--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I use geometric and mathematical ideas to…" description: "\"I use geometric and mathematical ideas to organize material, but those are tools. The purpose of the work is not to expose that at all, but to arrive a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/lucinda-childs-37622_geometric_i-use-geometric-and-mathematical-ideas-t_3212686.jpg" --- # I use geometric and mathematical ideas to organize… ![“I use geometric and mathematical ideas to organize material, but those are tools. The purpose of the work is not to expose that at all, but to arrive at some kind of expressiveness.” quote by Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/lucinda-childs-37622_geometric_i-use-geometric-and-mathematical-ideas-t_3212686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/lucinda-childs-37622_geometric_i-use-geometric-and-mathematical-ideas-t_3212686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27a/lucinda-childs-37622_geometric_i-use-geometric-and-mathematical-ideas-t_3212686.jpg) > “I use geometric and mathematical ideas to organize material, but those are tools. The purpose of the work is not to expose that at all, but to arrive at some kind of expressiveness.” [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mathematical tools organize material, but the goal is expressive art, not showing the math. **In simple terms:** Math helps organize, but art is the purpose. Key Takeaway Use structure to serve expression, not dominate it. Themes art structure creativity Mood inspired critical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - choreographing a dance - designing a visual installation - structuring a lecture Key Concepts geometric organization expressive intent Questions to Reflect On - How can you keep structure flexible for creativity? - When does structure become a barrier? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on structure can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [The purpose of the whole (work) is to remove those who are living in this life from a state of wretchedness and lead them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/the-purpose-of-the-whole-work-is-to-remove-those-who-are-living-in/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I had something to do, which most kids really need. Something they can look forward to - a goal, a purpose to work towards.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-had-something-to-do-which-most-kids-really-need-something-they-can/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We must always bear in mind that the primary purpose of our work is not to get people to join a church, to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-torrey/we-must-always-bear-in-mind-that-the-primary-purpose-of-our-work-is-2/) [R. A. Torrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-torrey/) > [The purpose of a work of fiction is to appeal to the lingering after-effects in the reader's mind as differing from, say, the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-purpose-of-a-work-of-fiction-is-to-appeal-to-the-lingering-after/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [When people look for and demand purpose in their work, it impacts businesses, communities, and the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yoo/when-people-look-for-and-demand-purpose-in-their-work-it-impacts/) [Tae Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yoo/) > [It would scarcely be acceptable, for example, to ask in the course of an ordinary conversation what our society holds to be the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-would-scarcely-be-acceptable-for-example-to-ask-in-the-course-of/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The central purpose of the Work that Reconnects is to help people uncover and experience their innate connections with each other and with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/the-central-purpose-of-the-work-that-reconnects-is-to-help-people/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [The purpose of work is to give people a chance to utilize and develop their faculties; to enable them to overcome their ego-centeredness by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/the-purpose-of-work-is-to-give-people-a-chance-to-utilize-and-develop/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [“The purpose of work is to labor and invest time in your gift”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-purpose-of-work-is-to-labor-and-invest-time-in-your-gift/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [We must always bear in mind that the primary purpose of our work, is not to get persons to join the church or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-torrey/we-must-always-bear-in-mind-that-the-primary-purpose-of-our-work-is/) [R. A. Torrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-torrey/) > [Work may be your dominant thought, and joy an afterthought. But joy is your true purpose, and work the afterthought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/work-may-be-your-dominant-thought-and-joy-an-afterthought-but-joy-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [No matter what our job is, we view it not as our purpose in life but rather as where God has sovereignly placed us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/no-matter-what-our-job-is-we-view-it-not-as-our-purpose-in-life-but/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [“it’s work with a purpose, work with meaning, work that constantly reminds you that you’re living the life you’ve dreamed of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-huling/it-s-work-with-a-purpose-work-with-meaning-work-that-constantly/) Jim Huling > [The purpose of work is not to make money. The purpose of work is to make the workers, whether working stiffs or top executives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardo-semler/the-purpose-of-work-is-not-to-make-money-the-purpose-of-work-is-to/) [Ricardo Semler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricardo-semler/) > [The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination. Most people spend their lives in dreary, grey-beige conformity, mortally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verner-panton/the-main-purpose-of-my-work-is-to-provoke-people-into-using-their/) [Verner Panton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verner-panton/) ## More by Lucinda Childs > [I no longer need to have what I see as the surface of the dance so connected to the underlying structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-no-longer-need-to-have-what-i-see-as-the-surface-of-the-dance-so/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I disagree with the idea that modern dancers are cold or unemotional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-disagree-with-the-idea-that-modern-dancers-are-cold-or-unemotional/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > ["Light Over Water" is the longest piece I have ever composed. It is a landmark in my personal struggle to create large forms. