--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The photos stirred feelings she couldn't…" description: "\"“The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in words, and this, she decided, must mean they were true works of art.”\" — Celeste Ng" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg" --- # The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in… ![“The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in words, and this, she decided, must mean they were true works of art.” quote by Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg) > ““The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in words, and this, she decided, must mean they were true works of art.”” [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The photos evoke emotions that defy verbal description, leading the narrator to conclude they represent true art. **In simple terms:** Photos can convey inexpressible feelings, confirming artistic truth. Key Takeaway Trust visual art to express deep emotions. Themes art emotion expression interpretation Mood thoughtful poetic Type literary artistic When to use this quote - gallery visits - creative writing - art therapy - personal reflection Key Concepts literature visual arts psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do images shape your emotions? - When do you consider something true art? A Different Perspective Art may be subjective and open to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) ## Related quotes > [A part of her wanted to tell him she still loved him, and that even though this love was hopeless and long over, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/a-part-of-her-wanted-to-tell-him-she-still-loved-him-and-that-even/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“Prideful fool. It hurt his feelings that he couldn’t make my crazy go away. You know how men are. Always trying to fix things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wheaton/prideful-fool-it-hurt-his-feelings-that-he-couldn-t-make-my-crazy-go/) [Ken Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wheaton/) > [“I couldn’t say exactly what it was he’d taken. I only knew I was different now. I’d watched him murder a man I’d been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liliana-hart/i-couldn-t-say-exactly-what-it-was-he-d-taken-i-only-knew-i-was/) [Liliana Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liliana-hart/) > [“No one could possibly understand my purest feelings but I couldn't care less; My deepest yearnings are nobody's goddamn business anyway”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novala-takemoto/no-one-could-possibly-understand-my-purest-feelings-but-i-couldn-t/) [Novala Takemoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novala-takemoto/) > [“The built-in preventative of another person meant I couldn’t indulge the animal feelings, couldn’t leave orange peels in the kitchen sink. I dressed right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/the-built-in-preventative-of-another-person-meant-i-couldn-t-indulge/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [“Sometimes I wrote things because I couldn't say them, couldn't sort out my feelings about them, couldn't keep them bottled inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/sometimes-i-wrote-things-because-i-couldn-t-say-them-couldn-t-sort/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [Leo's goals are works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rijkaard/leo-s-goals-are-works-of-art/) [Frank Rijkaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rijkaard/) > [Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/works-of-art-in-my-opinion-are-the-only-objects-in-the-material/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [They are works of art that can be considered works of art but don't have to be in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/they-are-works-of-art-that-can-be-considered-works-of-art-but-don-t/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) > [“...an acquaintance with the great works of art and thought is the only real insurance against the barbarism of the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/an-acquaintance-with-the-great-works-of-art-and-thought-is-the-only/) [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) > [Beauty is not the purpose of creation, it is its reward. Its appearance, often late in the day, is no more than an indication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brassai/beauty-is-not-the-purpose-of-creation-it-is-its-reward-its-appearance/) [Brassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brassai/) > [“Hence Proust’s assertion that the greatness of works of art has nothing to do with the apparent quality of their subject matter, and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/hence-proust-s-assertion-that-the-greatness-of-works-of-art-has/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [We're all works of art in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/we-re-all-works-of-art-in-progress/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [“...the special quality of works of Art being to produce the momentary conviction that anything else whatever could not possibly be so good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-shiel/the-special-quality-of-works-of-art-being-to-produce-the-momentary/) [M.P. Shiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-shiel/) > [Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/works-of-art-make-rules-rules-do-not-make-works-of-art/) [Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/) ## More by Celeste Ng > [When you mention to people growing up in Cleveland they bring up the river catching on fire, or LeBron James leaving, they have these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/when-you-mention-to-people-growing-up-in-cleveland-they-bring-up-the/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [It's so easy, as a writer, to get stuck in your own head, to live in the little worlds you create. To forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/it-s-so-easy-as-a-writer-to-get-stuck-in-your-own-head-to-live-in-the/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“All up and down the street the houses looked like any others—but inside them were people who might be happy, or taking refuge, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/all-up-and-down-the-street-the-houses-looked-like-any-others-but/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [No reader wants to sit through the same scene four times in a row, unless they're radically different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/no-reader-wants-to-sit-through-the-same-scene-four-times-in-a-row/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Debut novels are difficult because nobody knows you... they just don't find a huge audience, because that's how the market works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/debut-novels-are-difficult-because-nobody-knows-you-they-just-don-t/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [We have to figure out why we see the world in different ways and then how are we going to adjust so that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/we-have-to-figure-out-why-we-see-the-world-in-different-ways-and-then/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“I have measured my life with coffee spoons and do I dare to eat a peach?' 'DO I DARE DISTURB THE UNIVERSE?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/i-have-measured-my-life-with-coffee-spoons-and-do-i-dare-to-eat-a/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“No one, she had learned from experience, could stand such silence for long. If you waited long enough, someone would start talking, and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/no-one-she-had-learned-from-experience-could-stand-such-silence-for/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/most-of-the-time-everyone-deserves-more-than-one-chance-we-all-do/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Though she would never quite articulate it this way, resentment began to sheathe concern. ANGER IS FEAR'S BODYGUARD, a poster in the hospital hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/though-she-would-never-quite-articulate-it-this-way-resentment-began/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Spend too much time alone with your own words, and your writing grows anemic, in dire need of a transfusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/spend-too-much-time-alone-with-your-own-words-and-your-writing-grows/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“Everyone sees race, Lex," said Moody. "The only difference is who pretends not to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/everyone-sees-race-lex-said-moody-the-only-difference-is-who-pretends/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Writers, most of them, don't have a lot of resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/writers-most-of-them-don-t-have-a-lot-of-resources/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Browse Amazon reviews, and you'll see a surprising number of readers who believe one novel can summarize a country, its culture, and its people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/browse-amazon-reviews-and-you-ll-see-a-surprising-number-of-readers/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [Short of the dishonest, the illegal, and the cruel, there's only one thing my son could do that would really disappoint me: not liking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/short-of-the-dishonest-the-illegal-and-the-cruel-there-s-only-one/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) [Explore all 212 Celeste Ng quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in words, and this, she decided, must mean they were true works of art.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Celeste Ng" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t-quite-frame-in-words-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t-quite-frame-in-words-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f55/celeste-ng-1718_art_the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t_2585979.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The photos stirred feelings she couldn't quite frame in words, and this, she decided, must mean they were…” — Celeste Ng", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Celeste Ng", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The photos stirred feelings she couldn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t-quite-frame-in-words-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/the-photos-stirred-feelings-she-couldn-t-quite-frame-in-words-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```