--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as trying to make it terms of…" description: "\"As far as trying to make it terms of social hierarchy or status and all that in art and music - I've always felt that that stuff was bullshit. It's got..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/willis-earl-beal-16819_art_as-far-as-trying-to-make-it-terms-of-soc_3186099.jpg" --- # As far as trying to make it terms of social hierarchy or… ![“As far as trying to make it terms of social hierarchy or status and all that in art and music - I've always felt that that stuff was bullshit. It's got very little to do with reality, and reality is where things live. You look at a painting and think, "Oh, it's beautiful. It inspires me,"…” quote by Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/willis-earl-beal-16819_art_as-far-as-trying-to-make-it-terms-of-soc_3186099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/willis-earl-beal-16819_art_as-far-as-trying-to-make-it-terms-of-soc_3186099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/willis-earl-beal-16819_art_as-far-as-trying-to-make-it-terms-of-soc_3186099.jpg) > “As far as trying to make it terms of social hierarchy or status and all that in art and music - I've always felt that that stuff was bullshit. It's got very little to do with reality, and reality is where things live. You look at a painting and think, "Oh, it's beautiful. It inspires me," whatever. But it's never going to inspire you like reality. A lot of these artists and musicians who prioritize skill over experience, they sit around masturbating themselves over knowledge and intellect rather than just going to a place.” [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art that prioritizes technical skill over authentic experience feels empty; true inspiration comes from lived reality, not abstract mastery. **In simple terms:** Authentic experience beats technical showmanship. Key Takeaway Seek genuine connection over mere skill display. Themes authenticity artistic value experience reality Mood contemplative critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - music creation - visual art appreciation - personal expression Key Concepts existential critique creative philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance skill development with authentic expression? - Can technical mastery ever convey true emotion? A Different Perspective Skill without feeling may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art and music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-music/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullshit/) [Inspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-think-706725/) [Prioritize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prioritize/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-reality/) [Reality Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-things-301159/) [Social hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-hierarchy/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [I haven't figured out how to do anything yet besides recording music - I don't even entirely know how to do that. 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I like that about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/most-times-i-look-at-shadow-and-poet-s-work-i-see-something-different/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [ I feel like it's almost a Renaissance thing, a painting, a modern version of a painting. I think it's important for Kim \[Kardashian\] to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-feel-like-it-s-almost-a-renaissance-thing-a-painting-a-modern/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [I like to write about painting because I think visually. I see my writing as blocks of color before it forms itself. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-like-to-write-about-painting-because-i-think-visually-i-see-my/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“I like that about art, that what you see is sometimes more about who you are than what’s on the wall. I look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-crowley/i-like-that-about-art-that-what-you-see-is-sometimes-more-about-who/) [Cath Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-crowley/) > [“I like money on the wall. Say you were going to buy a $200,000 painting. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kinkade/the-worlds-i-paint-leave-a-lot-to-engage-the-imagination-by-hinting-2/) [Thomas Kinkade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kinkade/) > [For years, I went around the world looking and then painting, but now I have to think first and then paint. It's driven me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milford-zornes/for-years-i-went-around-the-world-looking-and-then-painting-but-now-i/) [Milford Zornes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milford-zornes/) > [I wish I could be more serious about painting. I think there may be something going on there and I should pursue it. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-doillon/i-wish-i-could-be-more-serious-about-painting-i-think-there-may-be/) [Lou Doillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-doillon/) > [I don't work from drawings and colour sketches into a final painting. Painting, I think, today - the more immediate, the more direct -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/i-don-t-work-from-drawings-and-colour-sketches-into-a-final-painting/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [I like painting, I think it's relaxing. I also like designing; I don't really like the manual labor, to be honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-anstead/i-like-painting-i-think-it-s-relaxing-i-also-like-designing-i-don-t/) [Christina Anstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-anstead/) ## More by Willis Earl Beal > [I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [The person on the shrine is myself. I listen to my own music constantly. I made a whole other record already. I look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/the-person-on-the-shrine-is-myself-i-listen-to-my-own-music/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I think that live music is really pretentious - all of it. I hate festivals and live shows, because as soon as I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-think-that-live-music-is-really-pretentious-all-of-it-i-hate/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I haven't figured out how to do anything yet besides recording music - I don't even entirely know how to do that. My favorite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-haven-t-figured-out-how-to-do-anything-yet-besides-recording-music/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [Actually, my ideal life would be to have an evergreen tree farm and, every December, I'd load them up and just stand out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/actually-my-ideal-life-would-be-to-have-an-evergreen-tree-farm-and/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I think the best way to listen to my music is through recording. I would love to be one of those artists where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-think-the-best-way-to-listen-to-my-music-is-through-recording-i/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I don't know what people want. I have delusions of grandeur, but I'm not sitting here talking to you and thinking that I'm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-don-t-know-what-people-want-i-have-delusions-of-grandeur-but-i-m/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [In a way, the whole music industry is just catering to the inherent esteem issues all these artists have - it lays it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/in-a-way-the-whole-music-industry-is-just-catering-to-the-inherent/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [The only way for me to give a good performance is to make myself extremely uncomfortable - and it just so happens that being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/the-only-way-for-me-to-give-a-good-performance-is-to-make-myself/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I first saw Dead Man in high school, and it changed everything. That movie was like a memory to me - I would get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-first-saw-dead-man-in-high-school-and-it-changed-everything-that/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I deteriorate. I might tell you something one day and then something else another day. You fold in on yourself and that's why this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-deteriorate-i-might-tell-you-something-one-day-and-then-something/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I don't think talent has anything to do with inspiration. Inspiration creates talent. People prioritize innate talent too much. It gives them license to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-don-t-think-talent-has-anything-to-do-with-inspiration-inspiration/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I was not in touch with reality. Growing up, I was being shielded without my knowing it, because even all the way up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-was-not-in-touch-with-reality-growing-up-i-was-being-shielded/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [Sometimes I wish it were a simpler world. I love and hate people. When I say I hate people, I really truly mean it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/sometimes-i-wish-it-were-a-simpler-world-i-love-and-hate-people-when/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) > [I would much rather not be the center of attention, and I'd much rather travel and be writing my novel, rather than standing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-would-much-rather-not-be-the-center-of-attention-and-i-d-much/) [Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) [Explore all 38 Willis Earl Beal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/) ## 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": "As far as trying to make it terms of social hierarchy or status and all that in art and music - I've always felt that that stuff was bullshit. It's got very little to do with reality, and reality is where things live. You look at a painting and think, \"Oh, it's beautiful. It inspires me,\" whatever. But it's never going to inspire you like reality. 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