--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Through a portrait, we can potentially…" description: "\"Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ca/joyce-tenneson-23149_connections_through-a-portrait-we-can-potentially-se_3201302.jpg" --- # Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything… ![“Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. I have dedicated my life and creative energy to capturing these transcendent moments in which a connection is made between the subject, the…” quote by Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ca/joyce-tenneson-23149_connections_through-a-portrait-we-can-potentially-se_3201302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ca/joyce-tenneson-23149_connections_through-a-portrait-we-can-potentially-se_3201302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ca/joyce-tenneson-23149_connections_through-a-portrait-we-can-potentially-se_3201302.jpg) > “Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. I have dedicated my life and creative energy to capturing these transcendent moments in which a connection is made between the subject, the photographer, and the viewer.” [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Portraits reveal a subject’s history, depth, and a shared human essence, linking photographer, subject, and viewer. **In simple terms:** Portraits show a person’s story and universal connection. Key Takeaway Capture moments that connect people. Themes art humanity connection memory identity Mood reflective intimate Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - personal commissions - family portraits - documentary projects Key Concepts portraiture transcendence visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does a portrait change your view of a person? - What universal qualities do you see in all faces? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be subjective, risking misrepresentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-energy/) [Dedicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dedicated/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Portrait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait/) [Portrait Potentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portrait-potentially-5944432/) [Portraits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portraits/) [Primal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primal/) [Subject Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-photographer-5944433/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Transcendent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendent/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [Universal Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-presence-1768388/) [Viewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewers/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that there is a universal presence that is the kind of magical undercurrent in life that we all feel and is connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-rae-mayo/i-believe-that-there-is-a-universal-presence-that-is-the-kind-of/) [Miranda Rae Mayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-rae-mayo/) > [“business as the only force in today’s world that’s got it all: a universal presence, an ability to get things done quickly and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-visser/business-as-the-only-force-in-today-s-world-that-s-got-it-all-a/) [Wayne Visser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-visser/) > [When you make the U-turn to the Universal Presence and apply the Universal practices and principles, your life is changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/when-you-make-the-u-turn-to-the-universal-presence-and-apply-the/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [When all is said and done, what constitutes the impregnable superiority of Christianity over all other types of Faith is that it is ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/when-all-is-said-and-done-what-constitutes-the-impregnable/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. And He is no strange or foreign God, but the familiar Father of our Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-universal-presence-is-a-fact-god-is-here-and-he-is-no-strange-or/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I believe that children long for form just as grownups do, and that it releases rather than cramps creative energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-believe-that-children-long-for-form-just-as-grownups-do-and-that-it/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [“What is it that teaching kills? The juice, the sap - the substance of revelation: by making even the insoluble questions & multiple possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/what-is-it-that-teaching-kills-the-juice-the-sap-the-substance-of/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Barcelona is an open and multicultural city. It's brimming with a very special creative energy. If you pay attention, you may be easily inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia/barcelona-is-an-open-and-multicultural-city-it-s-brimming-with-a-very/) [Rosalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia/) > [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [The real challenge in doing a TV show is in what I would call the maintenance energy. You take that creative energy and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carter/the-real-challenge-in-doing-a-tv-show-is-in-what-i-would-call-the/) [Chris Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carter/) > [I'm a terrible cook, but if I could cook, I would see that in art as well, it's how much creative energy you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/i-m-a-terrible-cook-but-if-i-could-cook-i-would-see-that-in-art-as/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [We wasted a lot of creative energy in that immediate post colonial era, when there was a struggle between, you know, the Cold War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/we-wasted-a-lot-of-creative-energy-in-that-immediate-post-colonial/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I get my most creative energy after a show, so I love to go back to the hotel and compose new material. I generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-get-my-most-creative-energy-after-a-show-so-i-love-to-go-back-to/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) ## More by Joyce Tenneson > [Michaelangelo said the mirror is our greatest teacher. My use of mirrors in my work helps me uncover psychic layers. Often, the face is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/michaelangelo-said-the-mirror-is-our-greatest-teacher-my-use-of/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [My early self-portraits appeared effortlessly and seemed like equivalents for my deeper emotions. Many critics remarked that the images had an almost other-worldly haunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/my-early-self-portraits-appeared-effortlessly-and-seemed-like/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [My whole artistic life has been devoted to battling myself and my ability to externalize my deepest emotions. As I have gotten older, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/my-whole-artistic-life-has-been-devoted-to-battling-myself-and-my/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Find the one thing you’re good at and FOCUS on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/find-the-one-thing-you-re-good-at-and-focus-on-it/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [If I am lucky, something new and inexplicable often appears in front of my lens. I am always surprised by the mystery of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/if-i-am-lucky-something-new-and-inexplicable-often-appears-in-front/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Photographing these flowers has made me see the world differently. It was as if I had lifted a secret veil from a subject I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/photographing-these-flowers-has-made-me-see-the-world-differently-it/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I found that I wanted to be best friends with almost all the women I interviewed because they had been through something. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-found-that-i-wanted-to-be-best-friends-with-almost-all-the-women-i/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [If I had to pick a single word to describe what my pictures are all about, I would say 'secrets.' As a child I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/if-i-had-to-pick-a-single-word-to-describe-what-my-pictures-are-all/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I would never censor something to please someone. I don't play games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-would-never-censor-something-to-please-someone-i-don-t-play-games/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [The people I work with, the people I photograph, become a kind of family for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/the-people-i-work-with-the-people-i-photograph-become-a-kind-of/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I never chased after any particular school, never really had mentors; I really just did the work that was true to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-never-chased-after-any-particular-school-never-really-had-mentors-i/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I have the same themes over and over again. How I'm saying it keeps changing or growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-have-the-same-themes-over-and-over-again-how-i-m-saying-it-keeps/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I want to allow others to reveal and celebrate aspects of themselves that are usually hidden. My camera is a witness. It holds a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-want-to-allow-others-to-reveal-and-celebrate-aspects-of-themselves/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Over the years I have photographed thousands of people. I have never stopped being curious and trying to discover new worlds. I have used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/over-the-years-i-have-photographed-thousands-of-people-i-have-never/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [I think of my work as very polarizing; either people really do like it and are touched by it or they really don't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-think-of-my-work-as-very-polarizing-either-people-really-do-like-it/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) [Explore all 26 Joyce Tenneson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) ## More Connections quotes > [I guess at it's very core love is connection that just makes so much sense you wonder how you used to live before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-stone/i-guess-at-it-s-very-core-love-is-connection-that-just-makes-so-much/) [Benjamin Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-stone/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I wouldn't want to play a normal princess who always walks around in nice dresses. I never had a connection to it when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/i-wouldn-t-want-to-play-a-normal-princess-who-always-walks-around-in/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [If our homes should provide anything, they should provide a sense of who we are and how we got here, a sense of connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-conran/if-our-homes-should-provide-anything-they-should-provide-a-sense-of/) [Terence Conran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-conran/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I love using the latest technologies to make life more efficient, but I don't want to advocate that technology replaces the need to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-webb/i-love-using-the-latest-technologies-to-make-life-more-efficient-but/) [Maynard Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-webb/) > [Synchronicity reveals the meaningful connections between the subjective and objective world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/synchronicity-reveals-the-meaningful-connections-between-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Half of the pleasure of painting and feeling the joy of the creative act is sharing it with others and the feeling of connection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-genn/half-of-the-pleasure-of-painting-and-feeling-the-joy-of-the-creative/) [Sara Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-genn/) > [On the road, I try to maintain my connections with friends and family as much as I possibly can. That keeps me pretty grounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-scaggs/on-the-road-i-try-to-maintain-my-connections-with-friends-and-family/) [Noelle Scaggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-scaggs/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [I'm uninterested in superheroes. I am only interested in real stories, real people, real connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-m-uninterested-in-superheroes-i-am-only-interested-in-real-stories/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Souls love. That’s what souls do. Egos don’t, but souls do. Become a soul, look around, and you’ll be amazed-all the beings around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/souls-love-that-s-what-souls-do-egos-don-t-but-souls-do-become-a-soul/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) [Browse all 2,951 Connections quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Through a portrait, we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of a person's life, as well as evidence of a primal universal presence. 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