"When artists make art, they shouldn't question whether it is permissible to do one thing or another"
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LeWitt’s line is a quiet provocation disguised as a permission slip. Coming from an artist who helped define Conceptualism, it’s less a romantic plea for “freedom” than a tactical instruction: stop asking the culture’s gatekeepers for a hall pass and get back to the work. The wording matters. “Permissible” isn’t about taste; it’s about authority. It conjures juries, censors, grant panels, critics, and the internal cop artists develop after enough rejection letters and side-eyes.
In LeWitt’s world, the most radical move was often procedural. His wall drawings could be executed by others; authorship was decentralized; the “idea” was the machine that made the art. That context sharpens the subtext: if art is an experiment, moral pre-clearance and aesthetic approval are both forms of contamination. You don’t discover anything new by asking permission from the old.
There’s also an implicit swipe at the anxiety that surrounds influence and legitimacy. Artists are trained to anticipate objections: Is this derivative? Offensive? Too political? Not political enough? LeWitt isn’t denying consequence; he’s rejecting the preemptive self-censorship that turns art into risk management. The line reads even sharper today, when “should you?” debates arrive faster than the work itself, and when platforms, institutions, and audiences all claim veto power. LeWitt’s point isn’t that anything goes; it’s that art dies when the first question is “Am I allowed?” instead of “What happens if I try?”
In LeWitt’s world, the most radical move was often procedural. His wall drawings could be executed by others; authorship was decentralized; the “idea” was the machine that made the art. That context sharpens the subtext: if art is an experiment, moral pre-clearance and aesthetic approval are both forms of contamination. You don’t discover anything new by asking permission from the old.
There’s also an implicit swipe at the anxiety that surrounds influence and legitimacy. Artists are trained to anticipate objections: Is this derivative? Offensive? Too political? Not political enough? LeWitt isn’t denying consequence; he’s rejecting the preemptive self-censorship that turns art into risk management. The line reads even sharper today, when “should you?” debates arrive faster than the work itself, and when platforms, institutions, and audiences all claim veto power. LeWitt’s point isn’t that anything goes; it’s that art dies when the first question is “Am I allowed?” instead of “What happens if I try?”
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
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