We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
We do not evaluate the result but the starting point of the creative process. Precisely, this shows whether the form was discovered by starting from life, or for its own sake. That is why I consider the creative process so essential. Life for us is the decisive factor.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of the creative process and its roots in real-life experiences.
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe highlights that the value of creativity lies not in the final product but in the origin of the ideas that lead to it. By evaluating the starting point of the creative journey, we can understand whether the creativity is inspired by genuine life experiences or merely exists for its own sake, thus showcasing how essential the creative process is as a reflection of life itself.
Themes
CreativityProcessLifeArtisticInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in an art class to encourage students to focus on their creative journey.
More from Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
All quotes →Architecture depends on facts, but its real field of activity lies in the realm of the significance.
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The demands of the time for objectivity and functionality must be fulfilled. If that clearly happens, then the buildings of our day will convey the greatness of which the age is capable, and only a fool will maintain that they lack it.
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I think that an industrial process is not like a rubber stamp. Everything has to be put together and, as such, should have its own expression.
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Reinforced concrete buildings are by nature skeletal buildings. No noodles nor armoured turrets. A construction of girders that carry the weight, and walls that carry no weight. That is to say, buildings consisting of skin and bones.
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Modern buildings of our time are so huge that one must group them. Often the space between these buildings is as important as the buildings themselves.
Ludwig Mies Van Der RoheRead
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