--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When an artist stopped being a child, he…" description: "\"When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.\" — Isamu Noguchi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png" --- # When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being… ![“When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.” quote by Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png) > “When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.” [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An artist must retain childlike wonder; losing it ends artistic creativity. **In simple terms:** Childlike wonder fuels art. Key Takeaway Nurture curiosity in work. Themes creativity wonder art Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - education - design - innovation Key Concepts developmental psychology philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep wonder alive? - Can experience replace childlike play? A Different Perspective Maturity can also bring depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being an artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-an-artist/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ## Related quotes > [I never stop being a mother and I never stop being an artist. You understand? Which is probably why my kids are so creative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/i-never-stop-being-a-mother-and-i-never-stop-being-an-artist-you/) [Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/) > [“When had she stopped being a child? The first time a guy whistled at her out of a car window when she was walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/when-had-she-stopped-being-a-child-the-first-time-a-guy-whistled-at/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“When had she stopped being a child? The first time a guy had whistled at her out of a car window when she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/when-had-she-stopped-being-a-child-the-first-time-a-guy-had-whistled/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Or about how when you're a child, to stop you from following the crowd you're assaulted with the line "If everyone jumped off a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/or-about-how-when-you-re-a-child-to-stop-you-from-following-the-crowd/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [“But at no point does that child ever stop and think, “Oh, I guess walking just isn’t for me. I’m not good at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/but-at-no-point-does-that-child-ever-stop-and-think-oh-i-guess/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [You should encourage a child to show off. You can say to a child, 'Stop being rude,' 'Stop shouting,' 'Stop jumping around on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/you-should-encourage-a-child-to-show-off-you-can-say-to-a-child-stop/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [The moment you stop becoming an artist, you kind of trade it all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waite/the-moment-you-stop-becoming-an-artist-you-kind-of-trade-it-all-in/) [John Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waite/) > [You can't stop an artist from expressing his views through art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raftaar/you-can-t-stop-an-artist-from-expressing-his-views-through-art/) [Raftaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raftaar/) > [Nothing can stop an artist from creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/invader/nothing-can-stop-an-artist-from-creating/) [Invader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/invader/) > [There were always people like the pope. They serve a certain function, of course. They subsidize us. But, they don't create anything and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-schneider/there-were-always-people-like-the-pope-they-serve-a-certain-function/) [Andrew Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-schneider/) > [As an artist, you have to express yourself. You just can't stop being an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-bailey-rae/as-an-artist-you-have-to-express-yourself-you-just-can-t-stop-being/) [Corinne Bailey Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-bailey-rae/) > [When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-being-an-artist/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [I hadn't known anything else, other than being an artist, and I needed to be a person for a while, really get to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-styrke/i-hadn-t-known-anything-else-other-than-being-an-artist-and-i-needed/) [Tove Styrke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-styrke/) > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-teacher-is-of-course-an-artist-but-being-an-artist-does-not-mean/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) ## More by Isamu Noguchi > [Everything is sculpture. Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider sculpture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/everything-is-sculpture-any-material-any-idea-without-hindrance-born/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [To order space is to give it meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/to-order-space-is-to-give-it-meaning/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [For me it is the direct contact of artist to material which is original, and it is the earth and his contact to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/for-me-it-is-the-direct-contact-of-artist-to-material-which-is/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [When the time came for me to work with larger spaces, I conceived them as gardens, not as sites with objects but as relationships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-the-time-came-for-me-to-work-with-larger-spaces-i-conceived-them/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [You can find out how to do something and then do it or do something and then find out what you did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/you-can-find-out-how-to-do-something-and-then-do-it-or-do-something/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-being-an-artist/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [Brancusi made me realize that what I had learned previously — the quick ways of doing things — was all wrong... It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/brancusi-made-me-realize-that-what-i-had-learned-previously-the-quick/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [The attractions of ceramics lie partly in its contradictions. It is both difficult and easy, with an element beyond our control. It is both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/the-attractions-of-ceramics-lie-partly-in-its-contradictions-it-is/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [I am always learning, always discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/i-am-always-learning-always-discovering/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [It is said that stone is the affection of old men. That may be so. It is the most challenging to work. A dialogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/it-is-said-that-stone-is-the-affection-of-old-men-that-may-be-so-it/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [In my work, I wanted something irreducible, an absence of the gimmicky and clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/in-my-work-i-wanted-something-irreducible-an-absence-of-the-gimmicky/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [Brancusi made me realise that what I had learned previously - the quick ways of doing things - was all wrong. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/brancusi-made-me-realise-that-what-i-had-learned-previously-the-quick/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [Appreciate the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/appreciate-the-moment/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [Art should become as one with its surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/art-should-become-as-one-with-its-surroundings/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [It is weight that gives meaning to weightlessness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/it-is-weight-that-gives-meaning-to-weightlessness/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) [Explore all 22 Isamu Noguchi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isamu Noguchi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he-would-stop-being-an-artist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he-would-stop-being-an-artist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he_2824338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.” — Isamu Noguchi", "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": "Isamu Noguchi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When an artist stopped being a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he-would-stop-being-an-artist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he-would-stop-being-an-artist/#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 } } ] } ```