--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man's own form in space - his body - was…" description: "\"Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison; and that it was because of this imprisoning misery - because he was hungry and overworked an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg" --- # Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison… ![“Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison; and that it was because of this imprisoning misery - because he was hungry and overworked and went to a horrid place called home late at night in the rain, and his bones ached and his head was heavy.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg) > “Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison; and that it was because of this imprisoning misery - because he was hungry and overworked and went to a horrid place called home late at night in the rain, and his bones ached and his head was heavy.” [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The body feels like a confining cell, intensified by hunger, overwork, and a bleak home environment that deepens suffering. **In simple terms:** The body can feel imprisoning when basic needs are unmet. Key Takeaway Address basic needs and seek healthier surroundings. Themes suffering body environment overwork loneliness Mood despair loneliness reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - workplace stress - homelessness - nighttime vulnerability - physical pain Key Concepts existentialism psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What basic need is most neglected in your life? - How can you create a safer personal space? A Different Perspective Physical and emotional hardship can be alleviated with support and rest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Private prisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-prisons/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [Private prison companies are now listed on the New York Stock exchange and are doing quite well in a time of economic recession (and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/private-prison-companies-are-now-listed-on-the-new-york-stock/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Everything he did was a physical thing.  When he spoke, my bones ached.  When he breathed, I felt it in my veins and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-lynn/everything-he-did-was-a-physical-thing-when-he-spoke-my-bones-ached/) [Tyra Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-lynn/) > [Sculpture occupies the same space as your body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anish-kapoor/sculpture-occupies-the-same-space-as-your-body/) [Anish Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anish-kapoor/) > [You leave space for the body, imagining the other part even though it isn't there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/you-leave-space-for-the-body-imagining-the-other-part-even-though-it/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [“Face it - the two of you built your private prison from routine. Your life is lived by rote. So... You shake things up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-niva/face-it-the-two-of-you-built-your-private-prison-from-routine-your/) [Loren Niva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-niva/) > [Now that private prison companies have found that they can make a killing on mass incarceration, these private prison companies are now in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/now-that-private-prison-companies-have-found-that-they-can-make-a/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I am this space my body believes in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusef-komunyakaa/i-am-this-space-my-body-believes-in/) [Yusef Komunyakaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusef-komunyakaa/) > [This same economic system, based on short-term growth and endless profits is also the reason for pretty much everything else that is lousy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/this-same-economic-system-based-on-short-term-growth-and-endless/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [The moral abhorrence of private prisons has been brought to our attention by courageous acts of investigative journalism, illuminating scholarship, and the work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/the-moral-abhorrence-of-private-prisons-has-been-brought-to-our/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [ The fact that's why the prisons and stock in private prisons rose the very day after the election results \[for Donald Trump\] were announced.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/the-fact-that-s-why-the-prisons-and-stock-in-private-prisons-rose-the/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [This is sort of the epitome of the economic elite that is converging with a political elite. It's not only the banks and insurance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/this-is-sort-of-the-epitome-of-the-economic-elite-that-is-converging/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [They are trying to lock up as many of us up as possible to put us in penitentiaries for free labor. You have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-griffin/they-are-trying-to-lock-up-as-many-of-us-up-as-possible-to-put-us-in/) [Eddie Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-griffin/) > [When the power of private prisons is diminished, so, too, is their ability to engage in back-door political lobbying that has an impact on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/when-the-power-of-private-prisons-is-diminished-so-too-is-their/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [The U.S. prison system, over all, disproportionately affects black and brown people, but people of color are overrepresented to a greater degree in private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/the-u-s-prison-system-over-all-disproportionately-affects-black-and/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-need-to-have-more-second-chance-programs-i-m-glad-that-we-re/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) ## More by Willem de Kooning > [The texture of experience is prior to everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-texture-of-experience-is-prior-to-everything-else/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Art should not have to be a certain way,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/art-should-not-have-to-be-a-certain-way/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I think I'm painting a picture of two women but it may turn out to be a landscape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-think-i-m-painting-a-picture-of-two-women-but-it-may-turn-out-to-be/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Im not someone whos ever said anything definitive about his work. In my life also I have very little fixed form. I can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/im-not-someone-whos-ever-said-anything-definitive-about-his-work-in/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Style is a fraud. I always felt the Greeks were hiding behind their columns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/style-is-a-fraud-i-always-felt-the-greeks-were-hiding-behind-their/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Whatever an artist's personal feelings are, as soon as an artist fills a certain area on the canvas or circumscribes it, he becomes historical.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/whatever-an-artist-s-personal-feelings-are-as-soon-as-an-artist-fills/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The idea of space is given to the artist to change if he can. The subject matter in the abstract is space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-idea-of-space-is-given-to-the-artist-to-change-if-he-can-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [If I stretch my arms and wonder where my fingers are - that is all the space I need as a painter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/if-i-stretch-my-arms-and-wonder-where-my-fingers-are-that-is-all-the/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [The artist fills space with an attitude. The attitude never comes from himself alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-artist-fills-space-with-an-attitude-the-attitude-never-comes-from/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/flesh-was-the-reason-why-oil-painting-was-invented/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I feel sometimes an American artist must feel, like a baseball player or something - a member of a team writing American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-feel-sometimes-an-american-artist-must-feel-like-a-baseball-player/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Maybe in that earlier phase I was painting the woman in me. Art isn't a wholly masculine occupation, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/maybe-in-that-earlier-phase-i-was-painting-the-woman-in-me-art-isn-t/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Yes, I am influenced by everbody. But every time I put my hands in my pockets I find someone else's fingers there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/yes-i-am-influenced-by-everbody-but-every-time-i-put-my-hands-in-my/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I'd like to get all the colors in the world into one painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-d-like-to-get-all-the-colors-in-the-world-into-one-painting/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [Spiritually I am wherever my spirit allows me to be, and that is not necessarily in the future... Art never seems to make me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/spiritually-i-am-wherever-my-spirit-allows-me-to-be-and-that-is-not/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) [Explore all 54 Willem de Kooning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison; and that it was because of this imprisoning misery - because he was hungry and overworked and went to a horrid place called home late at night in the rain, and his bones ached and his head was heavy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-private-prison-and-that-it-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-private-prison-and-that-it-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a70/willem-de-kooning-12563_body_man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-p_2225077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man's own form in space - his body - was a private prison; and that it was because of this imprisoning…” — Willem de Kooning", "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": "Willem de Kooning", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man's own form in space -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-private-prison-and-that-it-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/man-s-own-form-in-space-his-body-was-a-private-prison-and-that-it-was/#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 } } ] } ```