--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Long since, the standard way of…" description: "\"“Long since, the standard way of understanding surface has been as an abstract and undifferentiated plane that functions above all to veil or delimit a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4f/sylvia-lavin-101746_abstraction_long-since-the-standard-way-of-understan_2952244.jpg" --- # Long since, the standard way of understanding surface has… ![“Long since, the standard way of understanding surface has been as an abstract and undifferentiated plane that functions above all to veil or delimit a depth. From the face that mirrors the soul, to the magic writing tablet that reveals subconscious drives, the surface, any surface, all surfaces…” quote by Sylvia Lavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4f/sylvia-lavin-101746_abstraction_long-since-the-standard-way-of-understan_2952244.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4f/sylvia-lavin-101746_abstraction_long-since-the-standard-way-of-understan_2952244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4f/sylvia-lavin-101746_abstraction_long-since-the-standard-way-of-understan_2952244.jpg) > ““Long since, the standard way of understanding surface has been as an abstract and undifferentiated plane that functions above all to veil or delimit a depth. From the face that mirrors the soul, to the magic writing tablet that reveals subconscious drives, the surface, any surface, all surfaces, have been considered worthy of attention insofar as they are the top layer, the outermost skin, the merely visible envelope of more particularized and specific under or inner depths.”” Sylvia Lavin ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surfaces have been viewed as simple, outer layers, but they can reveal deeper subconscious drives and meanings when examined closely. **In simple terms:** Surfaces hide deeper meanings. Key Takeaway Explore beyond superficial appearances. Themes philosophy psychology surface depth perception Mood analytical thoughtful Type Abstraction:1 Mirror:0 Motivation:0 Surface:1 Writing:0 Understanding Surface:0 Surface Surface:0 Surface Surfaces:0 Surface Abstract:0 When to use this quote - art critique - personal introspection - academic research Key Concepts symbolic analysis inner reflection critical observation Questions to Reflect On - What does a surface reveal about you? - How can you look deeper? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on surface can miss nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Photography has an amazing ability to capture the fine detail of surface textures. 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Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) ## More by Sylvia Lavin > [“Architecture’s most kissable aspect is its surface. Space is hard to get a hold on. Structure has historically been inadequately pliant. Geometry—well, who really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-lavin/architecture-s-most-kissable-aspect-is-its-surface-space-is-hard-to/) Sylvia Lavin Explore all 2 Sylvia Lavin quotes ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. 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Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. 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Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. 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