--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was young, there was never any…" description: "\"When I was young, there was never any space for me to get attention of my own that wasn't negative. Art, and the practice of making art, was the only s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/kim-gordon-4178_art_when-i-was-young-there-was-never-any-spa_248371.jpg" --- # When I was young, there was never any space for me to get… ![“When I was young, there was never any space for me to get attention of my own that wasn't negative. Art, and the practice of making art, was the only space that was mine alone, where I could be anyone and do anything, where just by using my head and my hands I could cry, or laugh, or get pissed off.” quote by Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/kim-gordon-4178_art_when-i-was-young-there-was-never-any-spa_248371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/kim-gordon-4178_art_when-i-was-young-there-was-never-any-spa_248371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/kim-gordon-4178_art_when-i-was-young-there-was-never-any-spa_248371.jpg) > “When I was young, there was never any space for me to get attention of my own that wasn't negative. Art, and the practice of making art, was the only space that was mine alone, where I could be anyone and do anything, where just by using my head and my hands I could cry, or laugh, or get pissed off.” [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art provides a personal sanctuary where one can express any emotion freely, away from external negativity. **In simple terms:** Art is a private space for unrestricted emotional expression. Key Takeaway Use creative practice to claim personal emotional space. Themes self‑expression creativity emotional refuge identity freedom Mood reflective introspective empowering Type personal inspirational psychological When to use this quote - personal coping - emotional release - creative exploration - mental health - self‑discovery Key Concepts art therapy psychology identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How does creating art change your perception of negative attention? - What emotions are hardest to express through art? A Different Perspective Art may not solve external problems and can isolate the creator from others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Making Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-art/) [Pissed off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pissed-off/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [Art is about energy positive and negative. All art has the power to heal because it helps us see who we are, and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/art-is-about-energy-positive-and-negative-all-art-has-the-power-to/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [It's interesting how as an artist you keep evolving, but if you can get into the contemporary art space, if the works are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalup-linzy/it-s-interesting-how-as-an-artist-you-keep-evolving-but-if-you-can/) [Kalup Linzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalup-linzy/) > [A chair is not just a product of decorative art in a space, it is a form and a space in itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finn-juhl/a-chair-is-not-just-a-product-of-decorative-art-in-a-space-it-is-a/) Finn Juhl > [In Japanese art, space assumed a dominant role and its position was strengthened by Zen concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gardiner/in-japanese-art-space-assumed-a-dominant-role-and-its-position-was/) [Stephen Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gardiner/) > [Art is the space between the viewer and the rectangle that hangs on the wall. 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Learn as much as you can about what it is you're doing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimoe/whatever-it-is-you-do-practice-your-art-practice-your-trade-learn-as/) [Jaimoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimoe/) > [I'm interested in everything. If I had enough time on this earth, I'd like to learn every art practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-schafer/i-m-interested-in-everything-if-i-had-enough-time-on-this-earth-i-d/) [Hunter Schafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-schafer/) > [When we make our art a practice, when we make our workspace sacred and enter it daily with respect and high intention, then we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-make-our-art-a-practice-when-we-make-our-workspace-sacred-and/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Art too is just a way of living, and however one lives, one can, without knowing, prepare for it; in everything real one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/art-too-is-just-a-way-of-living-and-however-one-lives-one-can-without/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [What I'm most fascinated by is the ability of art to induce changes, but remain grounded solidly in its art practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-sansour/what-i-m-most-fascinated-by-is-the-ability-of-art-to-induce-changes/) [Larissa Sansour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-sansour/) ## More by Kim Gordon > [It's hard to say when the life of a band starts and stops... but playing music together is an act of trust. When that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/it-s-hard-to-say-when-the-life-of-a-band-starts-and-stops-but-playing/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I think of myself as unconventional, I guess. I maybe always had a problem with authority, like a stubbornness about what's expected - despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-think-of-myself-as-unconventional-i-guess-i-maybe-always-had-a/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I'm not saying Sonic Youth was a conceptual-art project for me, but in a way it was an extension of Warhol. Instead of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-m-not-saying-sonic-youth-was-a-conceptual-art-project-for-me-but-in/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I do retweet some of the things that people say about the things I've done, but I don't necessarily want to use it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-do-retweet-some-of-the-things-that-people-say-about-the-things-i-ve/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [I am basically a shy person, so performing sometimes helps me focus - having all those people concentrate their attention on you. 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All the competition over artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-was-kind-of-freaked-out-by-the-art-world-in-the-1980s-just-the/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [Political art never goes away. I started watching The West Wing show recently and I'm actually learning about how the government works in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/political-art-never-goes-away-i-started-watching-the-west-wing-show/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [Sonic Youth, for better or worse, is/was a machine that carried me along through pregnancy, motherhood, and creative opportunities I never would have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/sonic-youth-for-better-or-worse-is-was-a-machine-that-carried-me/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) > [In a lot of the art world, you have to present yourself as you know what you're doing at a young age. 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All those young artists, before their careers took off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/in-the-early-eighties-there-were-a-lot-of-artists-involved-with-the/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) [Explore all 115 Kim Gordon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) ## 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. 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