--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With no object no image and no focus…" description: "\"With no object no image and no focus, what are you looking at? You are looking at you looking.\" — James Turrell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/james-turrell-18973_focus_with-no-object-no-image-and-no-focus-wha_71717.jpg" --- # With no object no image and no focus, what are you looking… ![“With no object no image and no focus, what are you looking at? You are looking at you looking.” quote by James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/james-turrell-18973_focus_with-no-object-no-image-and-no-focus-wha_71717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/james-turrell-18973_focus_with-no-object-no-image-and-no-focus-wha_71717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/james-turrell-18973_focus_with-no-object-no-image-and-no-focus-wha_71717.jpg) > “With no object no image and no focus, what are you looking at? You are looking at you looking.” [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that without external reference or aim, perception turns inward, revealing self-awareness as the true focus. **In simple terms:** Self‑reflection when external targets vanish. Key Takeaway Perception becomes self‑directed. Themes self‑awareness perception philosophy of mind subjectivity consciousness Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - meditation - artistic creation - psychotherapy - philosophical discussion - solitary contemplation Key Concepts subjective experience mindfulness inner focus Practical Applications - mindfulness practice - creative introspection Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to 'look at' oneself? - How does removing external objects alter awareness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [If it comes, it comes, but its not like a main focus. If you go looking for something youre never gone find what youre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akon/if-it-comes-it-comes-but-its-not-like-a-main-focus-if-you-go-looking/) [Akon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akon/) > [“So as you contemplate this Advent season, consider what has your focus. Where are you looking? What are you beholding?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christi-gee/so-as-you-contemplate-this-advent-season-consider-what-has-your-focus/) Christi Gee > [“In the midst of trials and discouragements, it’s more important than ever to check your focus. Are you looking at your problem or your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyndale/in-the-midst-of-trials-and-discouragements-it-s-more-important-than/) [Tyndale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyndale/) > [I find it hard to focus looking forward. So I look backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-find-it-hard-to-focus-looking-forward-so-i-look-backward/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [On film, you really have to focus on what you're looking at. You're imprinting a physical image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-collins/on-film-you-really-have-to-focus-on-what-you-re-looking-at-you-re/) [Petra Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-collins/) > [I think if you look at exactly where you are, you can't really focus without looking back and forward at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laswell/i-think-if-you-look-at-exactly-where-you-are-you-can-t-really-focus/) [Bill Laswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-laswell/) > [It doesn't help anyone to judge their happiness or career by looking at where others may or may not be. Dad said it best:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-corden/it-doesn-t-help-anyone-to-judge-their-happiness-or-career-by-looking/) [James Corden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-corden/) > [If it comes, it comes, but its not like a main focus. If you go looking for something youare never gone find what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akon/if-it-comes-it-comes-but-its-not-like-a-main-focus-if-you-go-looking-2/) [Akon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akon/) > [“I thought I was looking for something. Now I get that I was looking for someone. You. I'll go back to school and get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mallery/i-thought-i-was-looking-for-something-now-i-get-that-i-was-looking/) [Susan Mallery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mallery/) > [Yes, I'm looking at you, looking at me, looking at you, looking at me, looking back at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-hagar/yes-i-m-looking-at-you-looking-at-me-looking-at-you-looking-at-me/) [Sammy Hagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-hagar/) > [I wasn't looking out, I was looking in. I knew something was in me, I just wasn't sure how valuable it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/i-wasn-t-looking-out-i-was-looking-in-i-knew-something-was-in-me-i/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [Look at me when I'm looking at you. You looking at me but I'm looking through you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/look-at-me-when-i-m-looking-at-you-you-looking-at-me-but-i-m-looking/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“I would tell you I hope you find what you seek in life, but your problem is you’re not looking. The only looking you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-would-tell-you-i-hope-you-find-what-you-seek-in-life-but-your/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Spirituality is not about looking up or down - it's about looking inward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/spirituality-is-not-about-looking-up-or-down-it-s-about-looking-inward/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [What you are looking for is what you are looking with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/what-you-are-looking-for-is-what-you-are-looking-with/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) ## More by James Turrell > [I am not an Earth artist, I'm totally involved in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-am-not-an-earth-artist-i-m-totally-involved-in-the-sky/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [We