---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My preference for clear structures is the…"
description: "\"My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things and maintain my grip on the world.\" — Andrea..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png"
---

#  My preference for clear structures is the result of my…

![“My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things and maintain my grip on the world.” quote by Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png)

> “My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things and maintain my grip on the world.”

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

## About This Quote

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

A desire for order reflects a need to control perception and understand the world.

**In simple terms:** Structure helps manage complexity and feel secure.

Key Takeaway

Use organization to maintain clarity.

Themes

order control clarity

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- workplace
- personal planning
- creative projects

Key Concepts

cognitive framing psychology of organization

Questions to Reflect On

- How much structure is beneficial?
- When does order become rigidity?

A Different Perspective

Excessive control can stifle flexibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Clear Structures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear-structures-2605044/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Illusory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-illusory-2605043/) [Illusory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusory/) [Illusory Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusory-track-2605045/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Preference Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference-clear-2605046/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/track/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/)

## Related quotes

> [People are distracted by objects of desire, and afterwards repent of the lust they've indulged, because they have indulged with a phantom and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/people-are-distracted-by-objects-of-desire-and-afterwards-repent-of/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [If Assuming the saints of this world worldly desire illusory trap them salvation can be achieved only disgusted Then why does God make him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/if-assuming-the-saints-of-this-world-worldly-desire-illusory-trap/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [The individual (no matter how well-meaning he might be, no matter how much strength he might have, if only he would use it) does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-individual-no-matter-how-well-meaning-he-might-be-no-matter-how/)

[Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/)

> [To be choiceless is to be in meditation. To be choiceless is to enter the eternal. To be of choice is to enter the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-be-choiceless-is-to-be-in-meditation-to-be-choiceless-is-to-enter/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [It is not that things are delusory but their separateness in the fabric of the Whole that is illusory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/it-is-not-that-things-are-delusory-but-their-separateness-in-the/)

[Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/)

> [As you all become more intimate with Me, with opportunities to come closer to Me, all that is good and bad within you comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/as-you-all-become-more-intimate-with-me-with-opportunities-to-come/)

[Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/)

> [“Therefore, everything is the illusory magical display of one's own mind. It is appearing yet delusive, and delusive while appearing. Thus, all of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-brunnholzl/therefore-everything-is-the-illusory-magical-display-of-one-s-own/)

[Karl Brunnholzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-brunnholzl/)

> [We become obsessed with 'truth' when discussing statements, just as we become obsessed with 'freedom' when discussing conduct...Like freedom, truth is a bare minimum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/we-become-obsessed-with-truth-when-discussing-statements-just-as-we/)

[J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/)

> [Perfectionism is a perpetual flight into an illusory future that cannot be attained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/perfectionism-is-a-perpetual-flight-into-an-illusory-future-that/)

[Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/)

> [“Horror shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/horror-shows-us-that-the-control-we-believe-we-have-is-purely-illusory/)

[Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/)

> [Lust is as it were desire and desire, will which extends beyond the natural will, passionate, not governed by the law and moderation. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patriarch-philaret-of-moscow/lust-is-as-it-were-desire-and-desire-will-which-extends-beyond-the/)

[Patriarch Philaret of Moscow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patriarch-philaret-of-moscow/)

> [“In this world that is an illusion, every emotion is real. In this world that is real, every truth is illusory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-neelakantan/in-this-world-that-is-an-illusion-every-emotion-is-real-in-this-world/)

[Anand Neelakantan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-neelakantan/)

> [“The life of this world is but a sport and a pastime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-of-this-world-is-but-a-sport-and-a-pastime/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In truth there is only one freedom - the holy freedom of Christ, whereby He freed us from sin, from evil, from the devil.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-popovic/in-truth-there-is-only-one-freedom-the-holy-freedom-of-christ-whereby/)

[Justin Popovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-popovic/)

> [“Until the ignorance of the Self does not move away, moha (illusory attachment) will not leave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/until-the-ignorance-of-the-self-does-not-move-away-moha-illusory/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

