--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The visible is how we orient ourselves…" description: "\"The visible is how we orient ourselves. It remains our principal source of information about the world. Painting reminds us of what is absent. What we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/squeak-carnwath-48875_absent_the-visible-is-how-we-orient-ourselves-i_2621318.jpg" --- # The visible is how we orient ourselves. It remains our… ![“The visible is how we orient ourselves. It remains our principal source of information about the world. Painting reminds us of what is absent. What we don't see anymore.” quote by Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/squeak-carnwath-48875_absent_the-visible-is-how-we-orient-ourselves-i_2621318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/squeak-carnwath-48875_absent_the-visible-is-how-we-orient-ourselves-i_2621318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adc/squeak-carnwath-48875_absent_the-visible-is-how-we-orient-ourselves-i_2621318.jpg) > “The visible is how we orient ourselves. It remains our principal source of information about the world. Painting reminds us of what is absent. What we don't see anymore.” [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our perception shapes reality; art reveals what is missing and unseen. **In simple terms:** Seeing defines understanding. Key Takeaway Notice what’s absent. Themes perception art awareness Mood contemplative inquisitive artistic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - museum visits - creative practice - mindful observation Key Concepts visual literacy existential inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What do you overlook in daily life? - How can art teach you about emptiness? A Different Perspective People may ignore absence, missing deeper truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The world we see is a painting colored by our fears and desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/the-world-we-see-is-a-painting-colored-by-our-fears-and-desires/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [Nothing in the whole world is of interest to me but my painting and my flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/nothing-in-the-whole-world-is-of-interest-to-me-but-my-painting-and/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [“It is possible that the artists are sane and the world they are painting is crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-zinsser/it-is-possible-that-the-artists-are-sane-and-the-world-they-are/) [William Zinsser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-zinsser/) > [I had a growing feeling that most of the best art of the world in painting and sculpture had been done, and that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-outerbridge/i-had-a-growing-feeling-that-most-of-the-best-art-of-the-world-in/) [Paul Outerbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-outerbridge/) > [I know the world that I am painting is not a reality. It is a whim, an entertainment to provoke something in people, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walker/i-know-the-world-that-i-am-painting-is-not-a-reality-it-is-a-whim-an/) [Tim Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walker/) > [I think everyone on the planet is a fan of a painting because everyone is a fan of visual stimulation, but I've had freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-avett/i-think-everyone-on-the-planet-is-a-fan-of-a-painting-because/) [Scott Avett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-avett/) > [“And eventually-though neither of us knew it yet-we'd end up here, in this place, within and without the world of the painting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baker-kline/and-eventually-though-neither-of-us-knew-it-yet-we-d-end-up-here-in/) [Christina Baker Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baker-kline/) > [When I started working at Pictures On Walls, I'd been hanging out with Banksy for a few years travelling around the world together painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/when-i-started-working-at-pictures-on-walls-i-d-been-hanging-out-with/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [The world of painting has nothing to do with the art world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caio-fonseca/the-world-of-painting-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-art-world/) [Caio Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caio-fonseca/) > [I'd like to get all the colors in the world into one painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-de-kooning/i-d-like-to-get-all-the-colors-in-the-world-into-one-painting/) [Willem de Kooning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-de-kooning/) > [I studied the Quran a great deal. I came away from that study with the conviction that by and large there have been few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-studied-the-quran-a-great-deal-i-came-away-from-that-study-with-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [In a general way, the literature of the twentieth century is essentially psychological; and psychology consists of describing states of the soul by displaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/in-a-general-way-the-literature-of-the-twentieth-century-is/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Squeak Carnwath > [When you're ambitious, it's really hard to be supportive of other people. But it's our job to try, even though one gets jealous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/when-you-re-ambitious-it-s-really-hard-to-be-supportive-of-other/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [Painting is an investigation of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/painting-is-an-investigation-of-being/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [It is not the job of art to mirror. Images reflected in a mirror appear to us in reverse. An artist's responsibility is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/it-is-not-the-job-of-art-to-mirror-images-reflected-in-a-mirror/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [Painting, like water, takes any form. Paint is a film of pigment on a plane. It is not real in the way that gravity-bound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/painting-like-water-takes-any-form-paint-is-a-film-of-pigment-on-a/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [Painting comes to reality through illusion. An illusion that allows us to make a leap of faith; to believe. To believe in a blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/painting-comes-to-reality-through-illusion-an-illusion-that-allows-us/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [I want painting to be my flashlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/i-want-painting-to-be-my-flashlight/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) > [Painting is a kind of call and response. During the act of painting one is listening, paying attention to a self, a voice simultaneously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/squeak-carnwath/painting-is-a-kind-of-call-and-response-during-the-act-of-painting/) [Squeak Carnwath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) [Explore all 8 Squeak Carnwath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/squeak-carnwath/) ## More Absent quotes > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. 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They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The interesting thing about an absent father is, for a child, you don't know he's absent. You just think he's... tardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-majors/the-interesting-thing-about-an-absent-father-is-for-a-child-you-don-t/) [Jonathan Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-majors/) > [For my own part, I would rather be in company with a dead man than with an absent one; for if the dead man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-own-part-i-would-rather-be-in-company-with-a-dead-man-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If measure and symmetry are absent from any composition in any degree, ruin awaits both the ingredients and the composition... Measure and symmetry are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-measure-and-symmetry-are-absent-from-any-composition-in-any-degree/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“You may not appreciate the presence of good health, but you will definitely regret the absence of good health, because health is happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-may-not-appreciate-the-presence-of-good-health-but-you-will/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [... if we are ashamed to imitate our Lord's sufferings, which He endured for us, and to suffer as He suffered, it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/symeon-the-new-theologian/if-we-are-ashamed-to-imitate-our-lord-s-sufferings-which-he-endured/) [Symeon the New Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/symeon-the-new-theologian/) > [It's Simon, he's missing." Ahh." said Magnus delicately "Missing what exactly?" Missing!" Jace repeated "As in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-simon-he-s-missing-ahh-said-magnus-delicately-missing-what/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/anger-clearly-has-its-proper-place-at-work-which-is-neither-wholly/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Religion has always been a matter of community building; a matter of building precisely those relations of compassion, fellow feeling and - I dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/religion-has-always-been-a-matter-of-community-building-a-matter-of/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [A FRIEND IS A PERSON . . . With whom you can be sincere. . . . To whom you never need to defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-armand-montapert/a-friend-is-a-person-with-whom-you-can-be-sincere-to-whom-you-never/) [Alfred Armand Montapert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-armand-montapert/) > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) Browse all 490 Absent quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The visible is how we orient ourselves. It remains our principal source of information about the world. Painting reminds us of what is absent. 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