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/light-over-water-is-the-longest-piece-i-have-ever-composed-it-is-a/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [If the simple positions of ballet are demonstrated straight on, they seem quite dull and lifeless, but when put on a diagonal, they begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/if-the-simple-positions-of-ballet-are-demonstrated-straight-on-they/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I think dancing is an emotional experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-think-dancing-is-an-emotional-experience/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I do not like a haphazard connection between the dances and the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-do-not-like-a-haphazard-connection-between-the-dances-and-the-music/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [The relationship between the audience and the dancers goes through many different stages. Someone seeing my work for the first time may or may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/the-relationship-between-the-audience-and-the-dancers-goes-through/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I do not like to be thought of as avant-garde or some kind of didactic artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-do-not-like-to-be-thought-of-as-avant-garde-or-some-kind-of/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [The diagonal gives a three-dimensional feeling to dancers that cannot be achieved when they are only front and back. On the diagonal, more movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/the-diagonal-gives-a-three-dimensional-feeling-to-dancers-that-cannot/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I am just a choreographer, and I am trying to make productions, not dance concerts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-am-just-a-choreographer-and-i-am-trying-to-make-productions-not/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) > [I like large sounds and very complex sonorities, and I also tend to opt for creating a feeling of vast space. I could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucinda-childs/i-like-large-sounds-and-very-complex-sonorities-and-i-also-tend-to/) [Lucinda Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) [Explore all 12 Lucinda Childs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucinda-childs/) ## More Geometric quotes > [There is a deep connection between Bernoulli's dictum and John Kelly's 1956 publication. It turns out that Kelly's prescription can be restated as this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-poundstone/there-is-a-deep-connection-between-bernoulli-s-dictum-and-john-kelly/) [William Poundstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-poundstone/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Geometric shapes hold an energy pattern, and scientists did some experiments which say certain geometric shapes can affect matter around them. It's simply because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delonge/geometric-shapes-hold-an-energy-pattern-and-scientists-did-some/) [Tom DeLonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delonge/) > [Much of what I make is geometric, and has a kind of almost mathematical logic to the form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/much-of-what-i-make-is-geometric-and-has-a-kind-of-almost/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [The only thing that I could get with chance, and I never was able to use it, was that I would end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rauschenberg/the-only-thing-that-i-could-get-with-chance-and-i-never-was-able-to/) [Robert Rauschenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rauschenberg/) > [These abnormal aspects included the shapes of UFOs and their behavior. Most of the UFOs seen in the daytime were said to have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-berliner/these-abnormal-aspects-included-the-shapes-of-ufos-and-their-behavior/) [Don Berliner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-berliner/) > [As you know, Bergson pointed out that there is no such thing as disorder but rather two sorts of order, geometric and living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/as-you-know-bergson-pointed-out-that-there-is-no-such-thing-as/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I don't see how it's doing society any good to have so many members walking around with vague memories of algebraic formulas and geometric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-lockhart/i-don-t-see-how-it-s-doing-society-any-good-to-have-so-many-members/) [Paul Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-lockhart/) > [All my work comes from perceiving. I kept seeing things that were brooding in me. I'm not a geometric artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellsworth-kelly/all-my-work-comes-from-perceiving-i-kept-seeing-things-that-were/) [Ellsworth Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellsworth-kelly/) > [So all night long the storm roared on: The morning broke without a sun; In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature’s geometric signs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-all-night-long-the-storm-roared-on-the-morning-broke-without-a-sun/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [We all share beauty. It strikes us indiscriminately. There is no end to the beauty for the person who is aware. Even the cracks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/we-all-share-beauty-it-strikes-us-indiscriminately-there-is-no-end-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I try to visualize geometric shapes and patterns slowly spinning and expanding into infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-mcbride/i-try-to-visualize-geometric-shapes-and-patterns-slowly-spinning-and/) [Martina McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-mcbride/) > [“The association of multiplication with vector rotation was one of the geometric interpretation's most important elements because it decisively connected the imaginaries with rotary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stipp/the-association-of-multiplication-with-vector-rotation-was-one-of-the/) [David Stipp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stipp/) > [About Archimedes one remembers that he did strange things: he ran around naked shouting 'Heureka!', plunged crowns into water, drew geometric figures as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucio-russo/about-archimedes-one-remembers-that-he-did-strange-things-he-ran/) [Lucio Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucio-russo/) > [New York... is a city of geometric heights, a petrified desert of grids and lattices, an inferno of greenish abstraction under a flat sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/new-york-is-a-city-of-geometric-heights-a-petrified-desert-of-grids/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) Browse all 87 Geometric quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I use geometric and mathematical ideas to organize material, but those are tools. 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