Constructivism

Some quotes of the constructivist artist Naum Gabo (American, born Russia, 1890-1977).



"We know only what we do, what we make, what we construct; and all that we make, all that we construct, are realities. I call them images , not in Plato's sense (namely that they are only reflections of reality), but I hold that these images are the reality itself and that there is no reality beyond this reality except when in our creative process we change the images: then we have created new realities."

"If I were an academician or a believer in a higher reality outside me, as most people are (lucky creatures!), I would have no need for any justification for painting landscapes, or portraits, or social realism. I would rely on my so-called common sense, on which I see and feel, and I would enjoy it. Or I would fix one point in the distant haze of that unknown reality, would try to approach it as nearly as I could, and would find solace in the fanatical belief that I am the only one who is portraying that reality which is the only truth."


The quotes are taken from: Herbert Read, The Philosophy of Modern Art .