--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm operating in the gap between the…" description: "\"I'm operating in the gap between the trajectory of modernity and the trajectory of modernism. So what people think is design is not design, it's my att..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/liam-gillick-36925_design_i-m-operating-in-the-gap-between-the-tra_1778014.jpg" --- # I'm operating in the gap between the trajectory of… ![“I'm operating in the gap between the trajectory of modernity and the trajectory of modernism. So what people think is design is not design, it's my attempt to engage with the trajectory of modernity.” quote by Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/liam-gillick-36925_design_i-m-operating-in-the-gap-between-the-tra_1778014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/liam-gillick-36925_design_i-m-operating-in-the-gap-between-the-tra_1778014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/liam-gillick-36925_design_i-m-operating-in-the-gap-between-the-tra_1778014.jpg) > “I'm operating in the gap between the trajectory of modernity and the trajectory of modernism. So what people think is design is not design, it's my attempt to engage with the trajectory of modernity.” [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He positions his work between modernity’s progress and modernism’s ideals, challenging conventional design definitions **In simple terms:** His design defies norms Key Takeaway Question what counts as design Themes design modernity modernism Mood analytical provocative Type theoretical critical When to use this quote - Gallery exhibition - design critique - academic lecture Key Concepts Aesthetics cultural theory Questions to Reflect On - How does design evolve with culture? - What defines true design? A Different Perspective Audience may resist unconventional ideas ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trajectory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trajectory/) ## Related quotes > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Modernism may be seen as an attempt to reconstruct the world in the absence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-appleyard/modernism-may-be-seen-as-an-attempt-to-reconstruct-the-world-in-the/) [Bryan Appleyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-appleyard/) > [“We have become so preoccupied in clicking, capturing and caging memories that we have forgotten to live them first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitali-meelan/we-have-become-so-preoccupied-in-clicking-capturing-and-caging/) [Mitali Meelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitali-meelan/) > [“Don’t let the modern love change you too much that you forget what it is to live with kindness and compassion. From (The Awakening)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/don-t-let-the-modern-love-change-you-too-much-that-you-forget-what-it/) [Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/) > [It is obvious that all sense has gone out of modern marriage; which is, however, no objection to marriage but to modernity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-obvious-that-all-sense-has-gone-out-of-modern-marriage-which-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It takes all the running you can do just to keep in the same place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/it-takes-all-the-running-you-can-do-just-to-keep-in-the-same-place/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Modernity exists in the form of a desire to wipe out whatever came earlier, in the hope of reaching at least a point that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/modernity-exists-in-the-form-of-a-desire-to-wipe-out-whatever-came/) [Paul de Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [“Modernity is a busy place, spinning with silicon speed that goes ever faster but never forward, people pressed into cities full of loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/modernity-is-a-busy-place-spinning-with-silicon-speed-that-goes-ever/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own self-consciousness. The only kind of thinking that is sufficiently hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enlightenment-has-extinguished/) [Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/) > [“Before this generation lose the wisdom, one advice - read books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/before-this-generation-lose-the-wisdom-one-advice-read-books/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I am just postmodern enough not to trust 'postmodern' as a description of our times, for it privileges the practices and intellectual formations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/i-am-just-postmodern-enough-not-to-trust-postmodern-as-a-description/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [“I chase goals, not girls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-chase-goals-not-girls/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Unfortunately, you are far more likely to be harmed or die prematurely as a direct result of modern society than you are from any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/unfortunately-you-are-far-more-likely-to-be-harmed-or-die-prematurely/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Altermodern is an in-progress redefinition of modernity in the era of globalisation, stressing the experience of wandering in time, space and mediums. The term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-bourriaud/altermodern-is-an-in-progress-redefinition-of-modernity-in-the-era-of/) Nicolas Bourriaud > [By Modernism, I mean the positive rejection of the past and the blind belief in the process of change; in novelty for its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-cruickshank/by-modernism-i-mean-the-positive-rejection-of-the-past-and-the-blind/) Dan Cruickshank ## More by Liam Gillick > [The bourgeoisie are the only people who want to help me. The enlightened bourgeoisie are the only ones who ever buy anything, look after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/the-bourgeoisie-are-the-only-people-who-want-to-help-me-the/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > ["Contemporary art" for me is a kind of historical term that describes the 40 years between the Berlin Wall going up and then coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/contemporary-art-for-me-is-a-kind-of-historical-term-that-describes/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [I remain interested in the potential of art, except I've always been more struck by applied modernism than high modernism. It's partly because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/i-remain-interested-in-the-potential-of-art-except-i-ve-always-been/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [People think that the art market is about opportunists and hedge-fund managers getting broken art, but what really happened is that there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/people-think-that-the-art-market-is-about-opportunists-and-hedge-fund/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [No one born in the 1950s took much interest in my generation, and all we've done is try to fix it by talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/no-one-born-in-the-1950s-took-much-interest-in-my-generation-and-all/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [I think when people struggle with the problem of trying to understand the art world as an idea, they misunderstand it. They think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/i-think-when-people-struggle-with-the-problem-of-trying-to-understand/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [What people in the U.S. have to understand is that there is sometimes a deep political content in my work that's rooted in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/what-people-in-the-u-s-have-to-understand-is-that-there-is-sometimes/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [The U.S. has always been a contradiction. It's always been a deeply protectionist, institutional place, where you're not allowed to smoke, and you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/the-u-s-has-always-been-a-contradiction-it-s-always-been-a-deeply/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [As an artist, it's been clear that the price of art has nothing to do with you, it has to do with an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/as-an-artist-it-s-been-clear-that-the-price-of-art-has-nothing-to-do/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [Lying on top of a building, the clouds looked no nearer than when I was lying on the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/lying-on-top-of-a-building-the-clouds-looked-no-nearer-than-when-i/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) > [The biggest problem for my generation is that people who were born years before us have no concept of us at all. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/the-biggest-problem-for-my-generation-is-that-people-who-were-born/) [Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) [Explore all 12 Liam Gillick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gillick/) ## More Design quotes > [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/) > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I design some of my own clothes now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-design-some-of-my-own-clothes-now/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [Design is a very personal thing. It's like art. Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) Fang Chen > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm operating in the gap between the trajectory of modernity and the trajectory of modernism. 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