Good art theory must smell of the studio, although its language should differ from the household talk of painters and sculptors.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Variety is more than a means of avoiding boredom, since art is more than an entertainment of the senses.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Variety enhances the depth and appreciation of art beyond mere entertainment.
Rudolf Arnheim highlights that variety in art serves a greater purpose than just preventing monotony; it enriches our understanding and experience of art itself. By suggesting that art transcends mere sensory pleasure, he implies that it engages us intellectually and emotionally, inviting deeper contemplation and interaction.
Themes
VarietyArtBoredomEntertainmentCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on art appreciation, this quote can emphasize the importance of variety in creative expressions.
More from Rudolf Arnheim
All quotes βThe dance, just as the performance of the actor, is kinesthetic art, art of the muscle sense. The awareness of tension and relaxation within his own body, the sense of balance that distinguishes the proud stability of the vertical from the risky adventures of thrusting and falling--these are the tools of the dancer.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Nothing is more humbling than to look with a strong magnifying glass at an insect so tiny that the naked eye sees only the barest speck and to discover that nevertheless it is sculpted and articulated and striped with the same care and imagination.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Once it is recognized that productive thinking in any area of cognition is perceptual thinking, the central function of art in general education will become evident.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Man's striving for order, of which art is but one manifestation, derives from a similar universal tendency throughout the organic world; it is also paralleled by, and perhaps derived from, the striving towards the state of simplest structure in physical systems.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
The arts are neglected because they are based on perception, and perception is disdained because it is not assumed to involve thought.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
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In architecture the idea degenerated. Design allows a more direct and pleasurable route.
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On those who overanalyze his music: When you tear the wings off a butterfly, it is no longer a butterfly
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Music is a science which should have definite rules; these rules should be drawn from an evident principle; and this principle cannot really be known to us without the aid of mathematics.
Jean-Philippe RameauRead