--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Asking art to express ideas is like…" description: "\"Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler to play charades.\" — Walter Darby Bannard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png" --- # Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler… ![“Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler to play charades.” quote by Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png) > “Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler to play charades.” [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forcing art to convey specific ideas is as absurd as a sumo playing charades. **In simple terms:** Art shouldn't be forced to explain ideas. Key Takeaway Respect artistic autonomy. Themes art theory communication creativity limitations Mood reflective wry Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery curating - art education - creative collaboration Key Concepts expressive freedom interpretation artist intent Questions to Reflect On - How much guidance should artists receive? - What are the risks of over‑interpretation? A Different Perspective Audience may still seek meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Charades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charades/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Wrestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrestler/) ## Related quotes > [The public has always, and in every age, been badly brought up. They are continually asking Art to be popular, to please their want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-public-has-always-and-in-every-age-been-badly-brought-up-they-are/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Henry James proposed asking of art three modest and appropriate questions: What is the artist trying to do? Does he do it? Was it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/henry-james-proposed-asking-of-art-three-modest-and-appropriate/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [Not all ideas are like a twinkling star in the sky, and you get inspired to make a record the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-patton/not-all-ideas-are-like-a-twinkling-star-in-the-sky-and-you-get/) [Mike Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-patton/) > [“Ideas like mist that fades quickly under certain conditions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/ideas-like-mist-that-fades-quickly-under-certain-conditions/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [“My ideas are like a Hydra. Remove a bad one and two good ones will take its place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-petty/my-ideas-are-like-a-hydra-remove-a-bad-one-and-two-good-ones-will/) Paul E. Petty > [I'm always having ideas. I'd like to continue being able to realise the ideas I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-m-always-having-ideas-i-d-like-to-continue-being-able-to-realise/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [Some of the best times are training camp and getting your ideas in how you'd like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/some-of-the-best-times-are-training-camp-and-getting-your-ideas-in/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [Book ideas are like planes, lined up to approach the runway. Some never leave the gate, but others move quickly to the front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/book-ideas-are-like-planes-lined-up-to-approach-the-runway-some-never/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“Our ideas are like boomerangs,when you throw them they are destined to come back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-chaswal/our-ideas-are-like-boomerangs-when-you-throw-them-they-are-destined/) Pradeep Chaswal > [One day, I can come up with 50 content ideas, and I'm like, 'Boom, I want to do this idea, this idea, this idea.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/one-day-i-can-come-up-with-50-content-ideas-and-i-m-like-boom-i-want/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [ “Ideas... \[are\] like babies - everything about their environment \[says\] they shouldn't exist. But they do. You can't dwell on problems too early, or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-levy/ideas-are-like-babies-everything-about-their-environment-says-they/) [Steven Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-levy/) > [Ideas, like large rivers, never have just one source.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willy-ley/ideas-like-large-rivers-never-have-just-one-source/) [Willy Ley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willy-ley/) > [I'm really quite bad at coming up with plot ideas. I like to create characters and just see what will happen to them when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/i-m-really-quite-bad-at-coming-up-with-plot-ideas-i-like-to-create/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [The beauty of ideas is that they are like waves in the ocean and they connect with things that came before them, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/the-beauty-of-ideas-is-that-they-are-like-waves-in-the-ocean-and-they/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [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/) ## More by Walter Darby Bannard > [The more freedom artists have to do what they want to do, the more they do what other artists are doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/the-more-freedom-artists-have-to-do-what-they-want-to-do-the-more/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [There are too many artists, too many dealers and too much art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/there-are-too-many-artists-too-many-dealers-and-too-much-art/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Start a painting with fresh ideas, and then let the painting replace your ideas with its ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/start-a-painting-with-fresh-ideas-and-then-let-the-painting-replace/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [The struggle to be original hates conformity, but the struggle to be better disregards it, or takes advantage of it to build workable conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/the-struggle-to-be-original-hates-conformity-but-the-struggle-to-be/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [There is no best way to make art, but there are a lot of better ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/there-is-no-best-way-to-make-art-but-there-are-a-lot-of-better-ways/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Of course I will look at anything, but I have not got the time or the patience to keep on looking at art that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/of-course-i-will-look-at-anything-but-i-have-not-got-the-time-or-the/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Too much freedom inhibits choice. Constructive narrowness clarifies choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/too-much-freedom-inhibits-choice-constructive-narrowness-clarifies/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Talent is like a seed which needs fertile soil. There is no less talent now, there is less fertile soil to nourish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/talent-is-like-a-seed-which-needs-fertile-soil-there-is-no-less/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Live to paint, don't paint to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/live-to-paint-don-t-paint-to-live/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Good new art may not look like art. Inspiration doesn't follow style, it creates it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/good-new-art-may-not-look-like-art-inspiration-doesn-t-follow-style/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [There is no regional art. The only region left is the art magazine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/there-is-no-regional-art-the-only-region-left-is-the-art-magazine/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [There's a big difference between grabbing attention and rewarding attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/there-s-a-big-difference-between-grabbing-attention-and-rewarding/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [Part of history is facts. The other part is what we find easier to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/part-of-history-is-facts-the-other-part-is-what-we-find-easier-to/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [When good ideas get put to bad use, it is the fault of the user, not the idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/when-good-ideas-get-put-to-bad-use-it-is-the-fault-of-the-user-not/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [The power of art is not in communication but effect; what it does, not what it relates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/the-power-of-art-is-not-in-communication-but-effect-what-it-does-not/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) [Explore all 98 Walter Darby Bannard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) ## 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": "Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler to play charades.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Darby Bannard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-asking-a-sumo-wrestler-to-play/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-asking-a-sumo-wrestler-to-play/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e97/walter-darby-bannard-6715_art_asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-aski_775894.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Asking art to express ideas is like asking a Sumo wrestler to play charades.” — Walter Darby Bannard", "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": "Walter Darby Bannard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Asking art to express ideas is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-asking-a-sumo-wrestler-to-play/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/asking-art-to-express-ideas-is-like-asking-a-sumo-wrestler-to-play/#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 } } ] } ```