QuoteProject
Humor and laughter - not necessarily derogatory derision - are my pet tools. This may come from my general philosophy of never taking the world too seriously - for fear of dying of boredom.
Marcel Duchamp
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Humor and laughter are essential for coping with life's seriousness and avoiding boredom.

In this quote, Marcel Duchamp emphasizes the importance of humor and laughter as vital tools for navigating life. He suggests that not taking the world too seriously allows us to embrace creativity and joy, preventing the stagnation that can arise from a monotonous and overly serious existence.

Themes

HumorLaughterSeriousnessPhilosophyBoredom

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a conference about mental health might use this quote to emphasize the value of humor.

More from Marcel Duchamp

An abstract painting need in 50 years by no means look "abstract" any longer.
Marcel DuchampRead
All this twaddle, the existence of God, atheism, determinism, liberation, societies, death, etc., are pieces of a chess game called language, and they are amusing only if one does not preoccupy oneself with 'winning or losing this game of chess.
Marcel DuchampRead
I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art - and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position.
Marcel DuchampRead
I never finished the 'Large Glass' because, after working on it for eight years, I probably got interested in something else; also, I was tired. It may be that, subconsciously, I never intended to finish it because the word 'finish' implies an acceptance of traditional methods and all the paraphernalia that accompany them.
Marcel DuchampRead
It's a product of two poles - there's the pole of the one who makes the work, and the pole of the one who looks at it. I give the latter as much importance as the one who makes it.
Marcel DuchampRead
I became a librarian at the Sainte-Genevieve Library in Paris. I made this gesture to rid myself of a certain milieu, a certain attitude, to have a clean conscience, but also to make a living. I was twenty-five. I had been told that one must make a living, and I believed it.
Marcel DuchampRead

Similar quotes

The wisest and the best of men, nay, the wisest and best of their actions, may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke.
Jane AustenRead
That is a society editor, sitting there elegantly dressed, with his legs crossed in that indolent way, observing the clothes the ladies wear, so that he can describe them for his paper and make them out finer than they are and get bribes for it and become wealthy.
Mark TwainRead
Not everyone is comfortable with the kissing ritual. My husband is one of them. Her refuses to press lips with anyone except his wife, mother, and dog. If someone wanted to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, he would refuse until he had been formally introduced.
Erma BombeckRead
The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Jonathan WintersRead
I live in a neighborhood so bad that you can get shot while getting shot.
Chris RockRead
Who you gonna believe-me or your lying eyes?
Richard PryorRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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

Quote by Marcel Duchamp | QuoteProject