Very quickly a painting is turned into a facsimile of itself when one becomes so familiar with with it that one recognizes it without looking at it.
Robert RauschenbergRead
I don't really trust ideas - especially good ones... Rather, I put my trust in the materials that confront me, because they put me in touch with the unknown.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of materials and experiences over abstract concepts in the creative process.
Robert Rauschenberg suggests that genuine creativity arises not from trusting ideas alone, particularly those that seem appealing or 'good,' but rather from engaging directly with the materials and experiences that challenge our understanding. This interaction with the unknown fosters true innovation and connection to the creative process, as it grounds artistic expression in tangible reality rather than abstract thoughts.
Themes
CreativityMaterialsUnknownArtistic ExpressionInnovation
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on creative processes, I shared this quote to inspire artists to focus on their materials.
More from Robert Rauschenberg
All quotes →I never allowed myself the luxury of those brilliant, beautiful colors until I went to India and saw people walking around in them or dragging them in the mud. I realised they were not so artificial.
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I'm not so facile that I can accomplish or find out what I want to know or explore enough of the possibilities and a way of making a painting, say, in just one painting or two paintings.
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My art is about paying attention - about the extremely dangerous possibility that you might be art.
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The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history.
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There was a whole language that I could never make function for myself in relationship to painting, and that was attitudes like tortured, struggle, pain.
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