Artistically I am still a child with a whole life ahead of me to discover and create. I want something, but I won't know what it is until I succeed in doing it.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
I don't know who I am or who I was. I know it less than ever. I do and I don't identify myself with myself. Everything is totally contradictory, but maybe I have remained exactly as I was as a small boy of twelve.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the complexities of identity and self-understanding, suggesting a disconnect between past and present selves.
Alberto Giacometti's quote expresses the inherent contradictions in the search for identity, revealing that despite the passage of time and experiences, one may feel an enduring connection to their childhood self. This internal struggle highlights the fluidity of self-awareness and the complexities involved in understanding who we truly are amidst the evolving stages of life.
Themes
IdentitySelfContradictionsChildhoodPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about personal growth, one could use this quote to discuss the nature of identity.
More from Alberto Giacometti
All quotes →In the past I have never thought about loneliness when working, and I don't think about it now. Yet there must be a reason for the fact that so many people talk about it.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
When I see a head from a great distance, it ceases to be a sphere and becomes an extreme confusion falling down into the abyss.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
If only someone else could paint what I see, it would be marvellous, because then I wouldnt have to paint at all.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
All I can do will only ever be a faint image of what I see and my success will always be less than my failure or perhaps equal to the failure.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
I paint and sculpt to get a grip on reality... to protect myself.
Alberto GiacomettiRead
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