Skill in the digital age is confused with mastery of digital tools, masking the importance of understanding materials and mastering the elements of form.
John MaedaRead
When people say, 'I don't get art' ... that means art is working.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the confusion about art indicates its effectiveness in provoking thought and emotion.
John Maeda's quote illustrates that art's ability to elicit diverse reactions, including confusion or lack of understanding, is a testament to its power and relevance. When individuals express that they do not comprehend art, it signifies that the artwork is successfully engaging them, challenging their perceptions, and provoking inquiry, which is a fundamental purpose of artistic expression.
Themes
ArtExpressionUnderstandingEmotionsCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the subjective nature of art in an art appreciation class.
More from John Maeda
All quotes →Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.
John MaedaRead
In the '70s and '80s there was an attempt in K-12 to teach science through art or art through science. The challenge today is how do you build the ethos of art and design into the academy of science.
John MaedaRead
Technological advances have always been driven more by a mind-set of 'I can' than 'I should' Technologists love to cram maximum functionality into their products. That's 'I can' thinking, which is driven by peer competition and market forces But this approach ignores the far more important question of how the consumer will actually use the device focus on what we should be doing, not just what we can.
John MaedaRead
Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are considered "useless," will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously. The arts are the science of enjoying life.
John MaedaRead
Similar quotes
Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
There is nothing harder to learn than painting and nothing which most people take less trouble about learning. An art school is a place where about three people work with feverish energy and everybody else idles to a degree that I should have conceived unattainable by human nature.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
The film drama is the opium of the people…down with bourgeois fairy-tale scenarios…long live life as it is!
Dziga VertovRead
Drumming completely eclipsed my life from age 13, when I started drum lessons. Everything disappeared. I'd done well in school up until that time. I was fairly adjusted socially up until that time. And I became completely monomania, obsessed all through my teens. Nothing else existed anymore.
Neil PeartRead
I'm playing deep African music.
Fela KutiRead
The only thing that can save the world is the reclaiming of the awareness of the world. That's what poetry does. By poetry I mean the imagining of what has been lost and what can be found - the imagining of who we are and the slow realization of it.
Allen GinsbergRead