The Meaning of Life—and Art

I invited the painters in my program to ask me any questions they wanted, and I would do my best to answer them. Painter Debbie made us laugh by joking about asking for the meaning of life. Later, on my way home from the art studio, I saw a bumper sticker that read, "The meaning of life is to live it." An hour later, my friend Tom sent me a quote from Instagram: "You're a ghost driving a meat-coated skeleton made from stardust, riding a rock, rolling through space. – Fear nothing."

It seemed the universe was sending me this question, so I looked up several quotes about the meaning of life—and art—and added my own at the end.

Pablo Picasso – “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”
Picasso suggests that art elevates us beyond the mundane, hinting that the meaning of life may lie in experiencing beauty, wonder, and insight beyond ordinary existence.

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Oscar Wilde – “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.”
Wilde implies that art is a powerful source of meaning and vision, shaping how we perceive life itself. This challenges us to see art not just as a reflection but as a guide to life’s purpose.

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Rainer Maria Rilke – “The work of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”
Rilke saw art as a way to engage with life’s mysteries rather than solve them, suggesting that part of life’s meaning might be found in contemplation rather than explanation.

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Fyodor Dostoevsky – “Art is as much a need for humanity as eating and drinking. The need for beauty and creativity goes beyond practicality, connecting us to a deeper purpose.”
This connects art directly to our essence as humans, implying that our quest for beauty and understanding through art is fundamental to our reason for being.

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Jeanette Winterson – “Art is not a luxury, but a necessity...Art becomes a bridge, a passageway, into that which cannot be spoken.”
Winterson suggests that art helps us access aspects of life’s meaning that words alone can’t convey, making it a fundamental part of our existence and quest for purpose.

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Alan Moore – “To paint a picture of the meaning of life may be the highest purpose of all.”
As a graphic novelist and writer, Moore speaks to the powerful role art plays in humanity’s search for meaning, as if to suggest that the journey to create art may itself be the purpose of life.

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Albert Camus – “A work of art is a confession.”
In the existentialist spirit, Camus believed that art reveals the inner struggles and truths of life, suggesting that art may be one way to face the essential questions and truths of our existence.

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 Patrick Howe - "The purpose of life is to awaken to the reality of your true being. Bring that into your art."

"May your life be guided by curiosity, and a passion to see  the world with fresh eyes."

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