--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you pick up some paint with your brush…" description: "\"If you pick up some paint with your brush and make somebody's nose with it, this is rather ridiculous when you think of it, theoretically or philosophi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_if-you-pick-up-some-paint-with-your-brus_1580739.jpg" --- # If you pick up some paint with your brush and make… ![“If you pick up some paint with your brush and make somebody's nose with it, this is rather ridiculous when you think of it, theoretically or philosophically. It's really absurd to make an image, like a human image, with paint, today.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_if-you-pick-up-some-paint-with-your-brus_1580739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_if-you-pick-up-some-paint-with-your-brus_1580739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/512/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_if-you-pick-up-some-paint-with-your-brus_1580739.jpg) > “If you pick up some paint with your brush and make somebody's nose with it, this is rather ridiculous when you think of it, theoretically or philosophically. It's really absurd to make an image, like a human image, with paint, today.” [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The act of painting a realistic human face is absurd when considered abstractly, highlighting the tension between representation and conceptual art. **In simple terms:** Painting realistic faces feels absurd in abstract art. Key Takeaway Question the purpose of realism in modern art. Themes art philosophy representation absurdity Mood reflective thoughtful Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - art class - creative brainstorming - public critique Key Concepts conceptual art realism artist intent Questions to Reflect On - Why do we value realistic depiction? - How does absurdity challenge artistic norms? A Different Perspective Abstract art may still value realism for emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [It's really absurd to make... a human image, with paint, today, when you think about it... But then all of a sudden, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/it-s-really-absurd-to-make-a-human-image-with-paint-today-when-you/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [“There are two choices: to be human, made in the image of God, with Jesus; warp to be in human, consumed with greed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mckenna/there-are-two-choices-to-be-human-made-in-the-image-of-god-with-jesus/) [Megan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mckenna/) > [ \[Cameras\] tend to turn people into things and the photograph extends and multiplies the human image to the proportions of mass-produced merchandise and, \[in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/cameras-tend-to-turn-people-into-things-and-the-photograph-extends/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Garbo still belongs to that moment in cinema when capturing the human face still plunged audiences into the deepest ecstasy, when one literally lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/garbo-still-belongs-to-that-moment-in-cinema-when-capturing-the-human/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [We like being ridiculous and I think that's lost on a lot of people, or they think we're coming from this super serious angle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vanwyngarden/we-like-being-ridiculous-and-i-think-that-s-lost-on-a-lot-of-people/) [Andrew VanWyngarden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vanwyngarden/) > [Obviously I’m a feminist. It’s ridiculous that anyone would think other of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-dunst/obviously-i-m-a-feminist-it-s-ridiculous-that-anyone-would-think/) [Kirsten Dunst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-dunst/) > [You cannot love everyone; it is ridiculous to think you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-love-everyone-it-is-ridiculous-to-think-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As ridiculous as I think the fashion and beauty industry is, I'm wildly obsessed with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-helbig/as-ridiculous-as-i-think-the-fashion-and-beauty-industry-is-i-m/) [Grace Helbig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-helbig/) > [What we do is ridiculous! I think that even when what I'm doing is serious, even when I'm not turning into a werewolf. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/what-we-do-is-ridiculous-i-think-that-even-when-what-i-m-doing-is/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [Sex is God's joke on the human race ... if we didn't have sex to make us ridiculous, She would have had to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/sex-is-god-s-joke-on-the-human-race-if-we-didn-t-have-sex-to-make-us/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“their childhoods. How ridiculous to think there was some”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lee-hatcher/their-childhoods-how-ridiculous-to-think-there-was-some/) [Robin Lee Hatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lee-hatcher/) > [“Georgiana.” “What?” I snap, turning around. “What can you possibly say that you haven’t said a million times already with every scowl, with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-layne/georgiana-what-i-snap-turning-around-what-can-you-possibly-say-that/) [Lauren Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-layne/) > [“Now that we've come up with all the obvious answers to our problem, it's time to come up with some truly ridiculous ones." "Ridiculous?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-hughes/now-that-we-ve-come-up-with-all-the-obvious-answers-to-our-problem-it/) Carol Hughes > [Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/satire-is-tragedy-plus-time-you-give-it-enough-time-the-public-the/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [It is ridiculous to think that you can spend your entire life with just one person. Three is about the right number. Yes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/it-is-ridiculous-to-think-that-you-can-spend-your-entire-life-with/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) ## More by Willem de Kooning > [The texture of experience is prior to everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-texture-of-experience-is-prior-to-everything-else/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Art should not have to be a certain way,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/art-should-not-have-to-be-a-certain-way/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I think I'm painting a picture of two women but it may turn out to be a landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-think-i-m-painting-a-picture-of-two-women-but-it-may-turn-out-to-be/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Im not someone whos ever said anything definitive about his work. In my life also I have very little fixed form. I can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/im-not-someone-whos-ever-said-anything-definitive-about-his-work-in/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Style is a fraud. I always felt the Greeks were hiding behind their columns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/style-is-a-fraud-i-always-felt-the-greeks-were-hiding-behind-their/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/whatever-an-artist-s-personal-feelings-are-as-soon-as-an-artist-fills/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The idea of space is given to the artist to change if he can. The subject matter in the abstract is space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-idea-of-space-is-given-to-the-artist-to-change-if-he-can-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [If I stretch my arms and wonder where my fingers are - that is all the space I need as a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-i-stretch-my-arms-and-wonder-where-my-fingers-are-that-is-all-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The artist fills space with an attitude. The attitude never comes from himself alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-artist-fills-space-with-an-attitude-the-attitude-never-comes-from/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/flesh-was-the-reason-why-oil-painting-was-invented/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I feel sometimes an American artist must feel, like a baseball player or something - a member of a team writing American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-feel-sometimes-an-american-artist-must-feel-like-a-baseball-player/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Maybe in that earlier phase I was painting the woman in me. Art isn't a wholly masculine occupation, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/maybe-in-that-earlier-phase-i-was-painting-the-woman-in-me-art-isn-t/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Yes, I am influenced by everbody. But every time I put my hands in my pockets I find someone else's fingers there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/yes-i-am-influenced-by-everbody-but-every-time-i-put-my-hands-in-my/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I'd like to get all the colors in the world into one painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-d-like-to-get-all-the-colors-in-the-world-into-one-painting/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Spiritually I am wherever my spirit allows me to be, and that is not necessarily in the future... Art never seems to make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/spiritually-i-am-wherever-my-spirit-allows-me-to-be-and-that-is-not/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) [Explore all 54 Willem de Kooning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you pick up some paint with your brush and make somebody's nose with it, this is rather ridiculous when you think of it, theoretically or philosophically. 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