--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My life is really a history of observing…" description: "\"My life is really a history of observing forms and taking in imagery. I don't mean in a photographic way, I mean in a way of feeling them structurally,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/jim-dine-36402_dine-in_my-life-is-really-a-history-of-observing_3024091.png" --- # My life is really a history of observing forms and taking… ![“My life is really a history of observing forms and taking in imagery. I don't mean in a photographic way, I mean in a way of feeling them structurally,” quote by Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/jim-dine-36402_dine-in_my-life-is-really-a-history-of-observing_3024091.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/jim-dine-36402_dine-in_my-life-is-really-a-history-of-observing_3024091.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6dc/jim-dine-36402_dine-in_my-life-is-really-a-history-of-observing_3024091.png) > “My life is really a history of observing forms and taking in imagery. I don't mean in a photographic way, I mean in a way of feeling them structurally,” [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his creative process as observing structures and feeling imagery beyond photography **In simple terms:** He sees art as feeling forms structurally Key Takeaway Explore structural perception in art Themes art perception structure Mood reflective introspective Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - art education - creative practice - visual analysis Key Concepts Phenomenology visual language abstract thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does structural feeling differ from visual representation? - Can this approach be taught? A Different Perspective The quote may be abstract for non‑artists ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [For me, drawing is everything, because it informs everything. It even informs my poetry. It's the way I begin everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/for-me-drawing-is-everything-because-it-informs-everything-it-even/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [We're so conditioned to the syntax of the camera that we don't realize that we are running on only half the visual alphabet... It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-fuss/we-re-so-conditioned-to-the-syntax-of-the-camera-that-we-don-t/) Adam Fuss > [Thank you for inviting me to your house, but I prefer to dine in the Greek restaurant at Wabash Avenue and 12th Street where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-bodenheim/thank-you-for-inviting-me-to-your-house-but-i-prefer-to-dine-in-the/) [Maxwell Bodenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-bodenheim/) > [Though one can dine in New York, one could not dwell there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/though-one-can-dine-in-new-york-one-could-not-dwell-there/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Instead of the Negro leaders having the black man begging for a chance to - to dine in white restaurants, the Negro leader should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/instead-of-the-negro-leaders-having-the-black-man-begging-for-a/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The cities of America are inexpressibly tedious. The Bostonians take their learning too sadly; culture with them is an accomplishment rather than an atmosphere;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-cities-of-america-are-inexpressibly-tedious-the-bostonians-take/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Books are the perfect Time Machine. By the simple act of opening a book you can, in an instant, be travelling up a jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/books-are-the-perfect-time-machine-by-the-simple-act-of-opening-a/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Lyon is full of temperamental gourmets, eternally engaged in a never-ending search for that imaginary, perfect, unknown little back-street bistro, where one can dine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-andries-de-groot/lyon-is-full-of-temperamental-gourmets-eternally-engaged-in-a-never/) Roy Andries De Groot > [ It is rarely \[Americans\] dine in society, except in taverns and boarding-houses. Then they eat with the greatest possible rapidity, and in total silence. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/it-is-rarely-americans-dine-in-society-except-in-taverns-and-boarding/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [But one day we shall be rich, and the next poor. One day we shall dine in a palace and the next we'll sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/but-one-day-we-shall-be-rich-and-the-next-poor-one-day-we-shall-dine/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [In my photographic work I'm generally attracted to places that contain memories, history, atmospheres and stories. I'm interested in the places where people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/in-my-photographic-work-i-m-generally-attracted-to-places-that/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/from-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-insecure-about-my/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows he is being photographed, and what he does with this knowledge is as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/a-photographic-portrait-is-a-picture-of-someone-who-knows-he-is-being/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [I have a photographic memory; I just haven't developed it yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/i-have-a-photographic-memory-i-just-haven-t-developed-it-yet/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) > [While a painting, even one that meets photographic standards of resemblance, is never more than the stating of an interpretation, a photograph is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/while-a-painting-even-one-that-meets-photographic-standards-of/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More by Jim Dine > [More important than having a romance with the object that I'm drawing, is to have a romance with the mark that I am