--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art is not vague production, transitory…" description: "\"Art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement and refinement of the human soul.\" — Wassil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg" --- # Art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but… ![“Art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement and refinement of the human soul.” quote by Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg) > “Art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement and refinement of the human soul.” [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) ## 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 be purposeful, refining the soul rather than merely decorative **In simple terms:** Art refines the soul, not just decorates Key Takeaway Create meaningful, soul‑enriching art Themes art spirituality purpose Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - community projects - personal expression Key Concepts aesthetics humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can art serve personal growth? - What responsibilities do artists have? A Different Perspective Not all art can be directed toward moral improvement ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Improvement Refinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement-refinement-5832242/) [Isolated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolated/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Refinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refinement/) [Refinement Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refinement-human-4228748/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Transitory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transitory/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) ## Related quotes > [Civilization consists in the multiplication and refinement of human wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/civilization-consists-in-the-multiplication-and-refinement-of-human/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [Man is a transitory being, and his designs must partake of the imperfections of their author. To confer duration is not always in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/man-is-a-transitory-being-and-his-designs-must-partake-of-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That which endures is not one or another association of living forms, but the process of which the cosmos is the product, and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/that-which-endures-is-not-one-or-another-association-of-living-forms/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Music may appeal to crude and coarse feelings or to refined and noble ones; and in so far as it does the latter it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/music-may-appeal-to-crude-and-coarse-feelings-or-to-refined-and-noble/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In the end, the only events of my life worth telling are those when the imperishable world erupted into this transitory one All other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/in-the-end-the-only-events-of-my-life-worth-telling-are-those-when/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Above the titles of wife and mother, which, although dear, are transitory and accidental, there is the title human being, which precedes and out-ranks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-livermore/above-the-titles-of-wife-and-mother-which-although-dear-are/) [Mary Livermore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-livermore/) > [The images evoked by words being independent of their sense, they vary from age to age and from people to people, the formulas remaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/the-images-evoked-by-words-being-independent-of-their-sense-they-vary/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-cannot-conceive-of-a-personal-god-who-would-directly-influence-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ “They \[progressives\] are men and women who tend to believe that the human being is perfectible and social progress predictable, and that the instrument… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-progressives-are-men-and-women-who-tend-to-believe-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Modernity signifies the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art of which the other half is the eternal and the immutable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/modernity-signifies-the-transitory-the-fugitive-the-contingent-the/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [If you make provision for the desires of the flesh and bear a grudge against your neighbor on account of something transitory, you worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/if-you-make-provision-for-the-desires-of-the-flesh-and-bear-a-grudge/) [Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/) > [Every design is a rigorous attempt to capture a concrete moment of a transitory image in all its nuances. The extent to which this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvaro-siza-vieira/every-design-is-a-rigorous-attempt-to-capture-a-concrete-moment-of-a/) [Alvaro Siza Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvaro-siza-vieira/) > [The glory of the world is transitory, and we should not measure our lives by it, but by the choice we make to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-glory-of-the-world-is-transitory-and-we-should-not-measure-our/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Human beings affix themselves to things that are of little or no importance. They affix themselves to the transitory, to things that are impermanent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/human-beings-affix-themselves-to-things-that-are-of-little-or-no/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) ## More by Wassily Kandinsky > [The joy of life consists in the inevitable, continual triumph of new values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/the-joy-of-life-consists-in-the-inevitable-continual-triumph-of-new/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Colors produce a spiritual vibration, the impression they create is important only as a step towards this vibration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/colors-produce-a-spiritual-vibration-the-impression-they-create-is/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Color is a means to exert a direct influence on the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/color-is-a-means-to-exert-a-direct-influence-on-the-soul/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [In their pursuit of the same supreme end, Matisse and Picasso stand side by side, Matisse representing color and Picasso form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/in-their-pursuit-of-the-same-supreme-end-matisse-and-picasso-stand/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [An empty canvas, apparently really empty, that says nothing and is without significance – almost dull, in fact – in reality, is crammed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/an-empty-canvas-apparently-really-empty-that-says-nothing-and-is/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Colour is a power which directly influences the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/colour-is-a-power-which-directly-influences-the-soul/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [The artist must be blind to distinction between 'recognized' or 'unrecognized' conventions of form, deaf to the transitory teaching and demands of his particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/the-artist-must-be-blind-to-distinction-between-recognized-or/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [All methods are sacred if they are internally necessary. All methods are sins if they are not justified by internal necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/all-methods-are-sacred-if-they-are-internally-necessary-all-methods/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Generally speaking, color directly influences the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/generally-speaking-color-directly-influences-the-soul/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [The sound of colors is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/the-sound-of-colors-is-so-definite-that-it-would-be-hard-to-find/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Abstract art places a new world, which on the surface has nothing to do with 'reality,' next to the 'real' world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/abstract-art-places-a-new-world-which-on-the-surface-has-nothing-to/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/the-artist-is-the-hand-that-by-touching-this-or-that-key-sets-the/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [Everything shows me its face, its innermost being, its secret soul, which is more often silent than heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/everything-shows-me-its-face-its-innermost-being-its-secret-soul/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [A painter, who finds no satisfaction in mere representation, however artistic, in his longing to express his inner life, cannot but envy the ease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/a-painter-who-finds-no-satisfaction-in-mere-representation-however/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [ Those \[things\] that we encounter for the first time immediately have a spiritual effect upon us. A child, for whom every object is new,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/those-things-that-we-encounter-for-the-first-time-immediately-have-a/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) [Explore all 100 Wassily Kandinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) ## 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 is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement and refinement of the human soul.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wassily Kandinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-and-isolated-but-a-power-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-and-isolated-but-a-power-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/wassily-kandinsky-5828_art_art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-a_2369823.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Art is not vague production, transitory and isolated, but a power which must be directed to the improvement…” — Wassily Kandinsky", "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": "Wassily Kandinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Art is not vague production, transitory...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-and-isolated-but-a-power-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/art-is-not-vague-production-transitory-and-isolated-but-a-power-which/#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 } } ] } ```