---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm really interested in the…"
description: "\"I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of abstraction.\" — Julie Mehretu"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg"
---

#  I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of…

![“I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of abstraction.” quote by Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg)

> “I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of abstraction.”

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The artist expresses fascination with abstraction that resists definitive interpretation, valuing openness and multiplicity of meaning.

**In simple terms:** She likes abstraction that stays undefined.

Key Takeaway

Explore ambiguity in creative work.

Themes

art abstraction interpretation

Mood

curious introspective

Type

conceptual experimental

When to use this quote

- studio practice
- public installations
- art criticism

Key Concepts

Postmodernism visual language open-endedness

Questions to Reflect On

- How does nondefinitive abstraction affect viewer engagement?
- What balance between clarity and ambiguity is ideal?

A Different Perspective

Too much ambiguity can alienate audiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/)

## Related quotes

> [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I Iike listening to people talking. I'm really interested in people's lives and what makes us work, what makes us weak, at times, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-iike-listening-to-people-talking-i-m-really-interested-in-people-s/)

[Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/)

> [When you're the ingénue no one is really interested in you for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-madsen/when-you-re-the-ing-nue-no-one-is-really-interested-in-you-for-that/)

[Virginia Madsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-madsen/)

> [There's a line in the Arthur Russell documentary where his partner talks about how Arthur is really interested in process. He never felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/there-s-a-line-in-the-arthur-russell-documentary-where-his-partner/)

[Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/)

> [I'm really interested in how we view the public figure, what makes a public figure, what makes a celebrity, and how images make politicians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-jackson/i-m-really-interested-in-how-we-view-the-public-figure-what-makes-a/)

[Alison Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-jackson/)

> [I'm really interested in fashion journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-indelicato/i-m-really-interested-in-fashion-journalism/)

[Mark Indelicato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-indelicato/)

> [I'm only really interested in taking a part if it's nothing like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-friend/i-m-only-really-interested-in-taking-a-part-if-it-s-nothing-like-me/)

[Rupert Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-friend/)

> [It's not really that I'm interested in filmmaking. I'm interested in the instrument of it, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-naan/it-s-not-really-that-i-m-interested-in-filmmaking-i-m-interested-in/)

[K'naan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-naan/)

> [I am really interested in storytelling in general - nothing is off-limits!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-hildebrand/i-am-really-interested-in-storytelling-in-general-nothing-is-off/)

[Brianna Hildebrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-hildebrand/)

> [I was fascinated, long before I joined the SNP, in the world around me; current affairs really interested me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/i-was-fascinated-long-before-i-joined-the-snp-in-the-world-around-me/)

[Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/)

> [You know, I've always been really interested in this stuff, and I'm going to read this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/you-know-i-ve-always-been-really-interested-in-this-stuff-and-i-m/)

[William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/)

> ['Smurfs' just seemed like a great way to represent a young father to be, guy in a marriage, work in conflict, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-patrick-harris/smurfs-just-seemed-like-a-great-way-to-represent-a-young-father-to-be/)

[Neil Patrick Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-patrick-harris/)

> [Skating is a sport that I found a lot of interest in from a very, very young age. Ultimately, I think that being on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-chen/skating-is-a-sport-that-i-found-a-lot-of-interest-in-from-a-very-very/)

[Nathan Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-chen/)

> [I know my curiosity as a writer and as a person makes me really interested in moving to parts of the country that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-k-smith/i-know-my-curiosity-as-a-writer-and-as-a-person-makes-me-really/)

[Tracy K. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-k-smith/)

## More by Julie Mehretu

> [The investigation of making is illuminating towards that moment rather than the other way around, a reversal of the way that I would approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-investigation-of-making-is-illuminating-towards-that-moment/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [The erasure itself became the action. It seemed to suggest a moment in terms of how sad or pessimistic you can feel in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-erasure-itself-became-the-action-it-seemed-to-suggest-a-moment-in/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [When you're not a mom, you can get up in the middle of the night, paint, sleep all morning... you can't do that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/when-you-re-not-a-mom-you-can-get-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-paint/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [People look at film in a gallery, and if they walk out after two minutes they know they haven't seen the whole work. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/people-look-at-film-in-a-gallery-and-if-they-walk-out-after-two/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [That's what I'm interested in: the space in between, the moment of imagining what is possible and yet not knowing what that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/that-s-what-i-m-interested-in-the-space-in-between-the-moment-of/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [I always wanted to be an artist, but I didn't really know how someone could make a life out it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-artist-but-i-didn-t-really-know-how-someone/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [The earlier, more analytic impulse was to use very rational but kind of absurd techniques or tendencies—mapping, charting, and architecture—to try and make sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-earlier-more-analytic-impulse-was-to-use-very-rational-but-kind/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [I'm not trying to spell out a story. I still think you feel the painting, and the reason you read the mark is because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-m-not-trying-to-spell-out-a-story-i-still-think-you-feel-the/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [You're not just this person who's from your own specific experiences, but the collective experience of what makes you who you are because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/you-re-not-just-this-person-who-s-from-your-own-specific-experiences/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [Race always comes up in the conversation of Detroit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/race-always-comes-up-in-the-conversation-of-detroit/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [I don't ever work in a way where something is an illustration of an event, but when something is occurring at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-don-t-ever-work-in-a-way-where-something-is-an-illustration-of-an/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

[Explore all 12 Julie Mehretu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

## More Abstraction quotes

> [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/)

[Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/)

> [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/)

Banesh Hoffmann

> [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/)

[Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/)

> [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/)

[Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/)

> [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/)

[June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/)

> [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/)

Alfred Aho

> [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/)

[Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/)

> [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/)

[Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/)

> [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/)

[Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/)

[Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of abstraction.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Julie Mehretu"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefinitive-element-of-abstraction/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abstraction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefinitive-element-of-abstraction/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7aa/julie-mehretu-37081_abstraction_i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefiniti_1611317.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'm really interested in the nondefinitive element of abstraction.” — Julie Mehretu",
                "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": "Julie Mehretu",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I'm really interested in the nondefinitive...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefinitive-element-of-abstraction/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/i-m-really-interested-in-the-nondefinitive-element-of-abstraction/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
