--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm more interested in seeing what the…" description: "\"I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me than in imposing my will on it.\" — John Chamberlain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png" --- # I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me… ![“I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me than in imposing my will on it.” quote by John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png) > “I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me than in imposing my will on it.” [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Material guides the artist, suggesting a passive listening rather than forceful control. **In simple terms:** Let the material speak, don’t dominate it. Key Takeaway Observe and respond to material’s cues. Themes art process intuition materiality Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - sculpture creation - design thinking - hands‑on workshops Key Concepts organic forms creative flow material agency Questions to Reflect On - How does material influence your decisions? - When should you assert your vision? A Different Perspective Material may be limiting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“I think it’s from seeing the material summation of his life sitting in ruins. If we are our jobs, our houses, our cars… all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-schow/i-think-it-s-from-seeing-the-material-summation-of-his-life-sitting/) Ryan Schow > [My work is about your seeing. There is a rich tradition in painting of work about light, but it is not light -- it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/my-work-is-about-your-seeing-there-is-a-rich-tradition-in-painting-of/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I am interested in seeing 'Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota' by Vasan Bala, so I would like to work with him, and I also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sarbh/i-am-interested-in-seeing-mard-ko-dard-nahi-hota-by-vasan-bala-so-i/) [Jim Sarbh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sarbh/) > [I'm always interested in seeing behind-the-scenes of how things are done. It just gives you a better appreciation for the craft of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-barrera/i-m-always-interested-in-seeing-behind-the-scenes-of-how-things-are/) [Melissa Barrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-barrera/) > [I don't watch a lot of my work. I'm not really interested in seeing it after I do it. Because I came from theater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-don-t-watch-a-lot-of-my-work-i-m-not-really-interested-in-seeing-it/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [There are movies where we are interested in seeing people's lives without agreeing with what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-portman/there-are-movies-where-we-are-interested-in-seeing-people-s-lives/) [Natalie Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-portman/) > [The more real the murder is, the less interested I am in seeing it. It's hard enough to watch the news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/the-more-real-the-murder-is-the-less-interested-i-am-in-seeing-it-it/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [A lot of times, people are simply interested in seeing me because I was on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-march/a-lot-of-times-people-are-simply-interested-in-seeing-me-because-i/) [Chris March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-march/) > [I'm interested in seeing just the girl on the street because she is unlike any other. I'm inspired by whatever it is she might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-wintour/i-m-interested-in-seeing-just-the-girl-on-the-street-because-she-is/) [Anna Wintour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-wintour/) > [I think that people are interested seeing me on the screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-think-that-people-are-interested-seeing-me-on-the-screen/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [I've always been more interested in what happens after the bad thing has happened - the fallout of the bad thing, when people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-cain/i-ve-always-been-more-interested-in-what-happens-after-the-bad-thing/) [Chelsea Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-cain/) > [I'm not interested in seeing a film just made by a woman - not unless she is looking for new images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-m-not-interested-in-seeing-a-film-just-made-by-a-woman-not-unless/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [I don't know why we're not interested in seeing good people. I think we like seeing good people, but only if bad things happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcavoy/i-don-t-know-why-we-re-not-interested-in-seeing-good-people-i-think/) [James McAvoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcavoy/) > [When I was younger and was working as a Dia guard I would go to see everything. I went to every opening. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wade-guyton/when-i-was-younger-and-was-working-as-a-dia-guard-i-would-go-to-see/) [Wade Guyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wade-guyton/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## More by John Chamberlain > [“As part of "moral philosophy," the concept of "natural liberty" clicks easily into place. Man, as an ethical integer, is either free to choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/as-part-of-moral-philosophy-the-concept-of-natural-liberty-clicks/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [The good thing about being an artist, is it's a legitimate way of looking at things cross-eyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/the-good-thing-about-being-an-artist-is-it-s-a-legitimate-way-of/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [Art is basically made by dissatisfied people who are willing to find some means to relieve the dissatisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/art-is-basically-made-by-dissatisfied-people-who-are-willing-to-find/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [Thus a new way of finding fluidity will inevitably be imposed on management and labor alike. The profit-sharing, or "progress" sharing union contract is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/thus-a-new-way-of-finding-fluidity-will-inevitably-be-imposed-on/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [I think of my art materials not as junk but as garbage. Manure, actually: it goes from being the waste material of one being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-think-of-my-art-materials-not-as-junk-but-as-garbage-manure/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [Art is a liaison between some sort of deranged mentality and others who are not going through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/art-is-a-liaison-between-some-sort-of-deranged-mentality-and-others/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [Two hundred years ago the first liberal economist, Adam Smith, warned businessmen that they could absorb only a certain amount of rigidity. