Skip to content

When we were kids, you picked up a little paper and put it…

“When we were kids, you picked up a little paper and put it on a stick; and when you waved it back and forth, you understood the power of air underneath the wings. In that way, a child begins to understand abstraction, poetry, metaphor, symbolism. You play with the materials you have and use your…” quote by Julie Taymor
Download Open image
“When we were kids, you picked up a little paper and put it on a stick; and when you waved it back and forth, you understood the power of air underneath the wings. In that way, a child begins to understand abstraction, poetry, metaphor, symbolism. You play with the materials you have and use your imagination to make them into something else. That what's so sad about having everything on a little screen - it's not physical and dimensional, and that seems backward.”

Julie Taymor

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Children learn abstraction by turning simple objects into symbols, revealing how imagination transforms the physical into meaning.

In simple terms: Kids turn simple things into symbols, showing imagination.

Key Takeaway

Encourage tactile play to spark abstract thinking.

Themes

creativity imagination abstraction learning technology

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

educational philosophical

When to use this quote

  • classroom activities
  • parent‑child play
  • design workshops
  • educational toys

Key Concepts

symbolism metaphor embodiment cognitive development

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can we integrate physical play in a digital age?
  • What symbols do you create from everyday objects?
A Different Perspective

Digital media can limit sensory engagement and deep conceptualization.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Julie Taymor

Explore all 72 Julie Taymor quotes

More Abstraction quotes

Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes