QuoteProject
It is only when light is reduced that the pupil opens and feeling goes out of the eyes like touch.
James Turrell
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that one's perception and emotional awareness are heightened in the absence of overwhelming stimuli.

James Turrell's quote reflects on the relationship between light and perception, indicating that in darker conditions, our senses become more attuned to subtler feelings and experiences. The metaphor of the pupil opening signifies a deepening awareness and appreciation of the world, suggesting that often, clarity and understanding come from moments of reduced distraction.

Themes

LightPerceptionAwarenessFeelingArt

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in an art exhibition discussing the importance of light in visual art.

More from James Turrell

I wanted to deal with light directly rather than with paint.
James TurrellRead
I feel that I want to use light as this wonderful and magic elixir that we drink as Vitamin D through the skin - and I mean, we are literally light-eaters - to then affect the way that we see.
James TurrellRead
In many cases, if we knew what it would take, we might have thought twice about it, so it's often wonderful that we don't have hindsight.
James TurrellRead
There are different stages when you fly. The first stage is the dollhouse effect, seeing everything on Earth like it's a model. Suddenly, all of your concerns seem very small.
James TurrellRead
Space has a way of looking. It seems like it has a presence of vision. When you come into it, it is there, it’s been waiting for you.
James TurrellRead
I'm known as a light artist. But rather than be someone who depicted light, or painted light in some way, I wanted to have the work be light.
James TurrellRead

Similar quotes

We've come from the same history - 2000 years of persecution - we've just expressed our sufferings differently. Blacks developed the blues. Jews complained, we just never thought of putting it to music.
Jon StewartRead
Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed.
William BlakeRead
I like the quiet it takes to pursue an idea the way I pursued 'Hamilton,' but I couldn't write a book, because there's no applause at the end of writing a book.
Lin-Manuel MirandaRead
As you get older, you have different tools, and you learn to use photography differently.
Annie LeibovitzRead
There must be a story within him/her that wants to come out. That's the reason why 'Dil Chahta Hai,' 'Lagaan,' and 'Rang De Basanti' worked so well: Ashutosh, Farhan, and Rakesh had a story inside them. It's very important that the director should have the fire in the belly to tell the story.
Aamir KhanRead
It looks like the writer is telling you a story. What the writer is actually doing, however, is using words to evoke a series of micromemories from your own experience that inmix, join, and connect in your mind in an order the writer controls, so that, in effect, you have a sustained memory of something that never happened to you.
Samuel R. DelanyRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by James Turrell | QuoteProject