--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So I am totally aware that when I defend…" description: "\"So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. It's more an instinctive reaction, meant to prote..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e8/thom-mayne-12101_art_so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend_3155481.jpg" --- # So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of… ![“So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. It's more an instinctive reaction, meant to protect the private aspect of the work, the part I am most interested in and which nowadays is at risk in our culture.” quote by Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e8/thom-mayne-12101_art_so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend_3155481.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e8/thom-mayne-12101_art_so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend_3155481.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e8/thom-mayne-12101_art_so-i-am-totally-aware-that-when-i-defend_3155481.jpg) > “So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. It's more an instinctive reaction, meant to protect the private aspect of the work, the part I am most interested in and which nowadays is at risk in our culture.” [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defending artistic freedom can clash with personal growth, as it protects a private core now threatened by culture. **In simple terms:** Protecting art’s private core can hinder personal development. Key Takeaway Balance artistic autonomy with openness to change. Themes artistic autonomy personal growth culture privacy Mood critical contemplative Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - design practice - artistic collaboration - career development - cultural analysis Key Concepts creative integrity self‑reflection cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can you safeguard art while embracing evolution? - What risks arise from isolating artistic autonomy? A Different Perspective Protecting art may isolate the creator from broader dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) ## Related quotes > [I've learned that in order to achieve what I wanted, it made more sense to negotiate than to defend the autonomy of my work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-ve-learned-that-in-order-to-achieve-what-i-wanted-it-made-more/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [It's too simplistic to advance the notion of the autonomy of art as a reason for turning away from the public. You can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/it-s-too-simplistic-to-advance-the-notion-of-the-autonomy-of-art-as-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [The artist should preach nothing-not even his own autonomy. His art should speak its own truth, and in so doing it will be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-artist-should-preach-nothing-not-even-his-own-autonomy-his-art/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The autonomy of art that emerged through Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Mondrian, and the Russian Constructivism had seen painting develop independent of imitations or decoration, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neville-weston/the-autonomy-of-art-that-emerged-through-post-impressionism-cubism/) [Neville Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neville-weston/) > [I can only be instinctive in my reaction to Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farr/i-can-only-be-instinctive-in-my-reaction-to-shakespeare/) [David Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-farr/) > [As soon as that was kind of green-lit, it became very obvious to me what I wanted to do and it was an instinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/as-soon-as-that-was-kind-of-green-lit-it-became-very-obvious-to-me/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [“Of course he chanted with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise. To dissemble your feelings, to control your face, to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/of-course-he-chanted-with-the-rest-it-was-impossible-to-do-otherwise/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The instinctive reaction of a world grown morally solipsistic is: 'Do I like that ruling? Does that ruling serve my interests?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-instinctive-reaction-of-a-world-grown-morally-solipsistic-is-do-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People in business tend to have an instinctive reaction to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/people-in-business-tend-to-have-an-instinctive-reaction-to-people/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [I fought violently for the autonomy of architecture. It's a very passive, weak profession where people deliver a service. You want a blue door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-fought-violently-for-the-autonomy-of-architecture-it-s-a-very/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-involved-with-the-world-but-at-the-same-time-it-has-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“The idea of autonomy denies that we are born into a world that existed prior to us. It posits an essential aloneness; an autonomous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-b-crawford/the-idea-of-autonomy-denies-that-we-are-born-into-a-world-that/) [Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-b-crawford/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) ## More by Thom Mayne > [I think all good architecture should challenge you, make you start asking questions. You don't have to understand it. You may not like it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-all-good-architecture-should-challenge-you-make-you-start/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [The multiplicity of ideas is what I'm interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/the-multiplicity-of-ideas-is-what-i-m-interested-in/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I've been such an outsider my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-ve-been-such-an-outsider-my-whole-life/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [For me the meaning of my work is much more fluid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/for-me-the-meaning-of-my-work-is-much-more-fluid/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [The multiplicity of ideas is what Im interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/the-multiplicity-of-ideas-is-what-im-interested-in/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [There is no modern prototype for a campus. You have to have a completely different model which has to do with transparency and exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/there-is-no-modern-prototype-for-a-campus-you-have-to-have-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is a negotiated art, and it's highly political, and if you want to make buildings, there is diplomacy required.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-a-negotiated-art-and-it-s-highly-political-and-if-you/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [We're producing spaces that accommodate human activity. And what I'm interested in is not the styling of that, but the relationship of that as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/we-re-producing-spaces-that-accommodate-human-activity-and-what-i-m/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [No matter what I've done, what I've tried to do, everybody says it can't be done. And it's continuous across the complete spectrum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/no-matter-what-i-ve-done-what-i-ve-tried-to-do-everybody-says-it-can/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I'm not a tabula rasa type. In some ways, the more constraints I have, the work is more interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-m-not-a-tabula-rasa-type-in-some-ways-the-more-constraints-i-have/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I lived in a state of rage from 12 to 20. Until college, I was beyond an outsider. I was a voyeur of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-lived-in-a-state-of-rage-from-12-to-20-until-college-i-was-beyond/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I think a lot of people have the Frank Lloyd Wright model in their brains. The architect comes in with this act of creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-the-frank-lloyd-wright-model-in-their/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [I think my clients would tell you I'm a problem solver. I'm not there to agree with people. I'm there to articulate a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/i-think-my-clients-would-tell-you-i-m-a-problem-solver-i-m-not-there/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Architecture is involved with the world, but at the same time it has a certain autonomy. This autonomy cannot be explained in terms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/architecture-is-involved-with-the-world-but-at-the-same-time-it-has-a/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [Large-scale public projects require the agreement of large numbers of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/large-scale-public-projects-require-the-agreement-of-large-numbers-of/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) [Explore all 56 Thom Mayne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [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 only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [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/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So I am totally aware that when I defend the autonomy of art I'm going counter to my own development. 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