--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What people in the U.S. have to…" description: "\"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 postwar reconfiguration ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/liam-gillick-36925_america_what-people-in-the-u-s-have-to-understan_2144093.jpg" --- # What people in the U.S. have to understand is that there… ![“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 postwar reconfiguration in Europe. I'm still a foreigner in America. I'm someone who's bringing nuanced stories from somewhere else that will always be harder to take.” quote by Liam Gillick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/liam-gillick-36925_america_what-people-in-the-u-s-have-to-understan_2144093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/liam-gillick-36925_america_what-people-in-the-u-s-have-to-understan_2144093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/liam-gillick-36925_america_what-people-in-the-u-s-have-to-understan_2144093.jpg) > “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 postwar reconfiguration in Europe. I'm still a foreigner in America. I'm someone who's bringing nuanced stories from somewhere else that will always be harder to take.” [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. His work contains deep political layers tied to post‑war European shifts, making it hard for American audiences. **In simple terms:** His art reflects complex European history, challenging U.S. viewers. Key Takeaway Explain context to bridge cultural gaps. Themes politics culture art Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical educational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - public talks - educational programs Key Concepts postwar Europe identity interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How can artists make foreign narratives accessible? - What role does history play in contemporary art? A Different Perspective American viewers may miss nuanced references. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Deep Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-political-1974348/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Europe Foreigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe-foreigner-4477233/) [Foreigner America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigner-america-2475436/) [Foreigners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Content](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-content-625851/) [Rooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooted/) [Rooted Postwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooted-postwar-4477234/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Somewhere else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhere-else/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a great deep political thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-m-not-a-great-deep-political-thinker/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Happens I am very political. I have deep political instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferrell/happens-i-am-very-political-i-have-deep-political-instincts/) [Will Ferrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferrell/) > [If you were asking me how it is to be a Muslim in America, it's much harder to be a North African in France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenza-fourati/if-you-were-asking-me-how-it-is-to-be-a-muslim-in-america-it-s-much/) [Kenza Fourati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenza-fourati/) > [I always feel like a foreigner in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-skarsgard/i-always-feel-like-a-foreigner-in-america/) [Bill Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-skarsgard/) > [I miss being in my home country; here, I'm always a foreigner. America is, of course, built of people who are not from here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-skarsgard/i-miss-being-in-my-home-country-here-i-m-always-a-foreigner-america/) [Bill Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-skarsgard/) > [Here's the problem with downplaying the radical nature of decommodification: when you empty something of political content, politicians are free to wield symbols as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/here-s-the-problem-with-downplaying-the-radical-nature-of/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [These pictures possibly give rise to questions of political content or historical truth. Neither interests me in this instance. And although even my motivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/these-pictures-possibly-give-rise-to-questions-of-political-content/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [There's political content in almost every song we've ever written on some level. It colors everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-dessner/there-s-political-content-in-almost-every-song-we-ve-ever-written-on/) [Aaron Dessner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-dessner/) > [We read our own political content into The Clash, and they accepted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/we-read-our-own-political-content-into-the-clash-and-they-accepted-it/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [Hollywood desires money but they could not stand the political content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/hollywood-desires-money-but-they-could-not-stand-the-political-content/) [Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/) > [I write about the human condition, as a South African. I sometimes see South Africa with the spectacles of the past and there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kani/i-write-about-the-human-condition-as-a-south-african-i-sometimes-see/) [John Kani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kani/) > [The idea of political content is irrelevant. Content is irrelevant. I always tell my students, "Never forget you're writing words! You know, word one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/the-idea-of-political-content-is-irrelevant-content-is-irrelevant-i/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [“I don't want foreigners involved in my business. Jinn are one thing but I draw the line at Americans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-willow-wilson/i-don-t-want-foreigners-involved-in-my-business-jinn-are-one-thing/) [G. Willow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-willow-wilson/) > [Do you realize that in the past sixty years, the only foreigners the French have been able to drive out are American tourists?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/do-you-realize-that-in-the-past-sixty-years-the-only-foreigners-the/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) ## 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/) > [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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gillick/i-m-operating-in-the-gap-between-the-trajectory-of-modernity-and-the/) [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/) > [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 America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. 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