Abhorrence Quote by Magdalena Abakanowicz
“I feel overawed by quantity where counting no longer makes sense. By unrepeatability within such a quantity. By creatures of nature gathered in herds, droves, species, in which each individual, while subservient to the mass, retains some distinguishing features. A crowd of people, birds, insects, or leaves is a mysterious assemblage of variants of certain prototype. A riddle of nature's abhorrence of exact repetition or inability to produce it. Just as the human hand cannot repeat its own gesture, I invoke this disturbing law, switching my own immobile herds into that rhythm.”
About This Quote
Source Installation: "Crowd I" series, 1993–1994, public art installations
The quote reflects on the paradox of large groups: while they appear uniform, each member retains unique traits, highlighting nature’s avoidance of exact duplication and the tension between individuality and mass.
In simple terms: Large groups seem uniform but each member is unique, showing nature resists exact copies.
Key Takeaway
Embrace individuality within collectives.
Themes
individuality
collectivity
nature
repetition
art
Mood
reflective
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
observational
When to use this quote
- public art design
- crowd management
- team building
- ecological studies
- psychology of conformity
Key Concepts
pattern theory
emergent behavior
human perception
biological diversity
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you recognize individuality in a crowd?
- What value does diversity bring to a collective?
A Different Perspective
Uniformity can mask underlying diversity, leading to oversimplified judgments.
![“By 1782 [John Adams] had come to feel for [Benjamin] Franklin "no other sentiments than Contempt or Abhorrence."” quote by Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/91d/gordon-s-wood-13199_abhorrence_by-1782-john-adams-had-come-to-feel-for_357591.jpg)
