--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Emotion may be expressed, or the utter…" description: "\"Emotion may be expressed, or the utter lack of it may be expressed, but the only important fact is that of expression.\" — William Mortensen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/william-mortensen-63539_emotion_emotion-may-be-expressed-or-the-utter-la_1087911.jpg" --- # Emotion may be expressed, or the utter lack of it may be… ![“Emotion may be expressed, or the utter lack of it may be expressed, but the only important fact is that of expression.” quote by William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/william-mortensen-63539_emotion_emotion-may-be-expressed-or-the-utter-la_1087911.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/william-mortensen-63539_emotion_emotion-may-be-expressed-or-the-utter-la_1087911.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/910/william-mortensen-63539_emotion_emotion-may-be-expressed-or-the-utter-la_1087911.jpg) > “Emotion may be expressed, or the utter lack of it may be expressed, but the only important fact is that of expression.” [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expression, whether emotional or its, is the core of communication; the act of expressing matters most. **In simple terms:** Expression itself is vital. Key Takeaway Focus on the act of expressing. Themes communication expression artistry Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - acting - public speaking - visual arts - mindfulness practice Key Concepts nonverbal cues presence Questions to Reflect On - How do you convey meaning without words? - When is silence more powerful than speech? A Different Perspective Expression without meaning can be empty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Emotion Expressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion-expressed-2796474/) [Expressed Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressed-important-2796477/) [Expressed Utter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressed-utter-2796476/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Lack Expressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-expressed-2796473/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Utter Lack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utter-lack-2796475/) ## Related quotes > [In the arts the way in which an idea is rendered, and the manner in which it is expressed, is much more important than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-louis-david/in-the-arts-the-way-in-which-an-idea-is-rendered-and-the-manner-in/) [Jacques-Louis David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-louis-david/) > [“people’s social world; the emotion expressed is within their comfort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/people-s-social-world-the-emotion-expressed-is-within-their-comfort/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Things that are truly great need nothing from me, and to somehow think that they do speaks to my utter lack of greatness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/things-that-are-truly-great-need-nothing-from-me-and-to-somehow-think/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Even the illusion of love was preferable to the utter lack of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-milan/even-the-illusion-of-love-was-preferable-to-the-utter-lack-of-it/) [Courtney Milan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-milan/) > [Art is not emotion. Art is the medium in which emotion is expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-boulanger/art-is-not-emotion-art-is-the-medium-in-which-emotion-is-expressed/) [Nadia Boulanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-boulanger/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. 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Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. 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The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) ## More by William Mortensen > [If tone is granted to be subjected to control, why not line also, which has equal emotional significance? And if line, why not shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/if-tone-is-granted-to-be-subjected-to-control-why-not-line-also-which/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) > [Photography, like any other art, is a form of communication. The artist is not blowing bubbles for his own gratification, but is speaking a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/photography-like-any-other-art-is-a-form-of-communication-the-artist/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) > [Nature is an unpleasing, stupid, lumpy, blowsy wench.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/nature-is-an-unpleasing-stupid-lumpy-blowsy-wench/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) > [Thoughts and emotions cannot be photographed, despite the protestations of some mystically minded portraitists. 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