--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When an artist stops being a child, he…" description: "\"When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist.\" — Isamu Noguchi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png" --- # When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an… ![“When an artist stops being a child, he stops being an artist.” quote by Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png) > “When an artist stops being a child, he stops 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 and openness to stay creative; losing that innocence curtails imagination. **In simple terms:** Keep childlike curiosity to stay creative. Key Takeaway Embrace playfulness in work. Themes creativity innocence artistic growth Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - design work - teaching art - personal projects - creative blocks Key Concepts imagination playfulness authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you nurture childlike curiosity daily? - What habits limit your creative wonder? A Different Perspective Children’s perspective can be impractical in professional settings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [An artist who stops making art is committing suicide. Get off the couch and start painting again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/an-artist-who-stops-making-art-is-committing-suicide-get-off-the/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [One stops being a child when one realizes that telling one's trouble does not make it any better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/one-stops-being-a-child-when-one-realizes-that-telling-one-s-trouble/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [When an artist stopped being a child, he would stop being an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stopped-being-a-child-he-would-stop-being-an-artist/) [Isamu Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isamu-noguchi/) > [The thing about being an artist is that you evolve so quickly, you grow, you learn, you change, you find yourself hating work that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halsey/the-thing-about-being-an-artist-is-that-you-evolve-so-quickly-you/) [Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halsey/) > [Being an artist is like being an athlete. You have to be in there every day, keeping in shape. You have to be fearless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jordan/being-an-artist-is-like-being-an-athlete-you-have-to-be-in-there/) [Lawrence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jordan/) > [Being an artist is being an isolated individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asger-jorn/being-an-artist-is-being-an-isolated-individual/) [Asger Jorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asger-jorn/) > [For me, being an artist with a high profile is a good thing for art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/for-me-being-an-artist-with-a-high-profile-is-a-good-thing-for-art/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [When you have a dream, you don't even want to tell yourself straight out that this is what you want. You try to hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ackermann/when-you-have-a-dream-you-don-t-even-want-to-tell-yourself-straight/) [Rita Ackermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ackermann/) > [When you devote yourself to being an artist, you have to stay on your craft and always try to get better and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/when-you-devote-yourself-to-being-an-artist-you-have-to-stay-on-your/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' Well, in my case, I got there by not practising. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/you-know-the-question-how-do-you-get-to-carnegie-hall-answer-practise/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [The unique essence of being an artist is dying. Eveything looks the same. Now there’s a formula. And it works. - But it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usher/the-unique-essence-of-being-an-artist-is-dying-eveything-looks-the/) [Usher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usher/) > [Having people around you that are honest with you, and having a team around you that can actually track and communicate where things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muneshine/having-people-around-you-that-are-honest-with-you-and-having-a-team/) [Muneshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muneshine/) > [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/) > [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/) > [The best is that which is most spontaneous or seemingly so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/the-best-is-that-which-is-most-spontaneous-or-seemingly-so/) [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 stops being a child, he stops 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-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-being-an-artist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-being-an-artist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a47/isamu-noguchi-25815_art_when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-st_1084732.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When an artist stops being a child, he stops 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 stops being a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-being-an-artist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isamu-noguchi/when-an-artist-stops-being-a-child-he-stops-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 } } ] } ```