making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/more-important-than-having-a-romance-with-the-object-that-i-m-drawing/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I've never had an easy relationship with critics. I hold a lot of homicide in my heart. If this was another time, I'd be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-ve-never-had-an-easy-relationship-with-critics-i-hold-a-lot-of/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [For me, drawing is everything, because it informs everything. It even informs my poetry. It's the way I begin everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/for-me-drawing-is-everything-because-it-informs-everything-it-even/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I work every day. I work all day. I've never had a holiday. It's all I really want to do. It's what I'm here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-work-every-day-i-work-all-day-i-ve-never-had-a-holiday-it-s-all-i/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [Western art is built on the biographical passion of one artist for another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/western-art-is-built-on-the-biographical-passion-of-one-artist-for/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I have never been able to carry out any work coolly. On the contrary it is done, so to speak, with my own blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-have-never-been-able-to-carry-out-any-work-coolly-on-the-contrary-2/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [My attitude towards drawing is not necessarily about drawing. It's about making the best kind of image I can make, it's about talking as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/my-attitude-towards-drawing-is-not-necessarily-about-drawing-it-s/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I'm not a pop artist. For me pop never was… Pop is concerned with exteriors. I'm concerned with interiors. When I use objects, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-m-not-a-pop-artist-for-me-pop-never-was-pop-is-concerned-with/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I do not think that obsession is funny or that not being able to stop one's intensity is funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-do-not-think-that-obsession-is-funny-or-that-not-being-able-to-stop/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [The figure is still the only thing I have faith in in terms of how much emotion it's charged with and how much subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/the-figure-is-still-the-only-thing-i-have-faith-in-in-terms-of-how/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [Autobiography is the most fascinating thing you can do because you get to touch the human condition. And in the end, what else is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/autobiography-is-the-most-fascinating-thing-you-can-do-because-you/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [I have come to terms with a lot of things, because, when all's said and done, there's really very little one can do about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/i-have-come-to-terms-with-a-lot-of-things-because-when-all-s-said-and/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) [Explore all 13 Jim Dine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) ## More Dine in quotes > [But one day we shall be rich, and the next poor. One day we shall dine in a palace and the next we'll sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/but-one-day-we-shall-be-rich-and-the-next-poor-one-day-we-shall-dine/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [ It is rarely \[Americans\] dine in society, except in taverns and boarding-houses. Then they eat with the greatest possible rapidity, and in total silence. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-trollope/it-is-rarely-americans-dine-in-society-except-in-taverns-and-boarding/) [Frances Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-trollope/) > [For me, drawing is everything, because it informs everything. It even informs my poetry. It's the way I begin everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-dine/for-me-drawing-is-everything-because-it-informs-everything-it-even/) [Jim Dine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-dine/) > [Books are the perfect Time Machine. By the simple act of opening a book you can, in an instant, be travelling up a jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/books-are-the-perfect-time-machine-by-the-simple-act-of-opening-a/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [The cities of America are inexpressibly tedious. The Bostonians take their learning too sadly; culture with them is an accomplishment rather than an atmosphere;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-cities-of-america-are-inexpressibly-tedious-the-bostonians-take/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Instead of the Negro leaders having the black man begging for a chance to - to dine in white restaurants, the Negro leader should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/instead-of-the-negro-leaders-having-the-black-man-begging-for-a/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Though one can dine in New York, one could not dwell there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/though-one-can-dine-in-new-york-one-could-not-dwell-there/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Thank you for inviting me to your house, but I prefer to dine in the Greek restaurant at Wabash Avenue and 12th Street where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-bodenheim/thank-you-for-inviting-me-to-your-house-but-i-prefer-to-dine-in-the/) [Maxwell Bodenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-bodenheim/) > [Lyon is full of temperamental gourmets, eternally engaged in a never-ending search for that imaginary, perfect, unknown little back-street bistro, where one can dine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-andries-de-groot/lyon-is-full-of-temperamental-gourmets-eternally-engaged-in-a-never/) Roy Andries De Groot Browse all 10 Dine in quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My life is really a history of observing forms and taking in imagery. 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