“It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition: to show the viewer what he knows but does not know that he knows. Helnwein is a master of surprised recognition.”

—  Gottfried Helnwein

William S. Burroughs, Helnwein's Work http://www.helnwein.com/texte/selected_authors/artikel_103.html, Lawrence, Kansas, 1990

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is the function of the artist to evoke the experience of surprised recognition: to show the viewer what he knows but…" by Gottfried Helnwein?
Gottfried Helnwein photo
Gottfried Helnwein 14
Austrian photographer and painter 1948

Related quotes

“A self-aware person, who knows his strengths and weaknesses, has more than enough confidence to achieve what he wants. Even so, he does not need recognition from others. When he reaches his goal, recognition will come naturally.”

Titon Rahmawan
Henry James photo

“There are two kinds of taste in the appreciation of imaginative literature: the taste for emotions of surprise and the taste for emotions of recognition.”

Henry James (1843–1916) American novelist, short story author, and literary critic

"Anthony Trollope," Century Magazine (July 1883); reprinted in Partial Portraits (1888).

Jen Lancaster photo

“You know what it was like? It was like thinking I was heading to a surprise party and instead it was a surprise pap smear.”

Jen Lancaster (1967) American writer

Source: Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer

Edith Sitwell photo

“It is a part of the poet's work to show each man what he sees but does not know he sees.”

Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) British poet

As quoted in The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary Special Supplement (1966), p. 2047

“It is not so much tutoring that the minds needs, but clearer recognition and better use of what it already knows.”

Henry S. Haskins (1875–1957)

Source: Meditations in Wall Street (1940), p. 92

Kerry Ellis photo

“The exciting thing about seeing a new show is that you are taken on a journey of surprises, if you know what’s coming it takes away the fun.”

Kerry Ellis (1979) English stage actress and singer

As quoted in "Brian May/Kerry Ellis: Exclusive Interview" (21 February 2011) http://queenonline.com/en/features/brian-maykerry-ellis-exclusive-interview/

Yann Martel photo

“I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know.”

Yann Martel book Life of Pi

Source: Life of Pi (2001), Chapter 99, p. 336
Context: I know what you want. You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. You want a flat story. An immobile story. You want dry, yeastless factuality.

Chris Cornell photo

“I was not surprised when he died. No, I was not surprised. I don’t know why I say that, it’s just something that I feel from Chris, he was so complicated. He always struggled with mundanity. He was really in another dimension, and for him to be normal was really hard.”

Chris Cornell (1964–2017) American singer-songwriter, musician

Ann Wilson on not being surprised by Chris Cornell's death, YouTube, November 15, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqcg8Tla1nU,

Vladimir Putin photo

“This was very unpleasant and surprising for me. We talk to them [the Americans], and we assume they are decent people, but he [John Kerry] is lying and he knows that he is lying. This is sad.”

Vladimir Putin (1952) President of Russia, former Prime Minister

On the recent chemical attack in Syria, 5 September 2013 http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/09/05/obama-kerry-putin-syria-russia-g-20/2769683/ USA Today.co.uk
2011 - 2015

Golo Mann photo

“Man is always more than he can know of himself; consequently, his accomplishments, time and again, will come as a surprise to him.”

Golo Mann (1909–1994) German historian

Golo Mann in his Recollections, quoted in: Marcel Reich-Ranicki (1989), Thomas Mann and his family, p. 187.

Related topics