--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, raw life, the kind we lead every…" description: "\"“Life, raw life, the kind we lead every day, whether it leads us into the past or the future, has the curious property of not seeming real enough . We ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/wright-morris-25032_art_life-raw-life-the-kind-we-lead-every-day_1586383.jpg" --- # Life, raw life, the kind we lead every day, whether it… ![“Life, raw life, the kind we lead every day, whether it leads us into the past or the future, has the curious property of not seeming real enough . We have a need, however illusive, for a life that is more real than life. It lies in the imagination. Fiction would seem to be the way it is processed…” quote by Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/wright-morris-25032_art_life-raw-life-the-kind-we-lead-every-day_1586383.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/wright-morris-25032_art_life-raw-life-the-kind-we-lead-every-day_1586383.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/wright-morris-25032_art_life-raw-life-the-kind-we-lead-every-day_1586383.jpg) > ““Life, raw life, the kind we lead every day, whether it leads us into the past or the future, has the curious property of not seeming real enough . We have a need, however illusive, for a life that is more real than life. It lies in the imagination. Fiction would seem to be the way it is processed into reality. If this were not so we should have little excuse for art. Life, raw life, would be more than satisfactory in itself. But it seems to be the nature of man to transform—himself, if possible, and then the world around him—and the technique of this transformation is what we call art.”” [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art is humanity’s way of making life feel more real by turning imagination into tangible form, fulfilling a deep desire for authenticity beyond ordinary existence. **In simple terms:** Art makes life feel more real. Key Takeaway Use imagination to create meaningful work. Themes creativity authenticity transformation art imagination Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - visual arts - music - design - theatre Key Concepts existentialism aesthetic theory psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - How does art change your perception of everyday life? - What role does imagination play in your personal growth? A Different Perspective Art may not fully bridge the gap between perception and reality for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors/) [Creative process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-process/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“However, as words become particularized, and as men begin - in however small a way - to use them in personal, arbitrary ways, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/however-as-words-become-particularized-and-as-men-begin-in-however-2/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [The recognition of the art that informs all pure science need not mean the abandonment for it of all present art, rather it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/the-recognition-of-the-art-that-informs-all-pure-science-need-not/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [When I was training, those were some of the most indelible experiences I've ever had, in my life. It is so raw. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-gupta/when-i-was-training-those-were-some-of-the-most-indelible-experiences/) [Sanjay Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-gupta/) > [I look on my life as raw material for my novels: that's just the way I am, and it frees me from any inhibitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-look-on-my-life-as-raw-material-for-my-novels-that-s-just-the-way-i/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [In writing fiction, I can be free. I can use my life. The raw material is my experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/in-writing-fiction-i-can-be-free-i-can-use-my-life-the-raw-material/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [My life is raw, authentic, and focused on giving back to the journey God has given me; I want to leave this earth a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-hadid/my-life-is-raw-authentic-and-focused-on-giving-back-to-the-journey/) [Yolanda Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-hadid/) > [Sometimes I wanna get high travel up away to the beautiful skies Float away and hope to never come down hope to see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kottonmouth-kings/sometimes-i-wanna-get-high-travel-up-away-to-the-beautiful-skies/) [Kottonmouth Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kottonmouth-kings/) > [Life is raw material... We are artisans.. We can sculpt our existence into something beautiful or debase it into ugliness.. It's in our hands ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/life-is-raw-material-we-are-artisans-we-can-sculpt-our-existence-into/) Pacifiersucker > [Life, the raw material, is only lived in potentia until the artist deploys it in his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-the-raw-material-is-only-lived-in-potentia-until-the-artist/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“Off and on for many years, I tried to write a book about my childhood. I’d bring chapters to workshop, to writing group, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-sellers/off-and-on-for-many-years-i-tried-to-write-a-book-about-my-childhood/) [Heather Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-sellers/) > [You must live life in its very elementary forms. The Mexicans have a very nice word for it: pura vida. It doesn't mean just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/you-must-live-life-in-its-very-elementary-forms-the-mexicans-have-a/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [“My advice to all young writers is quite simple. I would caution them never to evade a new experience. I would urge them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/my-advice-to-all-young-writers-is-quite-simple-i-would-caution-them/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“I write to believe in goodness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-haircrow/i-write-to-believe-in-goodness/) [Red Haircrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-haircrow/) > [“All trademarks, company names, registered names, products, characters, mottos, logos, jingles and catchphrases used or cited in this work are the property of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/all-trademarks-company-names-registered-names-products-characters/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More by Wright Morris > [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [ \[We\] make images to see clearly: then we see clearly what we have made. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/we-make-images-to-see-clearly-then-we-see-clearly-what-we-have-made/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [We're in the world of communications more and more, tough we're in communication less and less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/we-re-in-the-world-of-communications-more-and-more-tough-we-re-in/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The photograph, after all, is just a photograph. Words will determine its meaning and status.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-photograph-after-all-is-just-a-photograph-words-will-determine/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [I prefer a taken to a made photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/i-prefer-a-taken-to-a-made-photograph/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The past is useless. That explains why it is past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-past-is-useless-that-explains-why-it-is-past/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [ However much \[photographs\] may lie, they do so with the raw materials of truth. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/however-much-photographs-may-lie-they-do-so-with-the-raw-materials-of/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The imagination made us human, but being human, becoming more human, is a greater burden than we imagined. We have no choice but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-imagination-made-us-human-but-being-human-becoming-more-human-is/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [In the blur of the photograph, time leaves its gleaming, snail-like track.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/in-the-blur-of-the-photograph-time-leaves-its-gleaming-snail-like/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [As the style of Faulkner grew out of his rage--out of the impotence of his rage--the style of Hemingway grew out of the depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/as-the-style-of-faulkner-grew-out-of-his-rage-out-of-the-impotence-of/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The man who comes to writing late, but is in essence a writer, may sometimes gain as much as he has lost: his experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-man-who-comes-to-writing-late-but-is-in-essence-a-writer-may/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The man who walks alone is soon trailed by the F.B.I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-man-who-walks-alone-is-soon-trailed-by-the-f-b-i/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [The vast number of photographers, feeding on anything visible, overgraze the landscape the way cattle overgraze their pasture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/the-vast-number-of-photographers-feeding-on-anything-visible/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [There's little to see, but things leave an impression. It's a matter of time and repetition. As something old wears thin or out, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/there-s-little-to-see-but-things-leave-an-impression-it-s-a-matter-of/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [Cats don't belong to people. They belong to places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/cats-don-t-belong-to-people-they-belong-to-places/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) [Explore all 23 Wright Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) ## 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": "“Life, raw life, the kind we lead every day, whether it leads us into the past or the future, has the curious property of not seeming real enough . 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