--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I look for is neither reality nor…" description: "\"What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.\" — Amedeo Modigliani" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg" --- # What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the… ![“What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.” quote by Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg) > “What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.” [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art should explore the subconscious and instinctive mysteries beyond mere reality. **In simple terms:** Art seeks hidden human mysteries. Key Takeaway Create works that probe deeper instincts. Themes art subconscious human nature Mood enigmatic reflective Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - gallery curation - creative workshops - personal art practice Key Concepts psychology of art symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What subconscious themes resonate with you? - How can you translate instinct into visual form? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be too abstract for audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Serendipity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serendipity/) [Subconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subconscious/) [Unreality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreality/) ## Related quotes > [Man is the measure of all things, of the reality of those which are, and of the unreality of those which are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/protagoras/man-is-the-measure-of-all-things-of-the-reality-of-those-which-are/) [Protagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/protagoras/) > [I sat at the foot of a huge tree, a statue of the night, and tried to make an inventory of all I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/i-sat-at-the-foot-of-a-huge-tree-a-statue-of-the-night-and-tried-to-2/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“Melancholy is an escape not from reality, but unreality of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/melancholy-is-an-escape-not-from-reality-but-unreality-of-the-world/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“On a waiter’s check pad,” said Slartibartfast, “reality and unreality collide on such a fundamental level that each becomes the other and anything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/on-a-waiter-s-check-pad-said-slartibartfast-reality-and-unreality/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What happens to the wide-eyed observer when the window between reality and unreality breaks and the glass begins to fly?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/what-happens-to-the-wide-eyed-observer-when-the-window-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's the real thing but theres little difference between reality and unreality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/it-s-the-real-thing-but-theres-little-difference-between-reality-and/) [Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/) > [The difference between reality and unreality is that reality has so little to recommend it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sherman/the-difference-between-reality-and-unreality-is-that-reality-has-so/) [Allan Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sherman/) > [Reality and unreality have no clear distinction in our present circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/reality-and-unreality-have-no-clear-distinction-in-our-present/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [What has reality shows got to do with reality? It is beyond unreality; there is nothing real about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morley-safer/what-has-reality-shows-got-to-do-with-reality-it-is-beyond-unreality/) [Morley Safer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morley-safer/) > [“It is the case that, albeit to a lesser extent, all fictions make their readers live "the impossible", taking them out of themselves, breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/it-is-the-case-that-albeit-to-a-lesser-extent-all-fictions-make-their/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Why do photographers photograph? To make unreality visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-jay/why-do-photographers-photograph-to-make-unreality-visible/) [Bill Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-jay/) > [“Created visions of experiencing unreality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicdo/created-visions-of-experiencing-unreality/) VicDo > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It was so emotional to step onto the Millennium Falcon set because that was the play set we all had when we were kids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rian-johnson/it-was-so-emotional-to-step-onto-the-millennium-falcon-set-because/) [Rian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rian-johnson/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Amedeo Modigliani > [Happiness is an angel with a serious face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/happiness-is-an-angel-with-a-serious-face/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [When I know your soul, I will paint your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/when-i-know-your-soul-i-will-paint-your-eyes/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [You are not alive unless you know you are living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/you-are-not-alive-unless-you-know-you-are-living/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [With one eye you are looking at the outside world, while with the other you are looking within yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/with-one-eye-you-are-looking-at-the-outside-world-while-with-the/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [I want to be a tuneswept fiddle string that feels the master melody, and snaps...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/i-want-to-be-a-tuneswept-fiddle-string-that-feels-the-master-melody/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [What I am seeking is not the real and not the unreal but rather the unconscious, the mystery of the instinctive in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/what-i-am-seeking-is-not-the-real-and-not-the-unreal-but-rather-the/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [The function of art is to struggle against obligation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/the-function-of-art-is-to-struggle-against-obligation/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [It is your duty in life to save your dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/it-is-your-duty-in-life-to-save-your-dream/) [Amedeo Modigliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/) > [Every great work of art should be considered like any work of nature. 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Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“It occurred to me that the death of his grazing land hurt him more, incomparably more than the death of the human race. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/it-occurred-to-me-that-the-death-of-his-grazing-land-hurt-him-more/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.” —Albert A. 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I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“They all deserve to die. Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why. Because in all of the whole human race Mrs Lovett, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/they-all-deserve-to-die-tell-you-why-mrs-lovett-tell-you-why-because/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to surmise that war has a perverse appeal for the human race, nor is the attraction limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/you-don-t-have-to-be-sigmund-freud-to-surmise-that-war-has-a-perverse/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-p-johnson/how-many-years-has-it-taken-people-to-realize-that-we-are-all/) [Marsha P. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/) [Browse all 2,205 Human race quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amedeo Modigliani" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-unreality-but-the-subconscious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human race" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-unreality-but-the-subconscious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/amedeo-modigliani-42816_human-race_what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-u_2733744.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive mystery of the human…” — Amedeo Modigliani", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amedeo Modigliani", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amedeo-modigliani/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What I look for is neither...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-unreality-but-the-subconscious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amedeo-modigliani/what-i-look-for-is-neither-reality-nor-unreality-but-the-subconscious/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```