--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The attitude that nature is chaotic and…" description: "\"The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg" --- # The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist… ![“The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.” quote by Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg) > “The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.” [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 belief that chaos is natural and artists impose order is absurd; true order must begin within ourselves. **In simple terms:** Order must start inside, not be imposed on nature. Key Takeaway Focus on personal self‑discipline. Themes self‑growth artistic philosophy inner order Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - artistic practice - mental health - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate inner order? - What does “order” mean to you? A Different Perspective Personal change is hard and may resist artistic impulses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Attitude Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude-nature-1243015/) [Chaotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic/) [Chaotic Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaotic-artist-4055838/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Chaotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-chaotic-4055839/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Order Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order-absurd-2575397/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) ## Related quotes > [“To portray your life in order would be absurd: I remember you at random.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduoard-leve/to-portray-your-life-in-order-would-be-absurd-i-remember-you-at-random/) [Eduoard Leve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduoard-leve/) > [We still talk in terms of conquest. We still haven't become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/we-still-talk-in-terms-of-conquest-we-still-haven-t-become-mature-2/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [The prevailing attitude towards nature is that form of heresy which denies substance and, in doing so, denies the rightfulness of creation. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-prevailing-attitude-towards-nature-is-that-form-of-heresy-which/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [A wrong attitude toward nature implies, somewhere, a wrong attitude toward God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-wrong-attitude-toward-nature-implies-somewhere-a-wrong-attitude/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Culture defines who we are and how we see ourselves. A new attitude toward nature provides space for a new attitude toward culture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/culture-defines-who-we-are-and-how-we-see-ourselves-a-new-attitude/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [A wrong attitude towards nature implies, somewhere, a wrong attitude towards God, and that the consequence is an inevitable doom. For a long enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/a-wrong-attitude-towards-nature-implies-somewhere-a-wrong-attitude/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Religion, as distinguished from modern paganism, implies a life in conformity with nature. It may be observed that the natural life and the supernatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/religion-as-distinguished-from-modern-paganism-implies-a-life-in/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [I have a kind of respect-- a worshipful attitude, even-- for nature and the natural order and the cosmos and the seasons...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/i-have-a-kind-of-respect-a-worshipful-attitude-even-for-nature-and/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [Over time, we as humans have developed a different attitude towards nature and we've forgotten about our inner power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-hof/over-time-we-as-humans-have-developed-a-different-attitude-towards/) [Wim Hof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-hof/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## 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 Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem de Kooning" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and-that-the-artist-puts-order/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and-that-the-artist-puts-order/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b25/willem-de-kooning-12563_absurd_the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and_2890344.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I…” — 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": "The attitude that nature is chaotic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and-that-the-artist-puts-order/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/the-attitude-that-nature-is-chaotic-and-that-the-artist-puts-order/#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 } } ] } ```