--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe an artist's position in society is…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/urs-fischer-34744_art_maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is_2958174.jpg" --- # Maybe an artist's position in society is different today… ![“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 servant, or a servant with a choice, or maybe you could not even serve. It's the way you make something. You draw it, you carve it out…” quote by Urs Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/urs-fischer-34744_art_maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is_2958174.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/urs-fischer-34744_art_maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is_2958174.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/urs-fischer-34744_art_maybe-an-artist-s-position-in-society-is_2958174.jpg) > “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 servant, or a servant with a choice, or maybe you could not even serve. It's the way you make something. You draw it, you carve it out. Later you build it up from a flat surface. There is no other way to do a sculpture - you either add or you subtract. If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad... artwork is brutal for so many people... I like the idea of an artist as sombody who works.” [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. Artists now operate with autonomy, choosing whether to serve patrons or create independently; creation is an act of addition or subtraction, and lack of joy makes the work oppressive. **In simple terms:** Artists choose their path; creation is adding or removing; joy is essential. Key Takeaway Create with intention and enjoyment. Themes art creativity autonomy Mood thoughtful critical inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - public commissions - art education - creative workshops Key Concepts Agency process joy servitude Questions to Reflect On - How does autonomy affect artistic integrity? - When does work become oppressive? A Different Perspective Commercial pressures can still dictate artistic direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/) [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 enjoy mediation. I think the artist's position is often to mend the things we feel are broken. Whether that's between two cultures or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/i-enjoy-mediation-i-think-the-artist-s-position-is-often-to-mend-the/) [K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/) > [I've been in an artist position. I've been in a management position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xzibit/i-ve-been-in-an-artist-position-i-ve-been-in-a-management-position/) [Xzibit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xzibit/) > [“The idea of the individual is actually an ingenious solution to a difficult social-philosophical problem: Should we focus on society as a whole, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/the-idea-of-the-individual-is-actually-an-ingenious-solution-to-a/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) > [According to man's environment, society has made as many different types of men as there are varieties in zoology. The differences between a soldier,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/according-to-man-s-environment-society-has-made-as-many-different/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“From warm meals, to daily exercise, to healthcare; one can't help but wonder how our society would be different if tended to the elderly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/from-warm-meals-to-daily-exercise-to-healthcare-one-can-t-help-but/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [I talk about being a 'what' to people. Like, being gay in mainstream society is a different kind of 'what' than being black. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-talk-about-being-a-what-to-people-like-being-gay-in-mainstream/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“To those who can’t be their self because society has a different expectation of normal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-james/to-those-who-can-t-be-their-self-because-society-has-a-different/) Marie James > [Nearly every black man faces an unacceptable level of violence in this society. I'm not different. Money can shield you; it can protect you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puff-daddy/nearly-every-black-man-faces-an-unacceptable-level-of-violence-in/) [Puff Daddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puff-daddy/) > [Bollywood is a microcosm of society, it's no different from the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richa-chadha/bollywood-is-a-microcosm-of-society-it-s-no-different-from-the-world/) [Richa Chadha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richa-chadha/) > [What guides Marxism, then, is a different model of society, and a different conception of the function of the knowledge that can be produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/what-guides-marxism-then-is-a-different-model-of-society-and-a/) [Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/) > [That is the gay agenda...it is the recreation of society on a different moral foundation and the problem with that is that moral foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lively/that-is-the-gay-agenda-it-is-the-recreation-of-society-on-a-different/) [Scott Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lively/) > [ Wisdom and white hair might not be as valued \[in our society\] as in different cultures. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-souza/wisdom-and-white-hair-might-not-be-as-valued-in-our-society-as-in/) [Karla Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-souza/) > [The endeavor of being a foreign correspondent means that you will never be their equal. And that has its pros and cons. Were you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjan-sundaram/the-endeavor-of-being-a-foreign-correspondent-means-that-you-will/) [Anjan Sundaram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjan-sundaram/) ## 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/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urs-fischer/if-you-don-t-enjoy-making-work-then-it-s-bad-it-s-rough-artwork-is/) [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/) > [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": "Maybe an artist's position in society is different today because it's more individualistic. 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