--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I look at my work from the beginning…" description: "\"If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the idea of trying to establish a kind of material that one can work with for the future, rather tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg" --- # If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the… ![“If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the idea of trying to establish a kind of material that one can work with for the future, rather than making nostalgic images to record something that will later become lost.” quote by Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg) > “If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the idea of trying to establish a kind of material that one can work with for the future, rather than making nostalgic images to record something that will later become lost.” [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist focuses on creating enduring material for future use, not merely nostalgic records that may be lost. **In simple terms:** Make lasting work, not just nostalgic images. Key Takeaway Prioritize timeless creation over fleeting nostalgia. Themes art future materiality nostalgia Mood thoughtful forward‑looking Type artistic conceptual When to use this quote - museum curation - archival work - design thinking Key Concepts sustainability legacy creative intent Questions to Reflect On - What materials will endure for future generations? - How balance nostalgia with innovation? A Different Perspective May undervalue historical documentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [What we must learn to do is to create unbreakable bonds between the sciences and the humanities. We cannot procrastinate. The world of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/what-we-must-learn-to-do-is-to-create-unbreakable-bonds-between-the/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [A beginning idea for a book might be: a boy emerges from a hole in the ground. He enters a house. The book will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/a-beginning-idea-for-a-book-might-be-a-boy-emerges-from-a-hole-in-the/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [The reason is that they define how I have gone about my business. I have trusted to intuition. I did it at the beginning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/the-reason-is-that-they-define-how-i-have-gone-about-my-business-i/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [Designers are optimistic people who are trained to be courageous about the future—and making the future happen. They aren’t always aware of the intricacies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-shedroff/designers-are-optimistic-people-who-are-trained-to-be-courageous/) [Nathan Shedroff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-shedroff/) > [Whatever machine you use, however sophisticated your technology , it's ideas that count. In the beginning was the idea. No machine will give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-crabtree/whatever-machine-you-use-however-sophisticated-your-technology-it-s/) Tom Crabtree > [All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/all-achievements-all-earned-riches-have-their-beginning-in-an-idea/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Is it possible that the creative act is simply the materialization of the future- making the invisible, visible?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-mcmanus/is-it-possible-that-the-creative-act-is-simply-the-materialization-of/) [Erwin McManus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-mcmanus/) > [The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-greatest-fine-art-of-the-future-will-be-the-making-of-a/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [There is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-reason-to-suppose-that-the-world-had-a-beginning-at-all/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [We were making the future and hardly any of us troubled to think what future we were making. And here it is!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/we-were-making-the-future-and-hardly-any-of-us-troubled-to-think-what/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [Money is neither a material to work upon nor a tool to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/money-is-neither-a-material-to-work-upon-nor-a-tool-to-work-with/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“What I'm here for is to work with the material, and to work with it the best way that I can. And in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/what-i-m-here-for-is-to-work-with-the-material-and-to-work-with-it/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Just because he's a dick, doesn't mean you have to be.' 'But he's giving me so much material to work with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-yarros/just-because-he-s-a-dick-doesn-t-mean-you-have-to-be-but-he-s-giving/) [Rebecca Yarros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-yarros/) > [The scope of material I can work with is not limited to the set of things that we inherit from nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-endy/the-scope-of-material-i-can-work-with-is-not-limited-to-the-set-of/) Drew Endy > [I always tell myself every disaster is more material for my work and another anecdote to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dennis/i-always-tell-myself-every-disaster-is-more-material-for-my-work-and/) [Hugh Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dennis/) ## More by Thomas Struth > [For me, making a photograph is mostly an intellectual process of understanding people or cities and their historical and phenomenological connections. At that point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/for-me-making-a-photograph-is-mostly-an-intellectual-process-of/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [How should we judge what we see? More intimately, let us consider the vulnerability of the human body and soul under these circumstances. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/how-should-we-judge-what-we-see-more-intimately-let-us-consider-the/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [The portrait is the subject matter in photography where the problems of the media are the most visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/the-portrait-is-the-subject-matter-in-photography-where-the-problems/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [I'm interested in photographs that have no personal signature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/i-m-interested-in-photographs-that-have-no-personal-signature/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [ \[When\] I am taking a photograph, I am conscious that I am constructing images rather than taking snapshots. Since I do not take rapid… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/when-i-am-taking-a-photograph-i-am-conscious-that-i-am-constructing/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [The point at which the photograph ceases to function as a metaphor is the point at which it is free to propose an experiential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/the-point-at-which-the-photograph-ceases-to-function-as-a-metaphor-is/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [I wanted to make photographs in which everything was so complex and detailed that you could look at them forever and never see everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/i-wanted-to-make-photographs-in-which-everything-was-so-complex-and/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) > [ \[I\]n general, my work is less about expanding the possibilities of photography than about re-investing it with a truer perception of things by returning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/i-n-general-my-work-is-less-about-expanding-the-possibilities-of/) [Thomas Struth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) [Explore all 9 Thomas Struth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/) ## More Ideas quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [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/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [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/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [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/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 24,908 Ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the idea of trying to establish a kind of material that one can work with for the future, rather than making nostalgic images to record something that will later become lost.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Struth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning-it-is-more-the-idea-of-trying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ideas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning-it-is-more-the-idea-of-trying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/thomas-struth-45224_ideas_if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning_2658706.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I look at my work from the beginning it is more the idea of trying to establish a kind of material that…” — Thomas Struth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Struth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-struth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I look at my work...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning-it-is-more-the-idea-of-trying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-struth/if-i-look-at-my-work-from-the-beginning-it-is-more-the-idea-of-trying/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```