--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought New York had it coming, that it…" description: "\"I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photograph..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png" --- # I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in… ![“I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography.” quote by William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png) > “I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography.” [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Klein sees New York as a restless force needing a bold, visual challenge, using photography as his tool for critique and engagement. **In simple terms:** He uses photography to confront and comment on New York's energy. Key Takeaway Use art to challenge and reshape perceptions. Themes art city critique photography rebellion Mood provocative reflective Type artistic critical When to use this quote - exhibitions - editorial work - street photography - media campaigns Key Concepts visual storytelling urban commentary cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can visual media influence urban narratives? - What responsibilities do artists have to their subjects? A Different Perspective Photography may not change structural issues alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls/) [Balls Returned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls-returned-1418278/) [Coming Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-needed-1418279/) [Kick Balls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kick-balls-1171126/) [Kicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kicks/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Needed Kick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed-kick-1418277/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [If a guy drew a charge on me, I tried to kick him in the balls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/if-a-guy-drew-a-charge-on-me-i-tried-to-kick-him-in-the-balls/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [My parents' concern has been one of my greatest assets - I needed something to kick against. If they'd supported me every step of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-parents-concern-has-been-one-of-my-greatest-assets-i-needed/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [I had become a bit spoiled or complacent at Sporting and I needed a kick up the backside, which is what Everton gave me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-dier/i-had-become-a-bit-spoiled-or-complacent-at-sporting-and-i-needed-a/) [Eric Dier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-dier/) > [“Kick him in the balls before he kicks you in yours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-b-sledge/kick-him-in-the-balls-before-he-kicks-you-in-yours/) [Eugene B. Sledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-b-sledge/) > [“He’s coming over,” Lindsay says. “What do you want me to do? Kick him in the balls? I’ve been dying to kick him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-perkins/he-s-coming-over-lindsay-says-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-kick-him-in/) [Stephanie Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-perkins/) > [“when life decides to kick you in the balls, it sometimes wears metal cleats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-gualtieri/when-life-decides-to-kick-you-in-the-balls-it-sometimes-wears-metal/) [Rick Gualtieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-gualtieri/) > [You know you've had a bad day when a kick in the balls is an improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-redden/you-know-you-ve-had-a-bad-day-when-a-kick-in-the-balls-is-an/) [Kevin Redden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-redden/) > [“I hear you laughing, and yes you are taller than me, better looking than me, you are fitter than me, your body rippling with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-w-murison/i-hear-you-laughing-and-yes-you-are-taller-than-me-better-looking/) [J.W. Murison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-w-murison/) > [“Cole: " There's the old Nik. No 'how do you do', no talk of the weather. Just a good swift kick to the balls."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brodi-ashton/cole-there-s-the-old-nik-no-how-do-you-do-no-talk-of-the-weather-just/) [Brodi Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brodi-ashton/) > [“Know what your name is, but you threatened to kick me in the balls earlier, so I think I’ll call you girl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-jacquelyn/know-what-your-name-is-but-you-threatened-to-kick-me-in-the-balls/) [Nicole Jacquelyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-jacquelyn/) > [“You want to kick me in the balls again?” Christ, did those words just come out of my mouth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-wylde/you-want-to-kick-me-in-the-balls-again-christ-did-those-words-just/) [Joanna Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-wylde/) > [If you expect a kick in the balls and you get a slap in the face, it's a victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/if-you-expect-a-kick-in-the-balls-and-you-get-a-slap-in-the-face-it-s/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [ The best player I ever played against was Paolo Maldini. We \[Arsenal\] played against Milan in the European Supercup \[in 1995\]. Maldini marked me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/the-best-player-i-ever-played-against-was-paolo-maldini-we-arsenal/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [We have a potentially volatile situation but we sort of live with it, and we kick the ball down the field and hope that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/we-have-a-potentially-volatile-situation-but-we-sort-of-live-with-it/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Maybe if I'd not been able to kick a ball it would have been different, but I doubt it because all my mates are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-fowler/maybe-if-i-d-not-been-able-to-kick-a-ball-it-would-have-been/) [Robbie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-fowler/) ## More by William Klein > [I always thought I was going to be an artist. I used to draw, and I would read Russian novels until 3 or 4…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-always-thought-i-was-going-to-be-an-artist-i-used-to-draw-and-i/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Being