--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seeing the world anew, as if it were new…" description: "\"Seeing the world anew, as if it were new, is as old as writing. It's what all painters are trying to do, to see what's there, to see it in a way that r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/martin-amis-704_eye_seeing-the-world-anew-as-if-it-were-new_1966113.jpg" --- # Seeing the world anew, as if it were new, is as old as… ![“Seeing the world anew, as if it were new, is as old as writing. It's what all painters are trying to do, to see what's there, to see it in a way that renews it. It becomes more and more urgent as the planet gets worn flat and forest after forest is slain to print the paper for people's impressions…” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/martin-amis-704_eye_seeing-the-world-anew-as-if-it-were-new_1966113.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/martin-amis-704_eye_seeing-the-world-anew-as-if-it-were-new_1966113.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03c/martin-amis-704_eye_seeing-the-world-anew-as-if-it-were-new_1966113.jpg) > “Seeing the world anew, as if it were new, is as old as writing. It's what all painters are trying to do, to see what's there, to see it in a way that renews it. It becomes more and more urgent as the planet gets worn flat and forest after forest is slain to print the paper for people's impressions to be scrawled down on. It becomes harder and harder to be original, to see things with an innocent eye. Innocence is much tied up with it. As the planet gets progressively less innocent, you need a more innocent eye to see it.” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists must constantly renew their perception to capture a world increasingly degraded, seeking innocence to reveal truth. **In simple terms:** Artists need fresh eyes to see a worn world. Key Takeaway Cultivate an innocent, observant perspective. Themes creativity environment perception Mood reflective urgent Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - painting - writing - photography - urban exploration - environmental activism Key Concepts innocence renewal environmental critique Questions to Reflect On - How can you train your mind to see with fresh innocence? - What habits help maintain artistic originality? A Different Perspective Originality is harder when surroundings are polluted and commercialized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Innocent eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-eyes/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seeing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing-the-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“See the world anew and write down the bones of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-sams/see-the-world-anew-and-write-down-the-bones-of-it/) A. D. Sams > [The abyss beyond our beliefs is something we have to pass through in order to see the world anew, to see it in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/the-abyss-beyond-our-beliefs-is-something-we-have-to-pass-through-in/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“Because, after all, I am Zero, the one who will crush the world…and the one who will recreate the world anew!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ichiro-okouchi/because-after-all-i-am-zero-the-one-who-will-crush-the-world-and-the/) [Ichirō Ōkouchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ichiro-okouchi/) > [Every day is a fresh beginning. Every morn is the world made anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/every-day-is-a-fresh-beginning-every-morn-is-the-world-made-anew/) [Sarah Chauncey Woolsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-chauncey-woolsey/) > [We must learn to see the world anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/we-must-learn-to-see-the-world-anew/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [When you learn to say thank you, you see the world anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/when-you-learn-to-say-thank-you-you-see-the-world-anew/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Friends create the world anew each day. Without their loving care, courage would not suffice to keep heartsstrong for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/friends-create-the-world-anew-each-day-without-their-loving-care/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Children put everything in perspective, they remind you of what's important, you see the world anew through there eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priscilla-gilman/children-put-everything-in-perspective-they-remind-you-of-what-s/) [Priscilla Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priscilla-gilman/) > [God creates the world anew in each moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-ruysbroeck/god-creates-the-world-anew-in-each-moment/) [John of Ruysbroeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-ruysbroeck/) > [See what no one else sees. See what everyone chooses not to see - out of fear, conformity, or laziness. See the whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/see-what-no-one-else-sees-see-what-everyone-chooses-not-to-see-out-of/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [“ "The wanderer in Manhattan must go forth with a certain innocence, because New York is best seen with innocent eyes. It doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/the-wanderer-in-manhattan-must-go-forth-with-a-certain-innocence/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [Having children obviously changes your priorities, but when you start to see life through these innocent eyes and seeing everything for the first time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cannon/having-children-obviously-changes-your-priorities-but-when-you-start/) [Nick Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cannon/) > [Whether it is a garden gnome, the sound of Bing Crosby launching into 'White Christmas', the blinking innocent eyes of Bambi or the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/whether-it-is-a-garden-gnome-the-sound-of-bing-crosby-launching-into/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“It was queer how sometimes a child's innocent eyes can see things that grown men are blind to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/it-was-queer-how-sometimes-a-child-s-innocent-eyes-can-see-things/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Justice is always Violence to the Party offending, for every Man is Innocent in his own Eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-defoe/justice-is-always-violence-to-the-party-offending-for-every-man-is/) [Daniel Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-defoe/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“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 > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [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/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Seeing the world anew, as if it were new, is as old as writing. It's what all painters are trying to do, to see what's there, to see it in a way that renews it. It becomes more and more urgent as the planet gets worn flat and forest after forest is slain to print the paper for people's impressions to be scrawled down on. It becomes harder and harder to be original, to see things with an innocent eye. Innocence is much tied up with it. 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