--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The shapes we are creating are not…" description: "\"The shapes we are creating are not abstract, they are absolute. They are released from any already existant thing in nature and their content lies in t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/naum-gabo-37671_absolutes_the-shapes-we-are-creating-are-not-abstr_1409242.jpg" --- # The shapes we are creating are not abstract, they are… ![“The shapes we are creating are not abstract, they are absolute. They are released from any already existant thing in nature and their content lies in themselves.” quote by Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/naum-gabo-37671_absolutes_the-shapes-we-are-creating-are-not-abstr_1409242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/naum-gabo-37671_absolutes_the-shapes-we-are-creating-are-not-abstr_1409242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7be/naum-gabo-37671_absolutes_the-shapes-we-are-creating-are-not-abstr_1409242.jpg) > “The shapes we are creating are not abstract, they are absolute. They are released from any already existant thing in nature and their content lies in themselves.” [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The created forms are not derived from existing nature but exist as independent absolutes, self‑contained in their own reality. **In simple terms:** Art can be pure, independent of natural references. Key Takeaway Create works that stand on their own conceptual truth. Themes art abstraction philosophy autonomy originality Mood introspective detached inspired Type theoretical philosophical critical When to use this quote - sculpture - visual art - design - conceptual projects Key Concepts ontology aesthetic theory material independence Questions to Reflect On - How does pure abstraction affect viewer engagement? - Can art be both abstract and relatable? A Different Perspective Such abstraction may alienate audiences seeking familiar references. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) ## Related quotes > [The knowledge that mankind needs is not the way or principle which has an absolute existence, but the particular truths for here and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/the-knowledge-that-mankind-needs-is-not-the-way-or-principle-which/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Naum Gabo > [Art has no need of philosophical arguments, it does not follow the signposts of philosophical systems; Art like life, dictates systems to philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/art-has-no-need-of-philosophical-arguments-it-does-not-follow-the/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The image my work invokes is the image of good - not evil; the image of order - not chaos; the image of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-image-my-work-invokes-is-the-image-of-good-not-evil-the-image-of/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [Art is not concerned with the meditation about what is and how it came to be. That is a task for knowledge. Knowledge is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/art-is-not-concerned-with-the-meditation-about-what-is-and-how-it/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [What we cannot express by the art of thinking, by the art of science or philosophy or logic, we can and should express by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/what-we-cannot-express-by-the-art-of-thinking-by-the-art-of-science/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [I consider morals and aesthetics one and the same, for they cover only one impulse, one drive inherent in our consciousness - to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/i-consider-morals-and-aesthetics-one-and-the-same-for-they-cover-only/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [We affirm depth as the only pictorial and plastic form of space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/we-affirm-depth-as-the-only-pictorial-and-plastic-form-of-space/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [We know only what we do, what we make, what we construct; and all that we make, all that we construct, are realities. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/we-know-only-what-we-do-what-we-make-what-we-construct-and-all-that/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The way of a creative mind is always positive, it always asserts; it does not know the doubts which are so characteristic of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-way-of-a-creative-mind-is-always-positive-it-always-asserts-it/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [The Force of Art lies in its immediate influence on human psychology and in its active contagiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/the-force-of-art-lies-in-its-immediate-influence-on-human-psychology/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [Being a creation of Man, art re-creates Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/being-a-creation-of-man-art-re-creates-man/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) [Explore all 12 Naum Gabo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) ## More Absolutes quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. 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