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/two-hundred-years-ago-the-first-liberal-economist-adam-smith-warned/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [Thou shalt not covet means that it is sinful even to contemplate the seizure of another man's goods - which is something which Socialists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/thou-shalt-not-covet-means-that-it-is-sinful-even-to-contemplate-the/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [But now that foreign steel, and foreign cars, are moving into the United States in increased quantities at relatively low prices, the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/but-now-that-foreign-steel-and-foreign-cars-are-moving-into-the/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [A sculpture is something that if it falls on your foot, it will break it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/a-sculpture-is-something-that-if-it-falls-on-your-foot-it-will-break/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) > [I wasn't interested in car parts per se, I was interested in either the color or the shape or the amount... Just the sheet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-wasn-t-interested-in-car-parts-per-se-i-was-interested-in-either/) [John Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) [Explore all 12 John Chamberlain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/) ## More Imposing quotes > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [The longer I live, the more it grieves me to see man, who occupies his supreme place for the very purpose of imposing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-longer-i-live-the-more-it-grieves-me-to-see-man-who-occupies-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/prayer-is-not-a-convenient-device-for-imposing-our-will-upon-god-or/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [But I'm very libertarian in the sense that I believe in small government and, as a general rule, I don't believe in imposing values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/but-i-m-very-libertarian-in-the-sense-that-i-believe-in-small/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [I'm fortunate to be famous for two rather imposing characters like Magneto and Gandalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/i-m-fortunate-to-be-famous-for-two-rather-imposing-characters-like/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [The United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and companies working to advance Iran's ballistic missile program, and we are going to remain vigilant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-united-states-is-imposing-sanctions-on-individuals-and-companies/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Communism worked honestly by officials devoid of human frailties and devoted to nothing but the good of its slaves, would have certain manifest material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/communism-worked-honestly-by-officials-devoid-of-human-frailties-and/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [Hysteria and degeneration have always existed; but they formerly showed themselves sporadically, and had no importance in the life of the whole community. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-nordau/hysteria-and-degeneration-have-always-existed-but-they-formerly/) [Max Nordau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-nordau/) > [Imposing excessive new regulations, or closing coal-fired power plants, would produce few health or environmental benefits. But it would exact huge costs on society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/imposing-excessive-new-regulations-or-closing-coal-fired-power-plants/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States. If somebody is able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-cannot-have-a-society-in-which-some-dictator-some-place-can-start/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [By imposing too great a responsibility, or rather, all responsibility, on yourself, you crush yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/by-imposing-too-great-a-responsibility-or-rather-all-responsibility/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Instead of imposing your will on every situation...focus on including everyone else, and just that little adjustment of attitude gives you the space to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/instead-of-imposing-your-will-on-every-situation-focus-on-including/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [Many Americans simply don't want the pinheads in Washington or the various state capitals to be telling us how to live. But we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/many-americans-simply-don-t-want-the-pinheads-in-washington-or-the/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) Browse all 269 Imposing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me than in imposing my will on it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Chamberlain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-material-tells-me-than-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imposing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-material-tells-me-than-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/john-chamberlain-36651_imposing_i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-m_592686.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm more interested in seeing what the material tells me than in imposing my will on it.” — John Chamberlain", "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": "John Chamberlain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chamberlain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm more interested in seeing what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-material-tells-me-than-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chamberlain/i-m-more-interested-in-seeing-what-the-material-tells-me-than-in/#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 } } ] } ```