The Sign of a True Artist

"What is the sign of a true artist?" There's only a handful of questions in the history of modern society that have elicited such an enormously varied number of responses. I decided to do a Google search using the term. It yielded about 1500 returns. Some were thought-provoking, others were grossly uninformed. Such is to be expected from the Internet. In any case, I decided to compile a short list of them.

As I read through these, I noticed that many of the authors seem to have a narrowly defined idea of what it means to be an artist. I think it's important to remember that it's impossible to define ANYONE in one sentence. And I think the truth probably lies somewhere within a cross-section of ideas. Still some of these, I don't necessarily agree with. Others I think have a definite place in the spectrum of thought. What do you think?

Here's what I found:


…[someone] who attempts to avoid glorification, preferring to allow the work to speak for itself. It’s the sign of a true artist. A consummate creator.

It's the sign of a true artist that she can write something that speaks deeply to the experience of a listener who superficially has little in common with her.

universal unpopularity: the sign of a true artist!

You can feel emotion in every single image … which is the sign of a true artist.

He basically said f___ you to everyone and fought to make the album that he wanted no matter what the record company, management and fans said. That is the sign of a true artist.

[I] have always thought that the sign of a true artist is how they confuse your sense of reality by pushing what you think you see over the top of what you can actually see.

It is the sign of a true artist when he can infuse the ordinary figure with a special sense of wonder.

I can't think of another artist … that elicits such passionate discourse. I've always thought that this was the sign of a true artist for to them nothing is as offensive as indifference.

He will lie even when it is inconvenient: the sign of a true artist. (Gore Vidal)

You have created a very powerful image to portray your feelings ... the sign of a true artist.

… if she performed in an empty room, she would still give it the works, the music is more important … than the people who witness it, and that is the sign of a true artist …

The sign of a true artist, in my most humble opinion, is the ability to reinvent him/herself.

I think that the sign of a true artist is somebody that can find beauty in almost anything.

… the sign of a true artist, in my opinion, is to make a piece of art that, at once, remains varied and cohesive at the same time.

… the sign of a true artist is the need to create, no matter what the circumstances …

I suspect that the sign of a true artist is to disguise themselves within their work because they realise [sic] the precious lifeline that anonymity allows.

… he wanted to express his feelings for everything that he came in contact with. This, to me, is the sign of a true artist.

… the sign of a true artist … is best measured by the many different ways he attempts during a lifetime to render the world as he and we are privileged to see it on a good or bad day.

the sign of a true artist is … one who is never totally pleased with the final project once it’s put to bed.

… eclectic taste. I think that’s the sign of a true artist, someone who isn’t locked into one particular scene or genre for inspiration.

The sign of a true artist is when you can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.