--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is elimination of the unnecessary." description: "\"Art is elimination of the unnecessary.\" — Waldo Salt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg" --- # Art is elimination of the unnecessary. ![“Art is elimination of the unnecessary.” quote by Waldo Salt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg) > “Art is elimination of the unnecessary.” Waldo Salt ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should strip away excess, leaving only essential elements. **In simple terms:** Art removes what isn’t needed. Key Takeaway Focus on essentials in creation. Themes simplicity creativity design Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical instructional When to use this quote - graphic design - writing - architecture - product development Key Concepts minimalism aesthetic essence Questions to Reflect On - What is essential in your work? - When does removal become loss? A Different Perspective Over‑simplification can lose meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) ## Related quotes > [Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-is-the-elimination-of-the-unnecessary/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [There are some disabling myths about what art is, how to do it, what is good art, and what art is for, that have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-london/there-are-some-disabling-myths-about-what-art-is-how-to-do-it-what-is/) [Peter London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-london/) > [Experimental science is a craft and an art, and part of the art is knowing when to end a fruitless experiment. 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Finally, I realized that I had allowed myself to write less than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldo-salt/i-ended-up-at-fifty-over-the-hill-thinking-i-had-no-future-finally-i/) Waldo Salt Explore all 2 Waldo Salt quotes ## 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. 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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 is elimination of the unnecessary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Waldo Salt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldo-salt/art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldo-salt/art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9af/waldo-salt-103351_art_art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary-25_2507538.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is elimination of the unnecessary.” — Waldo Salt", "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": "Waldo Salt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waldo-salt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is elimination of the unnecessary.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldo-salt/art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waldo-salt/art-is-elimination-of-the-unnecessary/#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 } } ] } ```