--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My first thought, as a child, was that…" description: "\"“My first thought, as a child, was that the artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/john-updike-396_art_my-first-thought-as-a-child-was-that-the_2704619.png" --- # My first thought, as a child, was that the artist brings… ![“My first thought, as a child, was that the artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/john-updike-396_art_my-first-thought-as-a-child-was-that-the_2704619.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/john-updike-396_art_my-first-thought-as-a-child-was-that-the_2704619.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22d/john-updike-396_art_my-first-thought-as-a-child-was-that-the_2704619.png) > ““My first thought, as a child, was that the artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. A kind of refutation of the conservation of matter. That still seems to me its central magic, its core of joy.”” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists create novel experiences without destroying existing ones, defying material conservation. **In simple terms:** Artists bring new things into existence. Key Takeaway Create without erasing the old. Themes creativity innovation artistry Mood inspired thoughtful Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - music - design - entrepreneurship Key Concepts philosophy of art existential joy Questions to Reflect On - What new creation have you made that adds value? - How do you balance novelty with tradition? A Different Perspective Some argue new creations can displace older works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Artist Brings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist-brings-2759804/) [Child Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-artist-2417367/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Matter Central](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-central-2759805/) [Thought Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-child-743308/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The artist brings something into the world that didn't exist before, and that he does it without destroying something else. 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The problem is how to remain one once we grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-child-is-an-artist-the-problem-is-how-to-remain-one-once-we/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Experience is the child of thought and thought is the child of experince.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-is-the-child-of-thought-and-thought-is-the-child-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child but when I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karleen-koen/when-i-was-a-child-i-thought-as-a-child-i-spake-as-a-child-i/) [Karleen Koen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karleen-koen/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. 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There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## 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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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