--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I keep trying to find ways to shift the…" description: "\"I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention away from the object they are looking at and toward their own perceptual process in relation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg" --- # I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention… ![“I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention away from the object they are looking at and toward their own perceptual process in relation to that object. The question for me always is: how can I make you aware of your own activity of looking, instead of losing your attention to…” quote by Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg) > “I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention away from the object they are looking at and toward their own perceptual process in relation to that object. The question for me always is: how can I make you aware of your own activity of looking, instead of losing your attention to thoughts about what it is that you are looking at?” [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shift focus from objects to the act of seeing, making viewers aware of their own perception. **In simple terms:** Make viewers notice how they look, not just what they see. Key Takeaway Design experiences that reveal the viewer’s perceptual process. Themes perception awareness visual art mindfulness Mood introspective inspirational Type artistic educational When to use this quote - gallery installations - interactive media - educational workshops - mindfulness training Key Concepts metacognition visual attention observer effect Questions to Reflect On - How can art expose your seeing habits? - What does noticing perception change? A Different Perspective Viewers may miss self‑awareness without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Viewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewers/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to write a story that demanded the viewer's attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kneale/i-wanted-to-write-a-story-that-demanded-the-viewer-s-attention/) [Nigel Kneale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kneale/) > [Pay attention to how your thoughts change when you're faced with negative people. The more time you spend dreading, fretting, worrying, and rehashing, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/pay-attention-to-how-your-thoughts-change-when-you-re-faced-with/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [Once you realize that will power is just a matter of learning how to control your attention and thoughts, you can really begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mischel/once-you-realize-that-will-power-is-just-a-matter-of-learning-how-to/) [Walter Mischel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mischel/) > [In your quiet moments, what do you think about? How far youve come, or how far you have to go? Your strengths, or your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsh/in-your-quiet-moments-what-do-you-think-about-how-far-youve-come-or/) [Harsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsh/) > [“Why would you pay attention to your own thoughts, if you knew you were trying to manipulate yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/why-would-you-pay-attention-to-your-own-thoughts-if-you-knew-you-were/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“If you feel insecure or unhappy, you will be drawn to or create someone who may treat you poorly. Your thoughts, beliefs and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-anthony-gibbs/if-you-feel-insecure-or-unhappy-you-will-be-drawn-to-or-create/) [Russell Anthony Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-anthony-gibbs/) > [“God wants all man's attention, thoughts and focus to be on Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/god-wants-all-man-s-attention-thoughts-and-focus-to-be-on-him/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [“Pay attention to your thoughts and your words, because they are responding with similar events”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melki-rish/pay-attention-to-your-thoughts-and-your-words-because-they-are/) Melki Rish > [Our eyes are not viewers, they're also projectors that are running a second story over the picture that we see in front of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/our-eyes-are-not-viewers-they-re-also-projectors-that-are-running-a/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [The one thing that seems to be consistent through all my work that I like, and I experimented a lot, is the viewer is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-misrach/the-one-thing-that-seems-to-be-consistent-through-all-my-work-that-i/) [Richard Misrach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-misrach/) > [I want viewers to see that everything is connected, even the little guys like pollinators and flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/i-want-viewers-to-see-that-everything-is-connected-even-the-little/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [I've taken my cue from people here and from viewers, especially survivors-who said, 'When it's time to literally flip your wig, you'll know.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-roberts/i-ve-taken-my-cue-from-people-here-and-from-viewers-especially/) [Robin Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-roberts/) > [I want the paintings to take me or the viewer out somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-want-the-paintings-to-take-me-or-the-viewer-out-somewhere-else/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More by Uta Barth > [We all expect photographs to be a picture of something. We assume that the photographer observed a place, a person, an event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/we-all-expect-photographs-to-be-a-picture-of-something-we-assume-that/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [I have never been interested in making a photograph that describes what the world I live in looks like, but I am interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-have-never-been-interested-in-making-a-photograph-that-describes/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [When I was sixteen and knew nothing about art, I sat through almost six hours of Andy Warhol’s Empire. I did not understand it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/when-i-was-sixteen-and-knew-nothing-about-art-i-sat-through-almost/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [Specificity of time and place drop away and one starts to think about the picture, as much as what it is of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/specificity-of-time-and-place-drop-away-and-one-starts-to-think-about/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [I am interested in the conventions of picture-making, in the desire to picture the world and in our relationship, our continual love for and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-am-interested-in-the-conventions-of-picture-making-in-the-desire-to/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [Everything is pointing to one's own activity of looking, to an awareness and sort of hyper-consciousness of visual perception. The only way I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/everything-is-pointing-to-one-s-own-activity-of-looking-to-an/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) > [My work never directly addresses the literal subject matter of the photograph, but attempts to ask questions about vision itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/my-work-never-directly-addresses-the-literal-subject-matter-of-the/) [Uta Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) [Explore all 8 Uta Barth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention away from the object they are looking at and toward their own perceptual process in relation to that object. The question for me always is: how can I make you aware of your own activity of looking, instead of losing your attention to thoughts about what it is that you are looking at?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Uta Barth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the-viewer-s-attention-away-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the-viewer-s-attention-away-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/879/uta-barth-49164_activity_i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the_804068.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I keep trying to find ways to shift the viewer's attention away from the object they are looking at and…” — Uta Barth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Uta Barth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uta-barth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I keep trying to find ways...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the-viewer-s-attention-away-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uta-barth/i-keep-trying-to-find-ways-to-shift-the-viewer-s-attention-away-from/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```