## More by Andreas Gursky

> [Maybe to try to understand not just that we are living in a certain building or in a certain location, but to become aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/maybe-to-try-to-understand-not-just-that-we-are-living-in-a-certain/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [Vision is an intelligent form of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/vision-is-an-intelligent-form-of-thought/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [We are alone on this planet. It's not a choice. Here we are. This is what everyone has to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/we-are-alone-on-this-planet-it-s-not-a-choice-here-we-are-this-is/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [I read a picture not for what's really going on there, I read it more for what is going on in our world generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/i-read-a-picture-not-for-what-s-really-going-on-there-i-read-it-more/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [Since the photographic medium has been digitized, a fixed definition of the term photography has become impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/since-the-photographic-medium-has-been-digitized-a-fixed-definition/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [I am never interested in the individual, but in the human species and its environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/i-am-never-interested-in-the-individual-but-in-the-human-species-and/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [In retrospect I can see that my desire to create abstractions has become more and more radical. Art should not be delivering a report…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/in-retrospect-i-can-see-that-my-desire-to-create-abstractions-has/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [A word is worth a thousand images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/a-word-is-worth-a-thousand-images/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [My father did advertising photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/my-father-did-advertising-photography/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [I stand at a distance, like a person who comes from another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/i-stand-at-a-distance-like-a-person-who-comes-from-another-world/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [Maybe to try to understand not just that we are living in a certain building or in a certain location, but to become aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/maybe-to-try-to-understand-not-just-that-we-are-living-in-a-certain-2/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [I pursue one goal the encyclopaedia of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/i-pursue-one-goal-the-encyclopaedia-of-life/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

> [Any claims on the truth in my pictures are only to be answered in the sense that a particular event did in fact happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/any-claims-on-the-truth-in-my-pictures-are-only-to-be-answered-in-the/)

[Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

[Explore all 14 Andreas Gursky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/)

## More Architecture quotes

> [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/)

[Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [The Parthenon is really only a farmyard over which someone put a roof; colonades and sculptures were added because there were people in Athens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/the-parthenon-is-really-only-a-farmyard-over-which-someone-put-a-roof/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [I just think structure can make a book feel so much bigger. It's the architecture. You could use flimsy materials if you wanted to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/i-just-think-structure-can-make-a-book-feel-so-much-bigger-it-s-the/)

[Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/)

> [When I am asked what I believe in, I say that I believe in architecture. Architecture is the mother of the arts. I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/when-i-am-asked-what-i-believe-in-i-say-that-i-believe-in/)

[Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/)

> [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/)

[Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/)

> [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [London, from the architecture to the culture to the fashion to the accents, feels like it's a special place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-eazy/london-from-the-architecture-to-the-culture-to-the-fashion-to-the/)

[G-Eazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-eazy/)

> [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/)

[Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/)

> [Architecture is not a profession for the faint-hearted, the weak-willed, or the short-lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architecture-is-not-a-profession-for-the-faint-hearted-the-weak/)

[Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/)

> [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/)

> [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/)

[Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/)

> [It's not so much about form versus functionality. Rather, it's about doing both and doing them a lot and doing them well-and that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-prince-ramus/it-s-not-so-much-about-form-versus-functionality-rather-it-s-about/)

[Joshua Prince-Ramus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-prince-ramus/)

> [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/)

[Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/)

[Browse all 3,013 Architecture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/architecture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things and maintain my grip on the world.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andreas Gursky"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-the-result-of-my-desire-perhaps/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Architecture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-the-result-of-my-desire-perhaps/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c8/andreas-gursky-33701_architecture_my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-th_265152.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“My preference for clear structures is the result of my desire - perhaps illusory - to keep track of things…” — Andreas Gursky",
                "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": "Andreas Gursky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "My preference for clear structures is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-the-result-of-my-desire-perhaps/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/my-preference-for-clear-structures-is-the-result-of-my-desire-perhaps/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
