"You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art"
About this Quote
The verb choice matters. “Confound” suggests a world of professionals who might bristle at being outflanked by an artist’s invention, as if the highest compliment for a mechanism is that it leaves experts scratching their heads. Williams waves that trophy away. He’s saying: don’t mistake difficulty for value, and don’t confuse the audience’s awe with the maker’s goal.
The line also reads as a defense against a common trap for makers in a gadget-obsessed culture: the applause that comes for being “smart” can swallow the work’s emotional center. Williams, famous for puzzle-box aesthetics and riddling narratives, understands that craftsmanship can be a delivery system for wonder, not a flex. He insists on an older hierarchy: technique is subordinate, even when it’s spectacular; the real ambition is to make something that feels inevitable, luminous, and strangely human.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Williams, Kit. (2026, January 17). You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-see-my-ambition-was-not-to-confound-the-72143/
Chicago Style
Williams, Kit. "You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-see-my-ambition-was-not-to-confound-the-72143/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-see-my-ambition-was-not-to-confound-the-72143/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
