productive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artwork/) [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe an artist's position in society is different today because it's more individualistic. You're not a direct servant anymore to the patron-you're an indirect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is-different-today-because-it-s/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [That was a wonderful period in my life. I mean, I didn't become an artist, but somebody let me do something I loved. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/that-was-a-wonderful-period-in-my-life-i-mean-i-didn-t-become-an/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I'd rather have people really be able to step back and get their money's worth and look at me as a true artist than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-reinhart/i-d-rather-have-people-really-be-able-to-step-back-and-get-their/) [Haley Reinhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-reinhart/) > [I think the definition of an artist is not necessarily tied into excellence or talent; an artist is somebody who, if you took away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-price/i-think-the-definition-of-an-artist-is-not-necessarily-tied-into/) [Richard Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-price/) > [Like so many other nerdy, disaffected young people of that time, I dreamed of becoming an 'artist', i.e., somebody whose adult job was original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/like-so-many-other-nerdy-disaffected-young-people-of-that-time-i/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God. The guy who built the Tower of Babel was the first artist. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/an-artist-is-somebody-who-enters-into-competition-with-god-the-guy/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/an-artist-is-somebody-who-produces-things-that-people-don-t-need-to/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [As a freelance artist, you have to please somebody instead of just making music. But when the employer trusts and leans on you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-younge/as-a-freelance-artist-you-have-to-please-somebody-instead-of-just/) [Adrian Younge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-younge/) > [“Don't be an artist. Be somebody's artist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zev-rector/don-t-be-an-artist-be-somebody-s-artist/) Zev Rector > [I get hired as a writer or producer and I do the best I can to bring out that artist. If somebody calls you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/i-get-hired-as-a-writer-or-producer-and-i-do-the-best-i-can-to-bring/) [Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/) > [What I consider to be the barometer for what is a rock artist and what is not, is somebody who has a certain element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-astbury/what-i-consider-to-be-the-barometer-for-what-is-a-rock-artist-and/) [Ian Astbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-astbury/) > [An artist is somebody that puts themselves in a room, they're a wee bit self-indulgent and you know, sink into their music and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-reid/an-artist-is-somebody-that-puts-themselves-in-a-room-they-re-a-wee/) [Johnny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-reid/) > [The integrity of being an artist for Frank Stella means going into the unknown.A great artist is somebody who's not scared to reinvent themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stella/the-integrity-of-being-an-artist-for-frank-stella-means-going-into/) [Frank Stella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stella/) > [An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/an-artist-is-somebody-who-enters-into-competition-with-god/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) ## More by Urs Fischer > [Did you find any artists complaining who don't already complain all day long about everything? No. But have you ever met a dealer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/did-you-find-any-artists-complaining-who-don-t-already-complain-all/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [You basically only discover a new thing once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/you-basically-only-discover-a-new-thing-once/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [I think it's bad for human beings to be artists. It's awful. You want to do something but you're constantly trying to decide what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/i-think-it-s-bad-for-human-beings-to-be-artists-it-s-awful-you-want/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [Take a relief. You draw it, you carve it out. Later you build it up from a flat surface. There is no other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/take-a-relief-you-draw-it-you-carve-it-out-later-you-build-it-up-from/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [I love seeing tattoos on 60-year-olds who have had them for 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/i-love-seeing-tattoos-on-60-year-olds-who-have-had-them-for-40-years/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [I always have a lot of things going on because some things take years to make and others take five minutes. I like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/i-always-have-a-lot-of-things-going-on-because-some-things-take-years/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [Life is one long decay, no? There's a lot of beauty in it. Like the patina in an old city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/life-is-one-long-decay-no-there-s-a-lot-of-beauty-in-it-like-the/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [Many artists who don't go off to art school come to New York. It's about what you learn when you're here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/many-artists-who-don-t-go-off-to-art-school-come-to-new-york-it-s/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [I could see the works just living in reproductions. The work lives on like fantasy. Some live even better as just an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/i-could-see-the-works-just-living-in-reproductions-the-work-lives-on/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [I think when tattoos are new and colorful, they look bad. But they look better the older and more bleached out they become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/i-think-when-tattoos-are-new-and-colorful-they-look-bad-but-they-look/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [Everybody I knew who was really ambitious and kind of annoying wanted to move to New York. I like it here but that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/everybody-i-knew-who-was-really-ambitious-and-kind-of-annoying-wanted/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [Maybe an artist's position in society is different today because it's more individualistic. You're not a direct servant anymore to the patron-you're an indirect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is-different-today-because-it-s/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) > [What is the art world? I never really understood. I started doing this stuff to do what I want to do. Not to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/what-is-the-art-world-i-never-really-understood-i-started-doing-this/) [Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) [Explore all 14 Urs Fischer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/) ## 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": "If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough. Artwork is brutal for so many people. They let it happen to them, but it's brutal. I like the idea of an artist as somebody who works. A lot of the artists I like share this understanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Urs Fischer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/urs-fischer-34744_art_if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s_243342.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad. It's rough. Artwork is brutal for so many people. They let it…” — Urs Fischer", "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": "Urs Fischer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urs-fischer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you don't enjoy making work,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/#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 } } ] } ```