--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the ambiguity of similarity and…" description: "\"I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times of year read across the grid, and, of cours..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png" --- # I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very… ![“I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times of year read across the grid, and, of course, different locations reading vertically. But you can get confused and lost in the series. You force the mind, which is always comparing and…” quote by David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png) > “I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times of year read across the grid, and, of course, different locations reading vertically. But you can get confused and lost in the series. You force the mind, which is always comparing and contrasting, to stumble ... That ambiguity is very powerful. One is getting lost and refinding oneself.” [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how visual ambiguity—similarities and differences across time, space, and perspective—creates powerful artistic tension, leading viewers to navigate and reinterpret meaning. **In simple terms:** Visual ambiguity creates tension and invites reinterpretation. Key Takeaway Embrace ambiguity to discover new insights. Themes art perception creativity interpretation Mood contemplative inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - art education - design brainstorming - personal reflection Key Concepts visual ambiguity contrast cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - How does ambiguity enhance artistic expression? - When does it become a barrier? A Different Perspective Ambiguity can also cause confusion and hinder clear communication if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) [Ambiguity Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity-powerful-5448102/) [Compare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compare/) [Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused/) [Contrasting Stumble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrasting-stumble-5448103/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-times/) [Finding oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-oneself/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Getting lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-lost/) [Grids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grids/) [Location](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/location/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost and confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-and-confused/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Similarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/similarity/) [Stumble Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stumble-ambiguity-5448104/) [Think Ambiguity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-ambiguity-5448101/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Very powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-powerful/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“Well…there’s only one glove. Right away, I wonder, where’s the other glove? How did it become separated from its mate? Does it feel lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/well-there-s-only-one-glove-right-away-i-wonder-where-s-the-other/) [Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/) > [“I didn't know what to say to Mal. I never did these days. But maybe I could just start with the truth: that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/i-didn-t-know-what-to-say-to-mal-i-never-did-these-days-but-maybe-i/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“A book is a map … There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel-2/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-cronin/life-is-no-straight-and-easy-corridor-along-which-we-travel-free-and/) [A.J. Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-cronin/) > [“God never loses track of those He loves, even when they have lost their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-b-amunikoro/god-never-loses-track-of-those-he-loves-even-when-they-have-lost/) [Ibrahim B. Amunikoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-b-amunikoro/) > [Really, I like the future. I appreciate my automatic alarm-call necklace in case I get lost and confused in a mall. I appreciate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/really-i-like-the-future-i-appreciate-my-automatic-alarm-call/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [And there I was, 225 pounds, perpetually lost and confused, short legs, ape-like upper body, all chest, no neck, head too large, blurred eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/and-there-i-was-225-pounds-perpetually-lost-and-confused-short-legs/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Would you think it strange if I said I was having a good time? We're lost and confused and carrying around a cat. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-shepard-gray/would-you-think-it-strange-if-i-said-i-was-having-a-good-time-we-re/) [Shelley Shepard Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-shepard-gray/) > [“There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself is through reading. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel-lost-and-confused/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“His Omega felt weak from her loss of the war. She needed him to prove he was stronger—strong enough for both of them. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-cain/his-omega-felt-weak-from-her-loss-of-the-war-she-needed-him-to-prove/) [Addison Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-cain/) > [Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-is-an-untamed-force-when-we-try-to-control-it-it-destroys-us/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Sometimes, when we feel really worried or afraid, this feeling becomes so strong that it makes it hard to cope. It's like a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyra-brave/sometimes-when-we-feel-really-worried-or-afraid-this-feeling-becomes/) [Lyra Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyra-brave/) > [A book is a map. There will be times in your life when you will feel lost and confused. The way back to yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/a-book-is-a-map-there-will-be-times-in-your-life-when-you-will-feel/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Human nature is full of riddles; . . . one of those riddles is: how is it that people who have been crushed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/human-nature-is-full-of-riddles-one-of-those-riddles-is-how-is-it/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Elsewhere is within; a good place to look if you’re lost…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanette-l-avery/elsewhere-is-within-a-good-place-to-look-if-you-re-lost/) [Nanette L. Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nanette-l-avery/) ## More by David Hockney > [ You can't believe any picture nowadays, if it's digital. You can't really believe. If you see me shaking hands with Mr. \[Barack\] Obama, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-can-t-believe-any-picture-nowadays-if-it-s-digital-you-can-t/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-had-always-planned-to-make-a-large-painting-of-the-early-spring/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I've always said that the only thing a photograph is good at capturing faithfully is another flat surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-ve-always-said-that-the-only-thing-a-photograph-is-good-at/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm rather shocked by what I thought was simple mindedness actually. I thought they're not looking, they're not actually looking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-m-rather-shocked-by-what-i-thought-was-simple-mindedness-actually-i/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You would think death was an optional extra nowadays. Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I live wherever I happen to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-live-wherever-i-happen-to-be/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Until I saw my drawings replayed on the iPad, I'd never seen myself draw. Someone watching me would be concentrating on the exact moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/until-i-saw-my-drawings-replayed-on-the-ipad-i-d-never-seen-myself/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [You always need a bit of low-tech.You always need a pair of scissors, it seems to me. You can do better things… The high-tech,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-always-need-a-bit-of-low-tech-you-always-need-a-pair-of-scissors/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/when-you-are-older-you-realise-that-everything-else-is-just-nothing/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [The photograph isn't good enough. It's not real enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/the-photograph-isn-t-good-enough-it-s-not-real-enough/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [In fact, I'm a bit of a slob, but I've always said my excuse, I have a higher sense of order, I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/in-fact-i-m-a-bit-of-a-slob-but-i-ve-always-said-my-excuse-i-have-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Spring is very energising to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/spring-is-very-energising-to-me/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [No theoretician, no writer on art, however interesting he or she might be, could be as interesting as Picasso. A good writer on art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/no-theoretician-no-writer-on-art-however-interesting-he-or-she-might/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [How difficult it is to learn not to see like cameras, which has had such an effect on us. The camera sees everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-difficult-it-is-to-learn-not-to-see-like-cameras-which-has-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [With chemical film, it was possible to alter photographs, but you had to be an expert. That's not true any more. The LA Times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/with-chemical-film-it-was-possible-to-alter-photographs-but-you-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) [Explore all 247 David Hockney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## More Ambiguity quotes > [The position is clear - there is no ambiguity in Sinn Fein's position. We, along with all the other parties, have signed up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-position-is-clear-there-is-no-ambiguity-in-sinn-fein-s-position/) [Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/during-the-cold-war-we-lived-in-coded-times-when-it-wasn-t-easy-and/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I blame my grandfather 100 percent for his oldest son's death. I don't think there's any ambiguity there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/i-blame-my-grandfather-100-percent-for-his-oldest-son-s-death-i-don-t/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [I think the relationship between social-dominance orientation in people and the extent to which they're made uncomfortable by ambiguity and novelty is really important.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sapolsky/i-think-the-relationship-between-social-dominance-orientation-in/) [Robert Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sapolsky/) > [Yet again, an ancient answer echoes across the centuries: Listen! Listen to stories! For what stories do, above all else, is hold up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-kurtz/yet-again-an-ancient-answer-echoes-across-the-centuries-listen-listen/) [Ernest Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-kurtz/) > [My path to wisdom began when I stopped pretending to know things I didn't know. When I explicitly admitted to the limits of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/my-path-to-wisdom-began-when-i-stopped-pretending-to-know-things-i/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-order-to-be-as-free-as-i-possibly-can-in-my-own-imagination-i-can/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I've always been drawn to ambiguity in pop music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-ambiguity-in-pop-music/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I am in the utmost perplexity, yand have wished a hundred times, that if there is a A God, nature would manifest him without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-am-in-the-utmost-perplexity-yand-have-wished-a-hundred-times-that/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [There's a lot of ambiguity in life, and so often, our art is very neatly wrapped up at the end, when our lives never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-coon/there-s-a-lot-of-ambiguity-in-life-and-so-often-our-art-is-very/) [Carrie Coon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-coon/) > [“Man must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/man-must-not-attempt-to-dispel-the-ambiguity-of-his-being-but-on-the/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) [Browse all 431 Ambiguity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times of year read across the grid, and, of course, different locations reading vertically. But you can get confused and lost in the series. You force the mind, which is always comparing and contrasting, to stumble ... That ambiguity is very powerful. One is getting lost and refinding oneself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hockney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and-difference-is-very-powerful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and-difference-is-very-powerful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67e/david-hockney-1395_ambiguity_i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and_2302805.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the ambiguity of similarity and difference is very powerful. It's the same scene in different times…” — David Hockney", "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": "David Hockney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the ambiguity of similarity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and-difference-is-very-powerful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-think-the-ambiguity-of-similarity-and-difference-is-very-powerful/#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 } } ] } ```