an expatriate doesn't go down well in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/being-an-expatriate-doesn-t-go-down-well-in-america/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [I was 24 years old at the time. I had no real notion of what photography was about. I had no training. By accident,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-was-24-years-old-at-the-time-i-had-no-real-notion-of-what/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-have-always-done-the-opposite-of-what-i-was-trained-to-do-having/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [The best critics of America are Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/the-best-critics-of-america-are-americans/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [My father was like Willy Loman, you know: he never really made it - and he was from a family where there were people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/my-father-was-like-willy-loman-you-know-he-never-really-made-it-and/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [My father was convinced that America was the greatest place in the world. I'm afraid I didn't have the family I would have dreamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/my-father-was-convinced-that-america-was-the-greatest-place-in-the/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [This is supposed to be the Big Apple, with neighborhoods where the houses are all good-looking and the skyscrapers and everything. But to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/this-is-supposed-to-be-the-big-apple-with-neighborhoods-where-the/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [The English are very exotic to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/the-english-are-very-exotic-to-me/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [I feel like I'm doing something that's worthwhile. I feel like I'm showing something other people haven't shown. I don't get to talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-feel-like-i-m-doing-something-that-s-worthwhile-i-feel-like-i-m/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [The kinetic quality of New York, the kids, dirt, madness - I tried to find a photographic style that would come close to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/the-kinetic-quality-of-new-york-the-kids-dirt-madness-i-tried-to-find/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [In America, kids would go to college and get out and buy a second-hand car and go across the country and discover America. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/in-america-kids-would-go-to-college-and-get-out-and-buy-a-second-hand/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Sometimes, I'd take shots without aiming, just to see what happened. I'd rush into crowds - bang! bang! ... It must be close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/sometimes-i-d-take-shots-without-aiming-just-to-see-what-happened-i-d/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [Don't have rules, taboos, or limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/don-t-have-rules-taboos-or-limits/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) > [My way of living and working is that I'll do my thing. I went from one thing to another. That annoyed people. They didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/my-way-of-living-and-working-is-that-i-ll-do-my-thing-i-went-from-one/) [William Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) [Explore all 75 William Klein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/) ## More Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [Play small ball. Get back to basics. I would say that you need to be a conservative, but you need to maintain your independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/play-small-ball-get-back-to-basics-i-would-say-that-you-need-to-be-a/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mason/maybe-bring-in-sponge-balls-to-learn-the-technique-and-gain-that/) [Ryan Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mason/) > [I like René Descartes' theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it's still the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-like-ren-descartes-theory-about-a-ball-of-wax-you-can-change-its/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Throwing a ball is not natural, whether it's overhand or underhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/throwing-a-ball-is-not-natural-whether-it-s-overhand-or-underhand/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I don't feel like I have to live up to anything because I've proven that I can play. Give me the ball and let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-portis/i-don-t-feel-like-i-have-to-live-up-to-anything-because-i-ve-proven/) [Clinton Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-portis/) > [And if we seem nutty to you and if we seem like an odd ball to you, just remember one thing. The mighty oak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-turner/and-if-we-seem-nutty-to-you-and-if-we-seem-like-an-odd-ball-to-you/) [Glenn Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-turner/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) [Jerry Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-glanville/) [Browse all 3,005 Balls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted to get even. Now I had a weapon, photography.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Klein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it-needed-a-kick-in-the-balls/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balls" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it-needed-a-kick-in-the-balls/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df4/william-klein-9048_balls_i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it_2539227.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I thought New York had it coming, that it needed a kick in the balls. When I returned to New York, I wanted…” — William Klein", "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": "William Klein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-klein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I thought New York had it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it-needed-a-kick-in-the-balls/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-klein/i-thought-new-york-had-it-coming-that-it-needed-a-kick-in-the-balls/#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 } } ] } ```