J O H N B E R G E R // W A Y S O F S E E I N G

b a s e d o n : 'Ways of Seeing' by John Berger

Seeing comes before words

a child sees before it speaks
seeing establishes our place in the surrounding world

the way we see is affected by our knowledge
seeing can never be completely covered by words (there's always something indescribable)
we only see what we look at

looking is a choice
we always look at the relation between ourselves and our surroundings

seeing and being seen form a dialogue that we constantly try to put into words
an image is a reproduced sight, an appearance detached from the time and place it was made in/for

everyone embodies a way of seeing
even photographs are a careful selection of the photographer's sight

a photographer's way of seeing is reflected in his choice of subject

our perception and understanding of an image in turn is based on our personal knowledge and experience

assumptions concerning

Beauty
Truth
Genius
Civilisation
Form
Status
Taste, etc.

art is the best way to learn about history because it allows a somewhat personal placement in it to view and learn
we accept what we see in images as far as it corresponds with our own observation of people, gestures, faces, institutions

it is not a painter's/photographer's skill to 'seduce' the viewer

Mystification is the process of explaining away what might otherwise be evident

in order to avoid it, one must examine the relation between present and past; if one can see the present clearly, one shall ask the right questions for the past

we see art like it has never been seen before; our perception is different

e.g. perspective when it was first used consciously it was called 'reality'

the camera momentarily captured appearances and in that destroyed the idea that pictures were timeless

what you see is relative to your position in time and space: where you were when

paintings' perspectives suggested the viewer as the centre, photos revealed that there was no such thing

it changed the way men saw, which, in turn, was reflected in newer paintings
it has also changed the way men see art that had been done before the invention of the camera

when a painting is reproduced by a camera and instead of being viewed in its designated locations is looked at in a different surrounding its meaning multiplies and fragments into many different meanings

it is no longer what the image shows that strikes 'one as unique' -> its first meaning is no longer to be found in what it says but what it is
I definitely see truth in this particularly, it reminds me of the time I saw Van Gogh's Night Café and I found I was more excited about having seen it than the painting itself
its impressiveness increases with the market value (if it's worth $$$, it is a better piece of art)
Gursky's photograph 'The Rhine'

museums: who goes closely relates to privileged education; the majority feels the paintings convey some kind of holy relics that excludes them

the mystery of the rich, who they believe the art belongs to

'The meaning of paintings is no longer attached to them; their meaning becomes transmittable', it becomes information that can be accepted or ignored
'To whom does the meaning of the art of the past properly belong? To those who can apply it to their own lives, or to a cultural hierarchy of relic specialists?'
the art of the past no longer exists, it has lost its authority. Now there's a language of images; important is who uses that language and for what purpose

the social presence of a woman is different from that of a man

a man's presence is all about the promise of power, which he embodies (may be physical, moral, temperamental, economic, social, sexual) and its object is always exterior to the man
a woman's presence expresses her own attitude to herself, what can and cannot be done to her (may manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste)

a woman is born into the keeping of men

'from earliest childhood she has been taught and persuaded to survey herself'
the thought of the surveyor (male) and the surveyed (female) is always part of her identity
how she appears to men is of crucial importance to her ('success of her life')

men survey women before treating them

women demonstrate to others how they would like to be treated through all of her actions
women turn themselves into 'an object of vision: a sight'

'Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.'
'To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognised for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude.'
women's representation (e.g. in oil paintings) when naked is often to appeal to a spectators (presumably male) sexuality

'the woman's sexual passion needs to be minimised'
a facial expression of women are often 'responding with calculated charm to the man whom she imagines looking at her - although she doesn't know him.'
women offer up their femininity as the surveyed

exceptions are paintings of loved women, in which the presence of their actual lover is so strong that it leaves no room for a spectator

Unknown

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor Aenean massa.Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor Aenean massa.