---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The essential fault of surrealism is that…"
description: "\"The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents without discovering. To make a clam play an accordion is to invent not to discover. The observatio..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg"
---

#  The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents…

![“The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents without discovering. To make a clam play an accordion is to invent not to discover. The observation of the unconscious, so far as it can be observed, should reveal things of which we have previously been unconscious, not the familiar things of…” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg)

> “The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents without discovering. To make a clam play an accordion is to invent not to discover. The observation of the unconscious, so far as it can be observed, should reveal things of which we have previously been unconscious, not the familiar things of which we have been conscious plus imagination.”

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Surrealism often creates imaginative scenes without uncovering deeper truths, unlike true unconscious observation which reveals hidden insights.

**In simple terms:** Surrealism invents without discovery.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize discovery over mere invention.

Themes

art surrealism creativity unconscious

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

critical philosophical

When to use this quote

- art criticism
- creative writing
- psychotherapy

Key Concepts

imagination observation psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can surrealism be used to explore the unconscious?
- What distinguishes invention from discovery?

A Different Perspective

Inventive art can still convey profound meaning if grounded in experience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Surrealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealism/)

## Related quotes

> [I play, like, 12 instruments. Guitar, piano, harmonica, African drums... I'm working on mastering the accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-grabeel/i-play-like-12-instruments-guitar-piano-harmonica-african-drums-i-m/)

[Lucas Grabeel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-grabeel/)

> [He wanted to play accordion on something of mine and I said you can play accordion, but I want you to play piano and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-sweet/he-wanted-to-play-accordion-on-something-of-mine-and-i-said-you-can/)

[Matthew Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-sweet/)

> [Papa was a man with silver eyes, not dead ones. Papa was an accordion! But his bellows were all empty. Nothing went in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/papa-was-a-man-with-silver-eyes-not-dead-ones-papa-was-an-accordion/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [ The editor, Stephen Segal, actually called me with the idea of creating an accordion book \[ "The Thorn & The Blossom"\], and asked if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/the-editor-stephen-segal-actually-called-me-with-the-idea-of-creating/)

[Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/)

> [No, but a cello is the perfect string bass for an accordion. Works with it beautifully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/no-but-a-cello-is-the-perfect-string-bass-for-an-accordion-works-with/)

[Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/)

> [Ford used to come to work in a big car with two Admiral's flags, on each side of the car. His assistant would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-widmark/ford-used-to-come-to-work-in-a-big-car-with-two-admiral-s-flags-on/)

[Richard Widmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-widmark/)

> [And I can promise you something, because it was a thing I saw many years later - a vision in the book thief herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/and-i-can-promise-you-something-because-it-was-a-thing-i-saw-many/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [A new study found that women think men holding a guitar are more attractive, even if they are not playing it. In a related…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/a-new-study-found-that-women-think-men-holding-a-guitar-are-more/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [“HAPPINESS I ASKED the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell      me what is happiness. And I went to famous executives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/happiness-i-asked-the-professors-who-teach-the-meaning-of-life-to/)

[Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/)

> [She didn't dare to look up, but she could feel their frightened eyes hanging onto her as she hauled the words in and breathed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/she-didn-t-dare-to-look-up-but-she-could-feel-their-frightened-eyes/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [Time collapses and expands like an erratic accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-kaufman/time-collapses-and-expands-like-an-erratic-accordion/)

[Bel Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-kaufman/)

> [Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband's accordion tied to her chest. Her fingers hovered above the keys.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/rosa-hubermann-was-sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-bed-with-her-husband-s/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/to-sing-you-must-first-open-your-mouth-you-must-have-a-pair-of-lungs/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [My father bought me a little cardboard accordion, and when I was three I got this little machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toots-thielemans/my-father-bought-me-a-little-cardboard-accordion-and-when-i-was-three/)

[Toots Thielemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toots-thielemans/)

> [ The book itself \[The Thorn and The Blossom\] is bound accordion-style: it has no spine, so it can open in either direction, and it's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/the-book-itself-the-thorn-and-the-blossom-is-bound-accordion-style-it/)

[Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/)

