--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The desire of representation exists only…" description: "\"The desire of representation exists only insofar as the original is always deferred. It is only in the absence of the original that representation can ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg" --- # The desire of representation exists only insofar as the… ![“The desire of representation exists only insofar as the original is always deferred. It is only in the absence of the original that representation can take place.” quote by Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg) > “The desire of representation exists only insofar as the original is always deferred. It is only in the absence of the original that representation can take place.” [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Representation only works when the original is absent, making meaning always postponed. **In simple terms:** Representation needs the original to be missing. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between image and reality. Themes art representation philosophy Mood analytical critical Type theoretical philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - media theory - visual culture - digital media Key Concepts deconstruction absence mediated meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does the lack of an original shape our understanding? - Can representation ever fully capture reality? A Different Perspective The original may still influence perception despite its absence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [The older that I've gotten, I now understand the power of representation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-belair/the-older-that-i-ve-gotten-i-now-understand-the-power-of/) [Bianca Belair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-belair/) > [Even in the Western world, one cannot argue that the ideal has been achieved given the existence of issues like the integration, participation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/even-in-the-western-world-one-cannot-argue-that-the-ideal-has-been/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Computer images, like camera images today, will be seen as representations of a simulated, second-degree reality with little or no connection to the unmediated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grundberg/computer-images-like-camera-images-today-will-be-seen-as/) [Andy Grundberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grundberg/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [There is a lot of work to be done to make sure our leaders reflect the people they are supposed to represent. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/there-is-a-lot-of-work-to-be-done-to-make-sure-our-leaders-reflect/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [“Let's get real about the ideal. It sucks. It doesn't represent us, and it doesn't even try to. It refuses to acknowledge that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-jayne-crabbe/let-s-get-real-about-the-ideal-it-sucks-it-doesn-t-represent-us-and/) [Megan Jayne Crabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-jayne-crabbe/) > [When we visualize something, we establish a relationship to the thing itself, not to some mere subjective representation of it inside us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/medard-boss/when-we-visualize-something-we-establish-a-relationship-to-the-thing/) [Medard Boss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/medard-boss/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [The one thing about being a dude and writing from a female perspective is that the baseline is, you suck. The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Why I am Passionate and Dedicated 1000% to producing and bringing my books Loving Summer, Bitter Frost, and other book series to the Screen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailin-gow/why-i-am-passionate-and-dedicated-1000-to-producing-and-bringing-my/) [Kailin Gow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailin-gow/) > [I hope that we always have diversity, that we have equality and representation every step of the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsai-martin/i-hope-that-we-always-have-diversity-that-we-have-equality-and/) [Marsai Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsai-martin/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [It's true that tribal rivalries have something to do with political instability. It's also true that those rivalries were exaggerated by colonialism. Colonialism essentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malidoma-patrice-some/it-s-true-that-tribal-rivalries-have-something-to-do-with-political/) [Malidoma Patrice Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malidoma-patrice-some/) ## More by Douglas Crimp > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Not only has photography so thoroughly saturated our visual environment as to make the invention of visual images seem archaic, but it is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/not-only-has-photography-so-thoroughly-saturated-our-visual/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [ \[Cindy Sherman's\] photographs reverse the terms of art and autobiography. They use art not to reveal the artist's true self but to show the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/cindy-sherman-s-photographs-reverse-the-terms-of-art-and/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Through reproductive technology, postmodernist art dispenses with the aura. The fiction of the creating subject gives way to a frank confiscation, quotation, excerptation, accumulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/through-reproductive-technology-postmodernist-art-dispenses-with-the/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) [Explore all 5 Douglas Crimp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The desire of representation exists only insofar as the original is always deferred. It is only in the absence of the original that representation can take place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Crimp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/the-desire-of-representation-exists-only-insofar-as-the-original-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/the-desire-of-representation-exists-only-insofar-as-the-original-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/douglas-crimp-60932_absence_the-desire-of-representation-exists-only_1388821.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The desire of representation exists only insofar as the original is always deferred. It is only in the…” — Douglas Crimp", "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": "Douglas Crimp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The desire of representation exists only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/the-desire-of-representation-exists-only-insofar-as-the-original-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/the-desire-of-representation-exists-only-insofar-as-the-original-is/#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 } } ] } ```