QuoteProject
All art is unstable. Its meaning is not necessarily that implied by the author. There is no authoritative voice. There are only multiple readings.
David Bowie
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Art's meaning is subjective and can vary from person to person, regardless of the artist's intentions.

David Bowie's quote emphasizes the fluidity and subjectivity of art. It suggests that art does not have a singular, authoritative interpretation defined by the creator; instead, it opens up to multiple perspectives and meanings based on individual experiences and insights. This idea encourages viewers to engage personally with art and derive their own significance, highlighting the dynamic relationship between the piece and its audience.

Themes

ArtMeaningSubjectivityInterpretationExpression

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on art interpretation at a gallery, you could use this quote to illustrate how different perspectives enhance the experience of art.

More from David Bowie

All art really does is keep you focused on questions of humanity, and it really is about how do we get on with our maker.
David BowieRead
I guess, taking away all the theatrics or the costuming and the outer layers of what I do, I'm a writer... I write.
David BowieRead
I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human.
David BowieRead
Nothing prepared me for your smile
David BowieRead
But I've got to think of myself as the luckiest guy. Robert Johnson only had one album's worth of work as his legacy. That's all that life allowed him.
David BowieRead
I'm an early riser. I get up between five and six, have coffee, and read for a couple of hours before everyone else gets up.
David BowieRead

Similar quotes

If you set out to write an adjective novel, you're setting out to write a mediocre novel; your allegiance is to the adjective, not to the story, and then that just sucks all the joy right out of it.
Patrick NessRead
I could never put anything into a picture that wasn't actually there in front of me. That would be a pointless lie, a mere bit of artfulness.
Lucian FreudRead
The first principle of architectural beauty is that the essential lines of a construction be determined by a perfect appropriateness to its use.
Gustave EiffelRead
The one happiness is to shut one's door upon a little room, with a table before one, and to create; to create life in that isolation from life.
Eleanora DuseRead
It is only the untalented director who imagines him or herself in every part, wants his or her own thoughts and emotions portrayed; it is only the untalented who make their own limitations those of the actors as well.
Liv UllmannRead
I start from one point and go as far as possible. But, unfortunately, I never lose my way. I 'localize,' which is to say that I think always in a given space. I rarely think of the whole of a solo, and only very briefly. I always return to the small part of the solo that I was in the process of playing.
John ColtraneRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.