## More by Wallace Stevens

> [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [“The stars are putting on their glittering belts, They throw around their shoulders cloaks that flash Like a great shadow's last embellishment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-stars-are-putting-on-their-glittering-belts-they-throw-around/)

[wallace stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [The word is the making of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-word-is-the-making-of-the-world/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/a-diary-is-more-or-less-the-work-of-a-man-of-clay-whose-hands-are/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

> [It is never the thing but the version of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-never-the-thing-but-the-version-of-the-thing/)

[Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

[Explore all 352 Wallace Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/)

## More Accordions quotes

> [I play, like, 12 instruments. Guitar, piano, harmonica, African drums... I'm working on mastering the accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-grabeel/i-play-like-12-instruments-guitar-piano-harmonica-african-drums-i-m/)

[Lucas Grabeel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-grabeel/)

> [My father bought me a little cardboard accordion, and when I was three I got this little machine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toots-thielemans/my-father-bought-me-a-little-cardboard-accordion-and-when-i-was-three/)

[Toots Thielemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toots-thielemans/)

> [To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs, and a little knowledge of music. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/to-sing-you-must-first-open-your-mouth-you-must-have-a-pair-of-lungs/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [Rosa Hubermann was sitting on the edge of the bed with her husband's accordion tied to her chest. Her fingers hovered above the keys.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/rosa-hubermann-was-sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-bed-with-her-husband-s/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [Time collapses and expands like an erratic accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-kaufman/time-collapses-and-expands-like-an-erratic-accordion/)

[Bel Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-kaufman/)

> [She didn't dare to look up, but she could feel their frightened eyes hanging onto her as she hauled the words in and breathed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/she-didn-t-dare-to-look-up-but-she-could-feel-their-frightened-eyes/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [“HAPPINESS I ASKED the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell      me what is happiness. And I went to famous executives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/happiness-i-asked-the-professors-who-teach-the-meaning-of-life-to/)

[Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/)

> [A new study found that women think men holding a guitar are more attractive, even if they are not playing it. In a related…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/a-new-study-found-that-women-think-men-holding-a-guitar-are-more/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [And I can promise you something, because it was a thing I saw many years later - a vision in the book thief herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/and-i-can-promise-you-something-because-it-was-a-thing-i-saw-many/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [Ford used to come to work in a big car with two Admiral's flags, on each side of the car. His assistant would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-widmark/ford-used-to-come-to-work-in-a-big-car-with-two-admiral-s-flags-on/)

[Richard Widmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-widmark/)

> [No, but a cello is the perfect string bass for an accordion. Works with it beautifully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/no-but-a-cello-is-the-perfect-string-bass-for-an-accordion-works-with/)

[Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/)

> [ The editor, Stephen Segal, actually called me with the idea of creating an accordion book \[ "The Thorn & The Blossom"\], and asked if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/the-editor-stephen-segal-actually-called-me-with-the-idea-of-creating/)

[Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/)

> [Papa was a man with silver eyes, not dead ones. Papa was an accordion! But his bellows were all empty. Nothing went in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/papa-was-a-man-with-silver-eyes-not-dead-ones-papa-was-an-accordion/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [He wanted to play accordion on something of mine and I said you can play accordion, but I want you to play piano and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-sweet/he-wanted-to-play-accordion-on-something-of-mine-and-i-said-you-can/)

[Matthew Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-sweet/)

> [ The book itself \[The Thorn and The Blossom\] is bound accordion-style: it has no spine, so it can open in either direction, and it's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/the-book-itself-the-thorn-and-the-blossom-is-bound-accordion-style-it/)

[Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/)

Browse all 58 Accordions quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents without discovering. To make a clam play an accordion is to invent not to discover. The observation of the unconscious, so far as it can be observed, should reveal things of which we have previously been unconscious, not the familiar things of which we have been conscious plus imagination.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Wallace Stevens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-that-it-invents-without/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accordions"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-that-it-invents-without/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d3/wallace-stevens-846_accordions_the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-tha_2242307.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The essential fault of surrealism is that it invents without discovering. To make a clam play an accordion…” — Wallace Stevens",
                "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": "Wallace Stevens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The essential fault of surrealism is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-that-it-invents-without/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-essential-fault-of-surrealism-is-that-it-invents-without/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```