--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At first I had some idea that the absence…" description: "\"At first I had some idea that the absence of color made the work more physical. Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an obje..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/jasper-johns-8447_absence_at-first-i-had-some-idea-that-the-absenc_2691356.jpg" --- # At first I had some idea that the absence of color made… ![“At first I had some idea that the absence of color made the work more physical. Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.” quote by Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/jasper-johns-8447_absence_at-first-i-had-some-idea-that-the-absenc_2691356.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/jasper-johns-8447_absence_at-first-i-had-some-idea-that-the-absenc_2691356.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01d/jasper-johns-8447_absence_at-first-i-had-some-idea-that-the-absenc_2691356.jpg) > “At first I had some idea that the absence of color made the work more physical. Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.” [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He initially saw colorless work as purely physical, focusing on the painting as an object and exploring it from many angles. **In simple terms:** He thought a colorless painting was about its physical presence. Key Takeaway Consider both material and conceptual aspects of art. Themes art materiality conceptualism process objecthood Mood analytical curious Type critical theoretical When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - studio practice - art criticism - curatorial planning Key Concepts aesthetic theory visual perception object‑subject relation Questions to Reflect On - How does material focus affect viewer interpretation? - Can objectivity coexist with personal meaning? A Different Perspective May overlook emotional or narrative content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Different directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-directions/) [Directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directions/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I'm not at all interested in painting the object just as it is in nature. Certainly I'm much more interested in the mood of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wyeth/i-m-not-at-all-interested-in-painting-the-object-just-as-it-is-in/) [Andrew Wyeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wyeth/) > [Painting is an object, but it's also a voice. I don't see them as objects; I see them as voices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-steir/painting-is-an-object-but-it-s-also-a-voice-i-don-t-see-them-as/) [Pat Steir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-steir/) > [My black-and-white work is more of a celebration and the color work became more of a critique of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/my-black-and-white-work-is-more-of-a-celebration-and-the-color-work/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [The whole basis of working in black and white and grays became the basis of my understanding of color, because it's all about tone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-small/the-whole-basis-of-working-in-black-and-white-and-grays-became-the/) [David Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-small/) > [When people ask me about color in my work, I tend to say that it came from spending a lot of time in Panama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/when-people-ask-me-about-color-in-my-work-i-tend-to-say-that-it-came/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [The jellyfish doesn't actively move anywhere - it's just moved with the tides. 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I think I kind of have ADD, so it's good music for ADD because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-reedus/i-ve-been-into-sonic-youth-since-junior-high-school-i-think-i-kind-of/) [Norman Reedus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-reedus/) > [Initially we both did a bit of everything towards making each game but as we began to hire people and the business grew we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-oliver/initially-we-both-did-a-bit-of-everything-towards-making-each-game/) Andrew Oliver > [We go in there and we work on altering those ideas and in many cases go in different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-paul/we-go-in-there-and-we-work-on-altering-those-ideas-and-in-many-cases/) [Les Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-paul/) > [“Ever since the day of the mistake with my Match. I've never known which life is my true one. Even with the reassurances of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ever-since-the-day-of-the-mistake-with-my-match-i-ve-never-known/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [I've always liked the idea of being different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo/i-ve-always-liked-the-idea-of-being-different/) MO ## More by Jasper Johns > [Early on I was very involved with the notion of the painting as an object and tended to attack that idea from different directions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/early-on-i-was-very-involved-with-the-notion-of-the-painting-as-an/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Make something, a kind of object, which as it changes or falls apart (dies as it were) or increases in its parts (grows as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/make-something-a-kind-of-object-which-as-it-changes-or-falls-apart/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [In my early work, I tried to hide my personality, my psychological state, my emotions. This was partly due to my feelings about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/in-my-early-work-i-tried-to-hide-my-personality-my-psychological/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have no ideas about what the paintings imply about the world. I don't think that's a painter's business. He just paints paintings without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-no-ideas-about-what-the-paintings-imply-about-the-world-i-don/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I have meant what I have done. Or I have often meant what I have done. Or I have sometimes meant what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-have-meant-what-i-have-done-or-i-have-often-meant-what-i-have-done/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art as a fantasy has been one of my earliest experiences. I suppose a lot of my childhood was a fantasy that involved getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-as-a-fantasy-has-been-one-of-my-earliest-experiences-i-suppose-a/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I was raised in South Carolina; I wasn't aware of any art in South Carolina. There was a minor museum in Charleston, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-was-raised-in-south-carolina-i-wasn-t-aware-of-any-art-in-south/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Sometime during the mid-50s I said, 'I am an artist.' Before that, for many years, I had said, 'I'm going to be an artist.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/sometime-during-the-mid-50s-i-said-i-am-an-artist-before-that-for/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [That's what painting does; it organizes vision in a certain way or suggests that certain things be paid attention to and certain other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/that-s-what-painting-does-it-organizes-vision-in-a-certain-way-or/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I assumed that everything would lead to complete failure, but I decided that didn't matter – that would be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-assumed-that-everything-would-lead-to-complete-failure-but-i/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I tend to like things that already exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-tend-to-like-things-that-already-exist/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Bend color names which should be made of neon or copper tubing. Place an object on a surface - trace the object - then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/bend-color-names-which-should-be-made-of-neon-or-copper-tubing-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [My experience with life is that it's very fragmented. In one place certain kinds of thing occur, and in another place a different kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/my-experience-with-life-is-that-it-s-very-fragmented-in-one-place/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [I never wish for critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-never-wish-for-critics/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Art is either a complaint or appeasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-is-either-a-complaint-or-appeasement/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) [Explore all 80 Jasper Johns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) ## 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": "At first I had some idea that the absence of color made the work more physical. 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