eat light, drink it in through our skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/we-eat-light-drink-it-in-through-our-skins/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I’m interested that light has thingness itself, so it’s not something that reveals something about other things you’re looking at, but it becomes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-m-interested-that-light-has-thingness-itself-so-it-s-not-something/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I was maybe 5 or 6, and my grandmother would begin sitting me in the Quaker meeting house. I asked my grandmother, 'What am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-was-maybe-5-or-6-and-my-grandmother-would-begin-sitting-me-in-the/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I've always felt that night doesn't fall. Night rises. There are these incidences in flying where you just sit there. It's one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-ve-always-felt-that-night-doesn-t-fall-night-rises-there-are-these/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [It was important that people come to value light as we value gold, silver, paintings, objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/it-was-important-that-people-come-to-value-light-as-we-value-gold/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [Space has a way of looking. It seems like it has a presence of vision. When you come into it, it is there, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/space-has-a-way-of-looking-it-seems-like-it-has-a-presence-of-vision/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [In thinking of light, if we can think about what it can do, and what it is, by thinking about itself, not about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/in-thinking-of-light-if-we-can-think-about-what-it-can-do-and-what-it/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [We live within this reality we create, and we're quite unaware of how we create the reality. So the work is often a general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/we-live-within-this-reality-we-create-and-we-re-quite-unaware-of-how/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [To have a certain new eight-and-a-hal f-minute-old light from the sun-to feel it physically, almost as we taste things-this is where you can work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/to-have-a-certain-new-eight-and-a-hal-f-minute-old-light-from-the-sun/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I wanted the light to be the revelation. It has to do with what we value. I want people to treasure light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-wanted-the-light-to-be-the-revelation-it-has-to-do-with-what-we/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [Remember technology does not make good work. You can still write a poem on a brown paper bag, and haiku is just as profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/remember-technology-does-not-make-good-work-you-can-still-write-a/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [It is interesting to work in Las Vegas. I've always thought of Las Vegas as Los Angeles on its day off. There's not any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/it-is-interesting-to-work-in-las-vegas-i-ve-always-thought-of-las/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I'm known as a light artist. But rather than be someone who depicted light, or painted light in some way, I wanted to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-m-known-as-a-light-artist-but-rather-than-be-someone-who-depicted/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) > [I always wanted to make a light that looks like the light you see in your dream. Because the way that light infuses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-turrell/i-always-wanted-to-make-a-light-that-looks-like-the-light-you-see-in/) [James Turrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) [Explore all 33 James Turrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-turrell/) ## More Focus quotes > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [Music is a job, but I figured out ways to get my mind into a place where I could be creative. I actually discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flume/music-is-a-job-but-i-figured-out-ways-to-get-my-mind-into-a-place/) [Flume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flume/) > [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [There are more important things to focus on in life than how you look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-cho/there-are-more-important-things-to-focus-on-in-life-than-how-you-look/) [Arden Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-cho/) > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is Galileo,” said Aristotle. “He advocates understanding the world through observation and experiment. He is an unimaginative thinker, but his results demand our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-cixin/this-is-galileo-said-aristotle-he-advocates-understanding-the-world/) [Liu Cixin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-cixin/) > [Too many times we flitter our energy into too many goals and in the process don't achieve much. Focus is very important in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishali-kasture/too-many-times-we-flitter-our-energy-into-too-many-goals-and-in-the/) [Vaishali Kasture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishali-kasture/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [All I'm focused on is playing my game. Everything else will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grigor-dimitrov/all-i-m-focused-on-is-playing-my-game-everything-else-will-take-care/) [Grigor Dimitrov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grigor-dimitrov/) > [Focus on being productive instead of busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/focus-on-being-productive-instead-of-busy/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) [Browse all 11,734 Focus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With no object no image and no focus, what are you looking at? 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