In John Berger's "Ways of Seeing," he discusses the mystification of art. Art tends to be a pleasure that one must interpret for themselves by getting the art to speak. Art is mystified, meaning that it is impossible to understand art and know its history without also understanding the present, and that whatever we see corresponds to our perspective and what we previously know about our art experiences. However, to demystify and interpret a meaning depends on what questions the painting is approached with in order to turn a silent painting into one that intrigues the viewer and entices conversation. When interpreting paintings, it is important that the silence is removed so that the viewer is no longer mystified by the silence and stillness and is able to successfully form a relationship with the artwork. Berger claims that the way to demystify and make these paintings speak is to learn to ask "the right questions of the past" (167). To experience this demystification for myself, I faced hundreds of paintings and began this process by choosing a painting by Edward Richard Miller, titled Sunbath. .
Sunbath shows a young woman in tranquility while deep in thought. This painting captures a lot of natural light, colorful gardens, and a contrasting violet and yellow color palette. This piece is roughly 3 feet by 3.5 feet, and has a lot of texture due to the oil paint that is used. The short diagonal brushstrokes are smeared together to form a picture of a woman glancing at her reflection through a handheld mirror while sitting at her vanity. Miller uses variations of .
color to portray different shades of light coming through the woman's window. For example, outside of the window is very light so there are many shades of yellow and white used to represent that, while the room that the woman is in is actually very dark. While I looked at the woman's reflection, I saw that the mirror was a very dark purple and black, indicating that the room behind her was dark.
Berger's "Ways of Seeing" VS. ... I do not agree with Berger's way of thinking throughout "Ways of Seeing". ... The art image below is of an F-4U Corsair from WWII painted by John Young. ... What he talks about in "Ways of Seeing", is nothing new. ... Berger states many things in "Ways of Seeing", but he never clearly states anything. ...
I am happy to say that I have a greater understanding of how Berger sees art, although I believe that his final argument in "Ways of Seeing" contradicts this, as demonstrated in And our faces, my heart, brief as photos. ... In "Ways of Seeing" Berger is much like the opaque window as he challenges his readers: "The idea of innocence faces two ways. ... So I arrive at the end of "Ways of Seeing" and although I have a greater understanding of his argument, I remain perplexed and frustrated. ... Matthew has authority over Berger, as he relates so closely to this painting in so many w...
Art criticism is a respected and also difficult field to master, but John Berger stands out as a recent example of someone who thrived in this profession. In the 1940's Berger began painting and later taught art classes, eventually publishing numerous essays critiquing various works and espousing his personal beliefs about how artwork should be viewed (John Berger Biography 1). ... He authored a book called "Ways of Seeing" in which he wrote about how art is mystified by the cultural elite, making it difficult for regular people to understand and appreciate masterpieces. ... Thi...
John Berger's "Ways of Seeing," examines the role of the female body in art. ... Berger's essay is still applicable today. ... Berger states that the actions of women in paintings "are not an expression of her own feelings; it is a sign of her submission to the owner's feelings or demands " (Berger 52). ... Berger does an excellent job explaining the role women had in art. ... Berger was not far off when he talked about women being objectified. ...
The writings of Berger were challenging, demanding, and troubling. ... One segment I would like to focus on is Berger's statement: "When we "see" a landscape, we situate ourselves in it. ... When we are prevented from seeing it, we are being deprived of the history which belongs to us"(108), and "When the camera reproduces a painting, it destroys the uniqueness of its image. ... Take for example the "Mona Lisa", sure, people see her in different ways. ... One tough part of the essay is when Berger suggested: "The compositional unity of a painting contributes fundamentally to the...
This film as well as the book Ways of Seeing, by John Berger, supports the idea that although change is inevitable with our ever-growing society, there are some things that were made old-fashioned to stay old-fashioned. ... Although he may expel his emotions into these letters as if they were his own, his job is ultimately setting him up for failure and solidifying one of Berger and company's theories in Ways of Seeing in which you have to see something before you believe it. ... Another piece of literature that displays similar ideas of transmogrification as the ones found in Her is John...
There are many ways of seeing. ... John Berger explores this concept in depth in the book Ways of Seeing. ... There is a clear emphasis on the many ways of seeing that different people have throughout his writing and how it pertains to the specific topic in discussion. ... The first is one of the many ways that people perceive the world. ...
I chose Rembrandt's painting titled The Music Party for my paper because I had to choose an older painting. This piece isn't a painting that I would normally choose because it doesn't interest me. I am more interested in paintings with many colors and shapes rather than pictures of people in hi...
In order to establish why John Berger, in his essay "Understanding a Photograph- came to the conclusion that photography is not a fine art (a conclusion I though roughly disagree with) we need to look at the questions he asked himself and those he didn't - in other words the contexts in which he considered the primary question. ... I think most people would agree with these three elements but John Berger added other considerations to these three. ... At that time, Berger was already a Marxist. ... It is useful to look at Berger's other essays about art rather than photography, n...
