--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything that I saw became something to…" description: "\"Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it had to be exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom: there was no longer th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/ellsworth-kelly-12449_anything-goes_everything-that-i-saw-became-something-t_1850407.jpg" --- # Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it… ![“Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it had to be exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom: there was no longer the need to compose. The subject was there already made, and I could take from everything. It all belonged to me: a glass roof of a factory, with its…” quote by Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/ellsworth-kelly-12449_anything-goes_everything-that-i-saw-became-something-t_1850407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/ellsworth-kelly-12449_anything-goes_everything-that-i-saw-became-something-t_1850407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/ellsworth-kelly-12449_anything-goes_everything-that-i-saw-became-something-t_1850407.jpg) > “Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it had to be exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom: there was no longer the need to compose. The subject was there already made, and I could take from everything. It all belonged to me: a glass roof of a factory, with its broken and patched panels, lines on a road map, a corner of a Braque painting, paper fragments in the street. It was all the same: anything goes.” [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist embraces found objects as raw material, reproducing them exactly without alteration, freeing himself from the need to compose. **In simple terms:** He uses existing things as they are, without adding anything. Key Takeaway Accept what exists without trying to change it. Themes creativity freedom appropriation minimalism Mood reflective contemplative Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - studio practice - gallery installation - urban exploration - design inspiration Key Concepts found object art authenticity reduction Questions to Reflect On - How does using existing forms affect your own voice? - When is it appropriate to add rather than copy? A Different Perspective May limit originality if overused; risk of passive copying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anything goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-goes/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Road map](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-map/) [Road maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-maps/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [“she would be free of mundane care, she was a pure will towards right. She had sold herself, but she had a new freedom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/she-would-be-free-of-mundane-care-she-was-a-pure-will-towards-right/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [Country's opened its boundaries so wide that it embraces everything, and it gives everybody this new freedom to create now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-demarcus/country-s-opened-its-boundaries-so-wide-that-it-embraces-everything/) [Jay DeMarcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-demarcus/) > [The so-called new Russian man is characterized mainly by his complete exhaustion. You may find yourself wondering if he has the strength to enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-so-called-new-russian-man-is-characterized-mainly-by-his-complete/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [There will be no greater burden on our generation than to organize the forces of liberty in our time in order to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-will-be-no-greater-burden-on-our-generation-than-to-organize/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [America has been the New World in all tongues, to all peoples, not because this continent was a new-found land, but because all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/america-has-been-the-new-world-in-all-tongues-to-all-peoples-not/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No one who has lived even for a fleeting moment for something other than life in its conventional sense and has experienced the exaltation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/no-one-who-has-lived-even-for-a-fleeting-moment-for-something-other/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“This time, Fusako was able to express herself with fluency and candor. The bold letters she had been writing week after week had granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/this-time-fusako-was-able-to-express-herself-with-fluency-and-candor/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [There's a certain kind of existential freedom that comes to people who realize that all the things that they hold onto and that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donal-logue/there-s-a-certain-kind-of-existential-freedom-that-comes-to-people/) [Donal Logue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donal-logue/) > [Wherever liberty as we understand it has been destroyed, this has almost always been done in the name of some new freedom promised to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/wherever-liberty-as-we-understand-it-has-been-destroyed-this-has/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [“I am not ready to die, But I am learning to trust death As I have trusted life. I am moving Toward a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-am-not-ready-to-die-but-i-am-learning-to-trust-death-as-i-have/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“In my new freedom I remember thinking: If one knows what he wants to do, others will not only not stand in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/in-my-new-freedom-i-remember-thinking-if-one-knows-what-he-wants-to/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [Russians have a new freedom, but as long as they don't express that freedom on a public platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/russians-have-a-new-freedom-but-as-long-as-they-don-t-express-that/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) > [Many of them had a better time than they ever had in their lives because they were discovering the new freedom - the less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/many-of-them-had-a-better-time-than-they-ever-had-in-their-lives/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [“Every time I learn more about my beginnings, I experience a new freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zara-phillips/every-time-i-learn-more-about-my-beginnings-i-experience-a-new-freedom/) [Zara Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zara-phillips/) > [Once there is a distance between you and your thought process, a new freedom is born. With this freedom, a new perception arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/once-there-is-a-distance-between-you-and-your-thought-process-a-new/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) ## More by Ellsworth Kelly > [I don't like acrylic because you can't get the density of color. And with each coat of oil paint, the surface gets better and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-don-t-like-acrylic-because-you-can-t-get-the-density-of-color-and/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-have-worked-to-free-shape-from-its-ground-and-then-to-work-the/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-comes-from-perceiving-i-kept-seeing-things-that-were/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [Time has always been very important in my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/time-has-always-been-very-important-in-my-work/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [My ideas I can find anywhere. And I draw because I have to note down my ideas or flashes - I call them flashes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/my-ideas-i-can-find-anywhere-and-i-draw-because-i-have-to-note-down/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The paintings to me are always canvas; sculpture has always been metal, though I have made sculpture in wood, also.