"in every created thing, whether it is alive or whether it is what we usually call inanimate, there is an attempt to communicate, even among the totally silent. there is a question being asked, a different question for every entity, which for the most part will never be put into words, even by those who can speak. it is asked incessantly, most of the time however hardly noticeably, even faintly, like a church bell heard across meadows and enclosures. best for the painter, once having looked, to shut his eyes, his physical eyes though not those of the spirit, so that he may hear it more distinctly. you must have listened for it, hardenberg, for fraulein sophie's question, you must have strained to make it out, even though, as i think very probable, she does not know herself what it is."

"i am trying to understand you."

"i could not hear her question, and so i could not paint."

-- from penelope fitzgerald's the blue flower