The sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building.
Louis KahnRead
All material in nature, the mountains and the streams and the air and we, are made of Light which has been spent, and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow, and the shadow belongs to Light.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the interconnectedness of all things in nature, highlighting that everything is made of light and shadows are a result of this essence.
Louis Kahn's quote delves into the philosophy of existence, suggesting that all material forms, including nature and humanity, are fundamentally composed of light. It implies that what we perceive as solid or material is merely a manifestation of light, and the shadows that these forms cast are intrinsic to their existence, reflecting a deeper unity and relationship between the seen and unseen aspects of reality.
Themes
LightNatureMaterialExistencePhilosophyInterconnectedness
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on environmentalism, one might use this quote to emphasize our bond with nature.
More from Louis Kahn
All quotes βI sense a Threshold: Light to Silence, Silence to Light - an ambiance of inspiration, in which the desire to be, to express, crosses with the possible Light to Silence, Silence to Light crosses in the sanctuary of art.
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Greek architecture taught me that the column is where the light is not, and the space between is where the light is. It is a matter of no-light, light, no-light, light. A column and a column brings light between them. To make a column which grows out of the wall and which makes its own rhythm of no-light, light, no-light, light: that is the marvel of the artist.
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The room is the beginning of architecture.
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Architecture is the reaching out for the truth.
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The creation of art is not the fulfillment of a need but the creation of a need. The world never needed Beethoven's Fifth Symphony until he created it. Now we could not live without it.
Louis KahnRead
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