Ways of Seeing by John Berger
John Berger is an artist and art critic who helps us think about the different ways art is ‘seen’ or perceived. When we view art museum paintings created in the last half of the twentieth century we see something different than a viewer of that time would have seen. Modern technology has given us color photography which is perhaps the modern substitute for oil paintings.
I suggest that a color photograph, just as with an oil painting, is seen differently the longer we allow ourselves to view the image.
When we view an oil painting the oil painting stays the same. If we glance at the oil painting as we walk by then we have one understanding of the painting. If we stop and gaze at the art though, the longer we observe the painting, the more time our eye has to understand the painting. Some of our perceptions of what we see are conscious and some are sub-conscious. Berger notes that what we see is a “function of habit and convention” (BBC Episode 2).
Our perception changes when we give ourselves a chance to quietly study a painting. When we give ourselves time to view and think about what we are seeing, we can recognize how our habits and our contemporary culture are leading us to a particular assessment of the piece of art whether it is a painting or color photography. Then we are able to give ourselves a chance to discern how we feel about a painting based on what we see and on our own personal thoughts as we try to shrug off other influences.
Berger wrote that “According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome, the social presence of a woman is different in kind from that of a man” (p. 45). When we compare compositions of oil paintings with mythological themes we can see that color photography, especially in advertising mimics the same themes and even the same composition.
In Episode 2, “Women in Art” Berger starts by noting that men look at women and women look at themselves in order to see what men see (Ways of Seeing). He then offers an argument that is very eye-opening on how men and women are seen differently based on gender; and how this is not a new phenomena. This is one example of how he invites us to think about what we are ‘really’ seeing when we look at an image.
A glance at a painting or photograph gives us only a small idea of what is being ‘said.’ If we give our eye enough time to look we can perceive a different message; with more time we can analyze our own perceptions and why we have those particular perceptions. When we give ourselves time we can think about how the image relates to history. The more we think about what we are seeing the closer we will come to our own ideas and thoughts about an image.
References
Dibbs, M. (Producer). (1972-BBC) Ways of Seeing. Episode 2, Women in Art BBC Television Series. London, England. Retrieved from http://ubu.com/film/berger_seeing2.html Web.
Berger, J. (1972). Berger’s Ways of Seeing. Based on the BBC television series with John Berger. London, England: Penguin Group. Print.