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-paintings-to-me-are-always-canvas-sculpture-has-always-been-metal/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The negative is just as important as the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-negative-is-just-as-important-as-the-positive/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I'm not interested in edges. I'm interested in the mass and color, the black and white. The edges happen because the forms get as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-m-not-interested-in-edges-i-m-interested-in-the-mass-and-color-the/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [The form of my painting is the content. My work is made of single or multiple panels: rectangle, curved, or square. I am less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/the-form-of-my-painting-is-the-content-my-work-is-made-of-single-or/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I only like artists older than myself. Time is so important. It's always been the same way, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-only-like-artists-older-than-myself-time-is-so-important-it-s/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [Matisse draws what I call the essence of the plants. He leaves a shape open. He'll do a leaf and not close it. Everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/matisse-draws-what-i-call-the-essence-of-the-plants-he-leaves-a-shape/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [All my work begins with drawings. I don’t labor over my drawings. I want to get freedom in the line. I like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-begins-with-drawings-i-don-t-labor-over-my-drawings-i/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I was taught to draw very well when I was in school at Boston. And I grew to enjoy drawing so much that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-was-taught-to-draw-very-well-when-i-was-in-school-at-boston-and-i/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I just feel like I can live on. I hope I can reach 100. I think today if you just keep doing, keep working,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-just-feel-like-i-can-live-on-i-hope-i-can-reach-100-i-think-today/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [I felt that everything is beautiful, but that which man tries intentionally to make beautiful; that the work of an ordinary bricklayer is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/i-felt-that-everything-is-beautiful-but-that-which-man-tries/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) [Explore all 55 Ellsworth Kelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) ## More Anything goes quotes > [Every woman's innate ability to let anything go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-macfarlane/every-woman-s-innate-ability-to-let-anything-go/) [Seth MacFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-macfarlane/) > [There aren't any looks or customs I wish would come back. Today almost anything goes. Culture constantly devours the past so there's not much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/there-aren-t-any-looks-or-customs-i-wish-would-come-back-today-almost/) [Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/) > [We are a culture that relies on technology over community, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/we-are-a-culture-that-relies-on-technology-over-community-a-society/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [If you want the answer to anything, go sit in Nature for awhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/if-you-want-the-answer-to-anything-go-sit-in-nature-for-awhile/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Because the problems are objective features of the human situation - social animals without the capacities for making social life come easily - ethics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/because-the-problems-are-objective-features-of-the-human-situation/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [The only principle that does not inhibit progress is: anything goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-principle-that-does-not-inhibit-progress-is-anything-goes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not very much an open book, I do really express myself only through my music and when I'm in that safe environment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-henderson/i-m-not-very-much-an-open-book-i-do-really-express-myself-only/) [Ella Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-henderson/) > [There are a lot of parallels between doing a sequel and doing low budget movies, which is they give creative parameters. As a creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-blum/there-are-a-lot-of-parallels-between-doing-a-sequel-and-doing-low/) [Jason Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-blum/) > [I think it's one of those things about live performance - anything goes, anything can happen, and you have to just be ready and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/i-think-it-s-one-of-those-things-about-live-performance-anything-goes/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Public lives are lived out on the job and in the marketplace, where certain rules, conventions, laws, and social customs keep most of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/public-lives-are-lived-out-on-the-job-and-in-the-marketplace-where/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [So now the floodgates are open to the delight of pure form, whatever its origin. Anything goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-johnson/so-now-the-floodgates-are-open-to-the-delight-of-pure-form-whatever/) [Philip Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-johnson/) > [What was wrong with train toilet doors that just locked, instead of this multiple choice system? If anything goes wrong, you'll be sitting there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/what-was-wrong-with-train-toilet-doors-that-just-locked-instead-of/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-a-window-is-broken-and-left-unrepaired-people-walking-by-will/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I believe that you should put the right people around you, people that will not let anything go wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmelo-anthony/i-believe-that-you-should-put-the-right-people-around-you-people-that/) [Carmelo Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmelo-anthony/) [Browse all 69 Anything goes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-goes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it had to be exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom: there was no longer the need to compose. The subject was there already made, and I could take from everything. 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