--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art makes the familiar strange so that it…" description: "\"“Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly perceived. To do this it presents its material in unexpected, even outlandish ways: the shock..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg" --- # Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly… ![“Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly perceived. To do this it presents its material in unexpected, even outlandish ways: the shock of the new.” quote by Viktor Shklovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg) > ““Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly perceived. To do this it presents its material in unexpected, even outlandish ways: the shock of the new.”” [Viktor Shklovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art disrupts ordinary perception by presenting familiar objects in unexpected forms, forcing fresh awareness. **In simple terms:** Art makes the familiar strange to renew perception. Key Takeaway Embrace the unfamiliar to see anew. Themes creativity perception artistic innovation Mood provocative introspective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - creative writing - design brainstorming - teaching literature - marketing campaigns Key Concepts defamiliarization aesthetic shock cognitive reorientation Questions to Reflect On - How does unfamiliarity affect your emotional response? - When does shock become distraction? A Different Perspective May alienate audiences accustomed to conventional representations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Familiar Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar-strange-268167/) [Freshly Perceived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freshly-perceived-2902604/) [Material Unexpected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-unexpected-2902603/) [Shock New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock-new-2441197/) [Strange Freshly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-freshly-2902602/) ## Related quotes > [The shock of the new after the biggest upset in American political history, this unforgettable, once unimaginable image Donald Trump side by side with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/the-shock-of-the-new-after-the-biggest-upset-in-american-political/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [It's about finding meaning through light. I'm always interested in tensions. A primary one is the collision between the familiar and the strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/it-s-about-finding-meaning-through-light-i-m-always-interested-in/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [“Magda smiled. “I’m familiar with strange objects left in corners. My husband was a maker, though I rarely heard that name applied to him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/magda-smiled-i-m-familiar-with-strange-objects-left-in-corners-my/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Too often we tend to reduce what is strange to what is familiar. I intend to restore the familiar to the strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-magritte/too-often-we-tend-to-reduce-what-is-strange-to-what-is-familiar-i/) [Rene Magritte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-magritte/) > [Thoughts rearrange, familiar now strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-golightly/thoughts-rearrange-familiar-now-strange/) [Holly Golightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-golightly/) > [The flesh of past lovers looks both familiar and strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-flesh-of-past-lovers-looks-both-familiar-and-strange/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Early in this century a group of passionate artists in Russia claimed that the essence of art was to make the familiar seem strange.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sueellen-campbell/early-in-this-century-a-group-of-passionate-artists-in-russia-claimed/) [Sueellen Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sueellen-campbell/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [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/) > [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/) > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) ## More by Viktor Shklovsky > [“You have to store up books, becoming acquainted with human experience; let them lie around your thoughts, becoming yours—ring upon ring, as a tree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/you-have-to-store-up-books-becoming-acquainted-with-human-experience/) [Viktor Shklovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/) > [“Misfortune of this kind comes to many. Life is well ordered, like a nécessaire, but not all of us can find our places in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/misfortune-of-this-kind-comes-to-many-life-is-well-ordered-like-a-n/) [Viktor Shklovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/) > [“And art exists that one may recover the sensation of life; it exists to make one feel things, to make the stone stony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/and-art-exists-that-one-may-recover-the-sensation-of-life-it-exists/) [Viktor Shklovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/) [Explore all 4 Viktor Shklovsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/) ## 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. 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": "“Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly perceived. To do this it presents its material in unexpected, even outlandish ways: the shock of the new.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Viktor Shklovsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-it-can-be-freshly-perceived-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-it-can-be-freshly-perceived-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/viktor-shklovsky-68439_art_art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-i_1914418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art makes the familiar strange so that it can be freshly perceived. To do this it presents its material in…” — Viktor Shklovsky", "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": "Viktor Shklovsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-shklovsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Art makes the familiar strange so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-it-can-be-freshly-perceived-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-shklovsky/art-makes-the-familiar-strange-so-that-it-can-be-freshly-perceived-to/#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 } } ] } ```