--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Images in the 20th century had a unique…" description: "\"Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image became divorced from reality, and often more important than reality. Buildings were judged mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/christopher-alexander-14502_20th-century_images-in-the-20th-century-had-a-unique_2485115.jpg" --- # Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image… ![“Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image became divorced from reality, and often more important than reality. Buildings were judged more by the way they looked in magazines than by the satisfaction people felt when using them.” quote by Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/christopher-alexander-14502_20th-century_images-in-the-20th-century-had-a-unique_2485115.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/christopher-alexander-14502_20th-century_images-in-the-20th-century-had-a-unique_2485115.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f68/christopher-alexander-14502_20th-century_images-in-the-20th-century-had-a-unique_2485115.jpg) > “Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image became divorced from reality, and often more important than reality. Buildings were judged more by the way they looked in magazines than by the satisfaction people felt when using them.” [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Images in the 20th century often shaped perception more than reality, influencing design judgments. **In simple terms:** Pictures can outweigh lived experience. Key Takeaway Critically assess visual representations. Themes perception media influence design reality Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - marketing - urban planning - product design - media literacy Key Concepts visual culture architectural theory Questions to Reflect On - How do images shape your decisions? - When should you trust experience over visuals? A Different Perspective Images can be misleading or manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Buildings Judged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buildings-judged-794092/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Divorced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorced/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Image Divorced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image-divorced-794095/) [Images 20Th](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/images-20th-794094/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Judged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judged/) [Magazines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magazines/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Buildings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-buildings-794093/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image became divorced from reality, and often more important than reality... 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-fierstein/i-often-say-that-if-you-want-to-really-want-to-understand-the/) [Harvey Fierstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-fierstein/) > [It's a really weird thing, modern divorce. I found out I was getting divorced on television. That was kind of weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/it-s-a-really-weird-thing-modern-divorce-i-found-out-i-was-getting/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I always worry that people are going to be very confused; sometimes timelines get confused with how movies get made. So when I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-fischer/i-always-worry-that-people-are-going-to-be-very-confused-sometimes/) [Jenna Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-fischer/) > [Characterization is not divorced from plot, not a coat of paint you slap on after the structure of events is already built. Rather characterization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/characterization-is-not-divorced-from-plot-not-a-coat-of-paint-you/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [I have a son, and I was married for twenty years, and I got divorced, and there's a new woman in my life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-kraftsow/i-have-a-son-and-i-was-married-for-twenty-years-and-i-got-divorced/) [Gary Kraftsow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-kraftsow/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [We're all divorced from reality; the only question is whether you're paying alimony or receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/we-re-all-divorced-from-reality-the-only-question-is-whether-you-re/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [My parents are divorced, and that was the last thing I wanted for myself. I waited until I was 36 to propose, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-duhamel/my-parents-are-divorced-and-that-was-the-last-thing-i-wanted-for/) [Josh Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-duhamel/) > [The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-psychological-condition-of-fear-is-divorced-from-any-concrete-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Nobody wants to get divorced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-miller/nobody-wants-to-get-divorced/) [Ben Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-miller/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) ## More by Christopher Alexander > [The more living patterns there are in a place - a room, a building, or a town - the more it comes to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/the-more-living-patterns-there-are-in-a-place-a-room-a-building-or-a/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [I mean, making simulations of what you're going to build is tremendously useful if you can get feedback from them that will tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/i-mean-making-simulations-of-what-you-re-going-to-build-is/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [It is not possible to make great buildings, or great towns, beautiful places, places where you feel yourself, places where you feel alive, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/it-is-not-possible-to-make-great-buildings-or-great-towns-beautiful/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [In an organic environment, every place is unique, and the different places also cooperate, with no parts left over, to create a global whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/in-an-organic-environment-every-place-is-unique-and-the-different/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [Drawings help people to work out intricate relationships between parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/drawings-help-people-to-work-out-intricate-relationships-between-parts/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [There is one timeless way of building. 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The great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/there-is-one-timeless-way-of-building-it-is-a-thousand-years-old-and/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [The structure of life I have described in buildings - the structure which I believe to be objective - is deeply and inextricably connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/the-structure-of-life-i-have-described-in-buildings-the-structure-2/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [We must face the fact that we are on the brink of times when man may be able to magnify his intellectual and inventive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/we-must-face-the-fact-that-we-are-on-the-brink-of-times-when-man-may/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [In short, no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world only to the extent that is supported by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/in-short-no-pattern-is-an-isolated-entity-each-pattern-can-exist-in/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [In my life as an architect, I found that the single thing which inhibits young professionals, new students most severely, is their acceptance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/in-my-life-as-an-architect-i-found-that-the-single-thing-which/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [Speaking as a builder, if you start something, you must have a vision of the thing which arises from your instinct about preserving and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/speaking-as-a-builder-if-you-start-something-you-must-have-a-vision/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [It is possible to make buildings by stringing together patterns, in a rather loose way. 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We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. 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They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Images in the 20th century had a unique power where image became divorced from reality, and often more important than reality. 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