--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is negative space the space you don't…" description: "\"“Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can you tell?”\" — Emma Bull" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png" --- # Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space… ![“Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can you tell?” quote by Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png) > ““Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can you tell?”” [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It questions how we perceive absence versus disliking, probing whether emptiness is a conscious rejection or a lack of existence, and how we recognize something that isn’t present. **In simple terms:** Explores perception of voids Key Takeaway Absence can be misread as dislike Themes perception absence psychology philosophy interpretation Mood curiosity introspection Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - artistic composition - design critique - personal relationships - cognitive bias Key Concepts negative space subjective experience Practical Applications - creative brainstorming - psychological analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between what you avoid and what simply isn’t there? - What cues help you identify a true absence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Negative space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-space/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [“White space (sometimes called “negative space”) is the space in a composition where the subject is not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dina-wakley/white-space-sometimes-called-negative-space-is-the-space-in-a/) Dina Wakley > [It's everywhere, really. It's between the galaxies. It is in this room. We believe that everywhere that you have space, empty space, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-riess/it-s-everywhere-really-it-s-between-the-galaxies-it-is-in-this-room/) [Adam Riess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-riess/) > [Would I like to go into space? No. Maybe I'd do it when I'm old and have done everything else on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/would-i-like-to-go-into-space-no-maybe-i-d-do-it-when-i-m-old-and/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [For me, I feel like horror space has always been a space of the other, even when it's not people of color or black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/for-me-i-feel-like-horror-space-has-always-been-a-space-of-the-other/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [Astronauts will remain the explorers, the pioneers-the first to go back to moon and on to Mars. But I think it's really important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/astronauts-will-remain-the-explorers-the-pioneers-the-first-to-go/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [Space, and space again, is the infinite deity which surrounds us and in which we are ourselves contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/space-and-space-again-is-the-infinite-deity-which-surrounds-us-and-in/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [People will come back and influence their communities to get excited about space. Space funding will increase because people will see the benefit it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-taylor/people-will-come-back-and-influence-their-communities-to-get-excited/) [Dylan Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-taylor/) > [“It wasn't going places. It was being between...Mostly it was space. So much space. I liked the idea of nothing on top, nothing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/it-wasn-t-going-places-it-was-being-between-mostly-it-was-space-so/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [In Africa you have space...there a profound sense of space here, space and sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/in-africa-you-have-space-there-a-profound-sense-of-space-here-space/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“Wow! I'm in space. I'm in space!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latasha-reynolds/wow-i-m-in-space-i-m-in-space/) LaTasha Reynolds > [Empty space is never-wasted space. Wasted space is any space that has art in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/empty-space-is-never-wasted-space-wasted-space-is-any-space-that-has/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [There are a lot of things you can do in space, and space essentially is unlimited resources. We are climbing over ourselves here looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/there-are-a-lot-of-things-you-can-do-in-space-and-space-essentially/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Matter occupies space, and you can only have space for what really matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marla-miniano/matter-occupies-space-and-you-can-only-have-space-for-what-really/) [Marla Miniano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marla-miniano/) > [Silence is an empty space, space is the home of the awakened mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/silence-is-an-empty-space-space-is-the-home-of-the-awakened-mind/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [You have to say now that space is something. Space can vibrate, space can fluctuate, space can be quantum mechanical, but what the devil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-susskind/you-have-to-say-now-that-space-is-something-space-can-vibrate-space/) [Leonard Susskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-susskind/) ## More by Emma Bull > [“Falkner sometimes thought her heart was a voodoo doll, full of pins. One each for Ben and the girls. One for each member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/falkner-sometimes-thought-her-heart-was-a-voodoo-doll-full-of-pins/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“I see the light at the end of the candle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/i-see-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-candle/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“The way to get through normal life is to pretend it isn't getting to you. If you let on that you're hurt, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/the-way-to-get-through-normal-life-is-to-pretend-it-isn-t-getting-to/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [She has her own glamour, Willy lad. All poets do, all the bards and artists, all the musicians who truly take the music into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/she-has-her-own-glamour-willy-lad-all-poets-do-all-the-bards-and/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [Coincidence is the word we use when we can't see the levers and pulleys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/coincidence-is-the-word-we-use-when-we-can-t-see-the-levers-and/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“Here's what I think I'm having trouble with: this is what happiness is. When I was a kid, I thought I'd just get happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/here-s-what-i-think-i-m-having-trouble-with-this-is-what-happiness-is/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [Could I make you believe something that wasn't true?' He studied her through his eyelashes. 'You could make me believe anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/could-i-make-you-believe-something-that-wasn-t-true-he-studied-her/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [She lifted her head. "It's easier," she said, slowly, "to be angry on someone else's behalf than on my own. And yet I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/she-lifted-her-head-it-s-easier-she-said-slowly-to-be-angry-on/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“I love you like my own sister. Which is why I won't hesitate to tell you that I don't believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/i-love-you-like-my-own-sister-which-is-why-i-won-t-hesitate-to-tell/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“You're good, did you know that?' Oh, yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/you-re-good-did-you-know-that-oh-yes/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [They don't know how the world is shaped. And so they give it a shape, and try to make everything fit it. They separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/they-don-t-know-how-the-world-is-shaped-and-so-they-give-it-a-shape/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“Every motion she made was slow, as if she’d never before put her arms around a man, and didn’t know for certain where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/every-motion-she-made-was-slow-as-if-she-d-never-before-put-her-arms/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [We're all immortal until we die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/we-re-all-immortal-until-we-die/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“If you were anyone else, I'd tell you it's unbecoming to gloat." But you'd tell me..." That even gloating becomes you. It's a sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/if-you-were-anyone-else-i-d-tell-you-it-s-unbecoming-to-gloat-but-you/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [To those who see the magical surface of things, you are invisible.' Good grief. Will you still be able to see me?' He met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/to-those-who-see-the-magical-surface-of-things-you-are-invisible-good/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) [Explore all 37 Emma Bull quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can you tell?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emma Bull" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-like-or-the-space-that-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-like-or-the-space-that-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/emma-bull-16750_ifs_is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-li_19948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can…” — Emma Bull", "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": "Emma Bull", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Is negative space the space you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-like-or-the-space-that-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-like-or-the-space-that-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```