--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my case, I was stuck there for quite a…" description: "\"In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/ai-weiwei-824_abstract_in-my-case-i-was-stuck-there-for-quite-a_1428853.png" --- # In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York… ![“In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/ai-weiwei-824_abstract_in-my-case-i-was-stuck-there-for-quite-a_1428853.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/ai-weiwei-824_abstract_in-my-case-i-was-stuck-there-for-quite-a_1428853.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/ai-weiwei-824_abstract_in-my-case-i-was-stuck-there-for-quite-a_1428853.png) > “In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urban anonymity can make individuals feel invisible, highlighting the city's impersonal scale. **In simple terms:** Big cities can make you feel unseen. Key Takeaway Seek personal connections despite the crowd. Themes urban life anonymity social isolation Mood contemplative lonely Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - living in megacities - travel - networking - community building Key Concepts sociology urban studies Questions to Reflect On - How can you create community in a large city? - What small actions combat anonymity? A Different Perspective Finding meaning in a vast city is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Nobody cares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobody-cares/) ## Related quotes > [What I like about New York City is nobody cares. If they do, they don't ever approach. They just give you a 'What's up?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaske-spencer/what-i-like-about-new-york-city-is-nobody-cares-if-they-do-they-don-t/) [Chaske Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaske-spencer/) > [The city of the future is a city that cares about its citizens and integrates its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-paes/the-city-of-the-future-is-a-city-that-cares-about-its-citizens-and/) [Eduardo Paes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-paes/) > [I think everybody deserves freedom. Freedom is such an abstract word, but it's all we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-everybody-deserves-freedom-freedom-is-such-an-abstract-word/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [I may love individual people, but I am contemptuous of the arrogance , and in a way, it's both ruined me and fuels me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-fessenden/i-may-love-individual-people-but-i-am-contemptuous-of-the-arrogance/) [Larry Fessenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-fessenden/) > [You know what I never get with the limo? The tinted windows. Is that so people don't see you? Yeah, what a better way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/you-know-what-i-never-get-with-the-limo-the-tinted-windows-is-that-so/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [Those nights when you just break down, realizing how lonely you are and that nobody cares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-nights-when-you-just-break-down-realizing-how-lonely-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think nobody cares if youre alive, try missing a couple of payments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-wilson/if-you-think-nobody-cares-if-youre-alive-try-missing-a-couple-of/) [Earl Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-wilson/) > [Break my heart some more like never before. Why you're at it, you should just stomp on it. Nobody cares about my feelings so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-my-heart-some-more-like-never-before-why-you-re-at-it-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With all due respect to UPS - it's a fine company - nobody cares about logistics. They care about that package arriving at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-luntz/with-all-due-respect-to-ups-it-s-a-fine-company-nobody-cares-about/) [Frank Luntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-luntz/) > [I always laugh because I used to think the week before anyone saw me on "Charlie's Angels," nobody cared what I ate, how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-always-laugh-because-i-used-to-think-the-week-before-anyone-saw-me/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If you think nobody cares about you well you are wrong becuase I care about you and thats the way I fell about you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-michaels/if-you-think-nobody-cares-about-you-well-you-are-wrong-becuase-i-care/) Kayleigh Michaels > [You don't want to be the guy nobody cares about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/you-don-t-want-to-be-the-guy-nobody-cares-about/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple car payments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-think-nobody-cares-try-missing-a-couple-car-payments/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The thing about the NFL is nobody cares. Nobody feels bad for you. Nobody feels sorry for you... They don't care if you're hurt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-olsen/the-thing-about-the-nfl-is-nobody-cares-nobody-feels-bad-for-you/) [Greg Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-olsen/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. 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