Zach Porterfield Introduction to Media‚ Society‚ and the Arts John Berger’s Ways of Seeing Response John Berger has shown how to take any image‚ whether it is a painting‚ an advertisement‚ or a picture‚ and dissect it into a branching‚ almost fractal‚ network of deeper meanings. He has done this by changing observational techniques of looking at the image; by focusing in on specific areas within the image to reveal scenes within the overall scene or by controlling the arrangement in which
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In John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing‚” his use of artist jargon makes it difficult for the casual reader to comprehend a lot of the points he makes. A section that demonstrates this can be found in the first full paragraph on page 145. Berger uses phrases such as “compositional unity” and “harmonious fusion” when analyzing the paintings Regents of the Old Men’s Alms House and Regentesses of the Old Men’s Alms House. His language can be understood by different readers in drastically different ways‚ which
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Analysis Revision 15 April 2013 John Berger’s Ways of Seeing: Summary Analysis In his article‚ “Ways of Seeing” (1972)‚ John Berger analyzes different methods of being able to see or look at both people and objects in the world. He tells his audience how the invention of technology has affected the way people see and portray art and by means of mystification‚ which is the process of explaining away which is evident. He explains how seeing affects the way we learn throughout our life and how
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Mystification According to McNeil‚ mystification is a technique used by teachers who are not fully informed on the topic in which they are instructed to teach. Teachers often use mystification when teaching a complex‚ or controversial topic. They mystify the topic by making it appear very important‚ but unknowable‚ thus leaving the student with a sense of wonder‚ or mystery. Mystification does count as a form of knowledge control because mystification makes it impossible for a student to
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“Ways of Seeing” First Paper Assignment: Visual Analysis Essay by Dang Mai Trang September 2012 Buddhism is one of the oldest and major world religions with many different phases‚ numerous sects and layers of art. Buddhism began in India around the 6th century BCE. The oldest Buddhist religious monuments are believed to be stupas in India‚ which contain Buddha’s relics after his parinirvana. One of them is the Bharhut stupa from the 1st century BCE. It contains various stories carved on large
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John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” is a short commentary that seems to be about how different classes of people perceive art‚ how its meaning has changed through the ages‚ and how the introduction of technology has affected it. Berger seems to be an extremely controversial art critic‚ based off opinions of him that range from “stimulating” to “preposterous”. He has been praised numerous times‚ yet condemned just as much. His writings can seem extremely complex and difficult‚ even cryptic at times; but
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In his first essay of Ways of Seeing‚ John Berger claims that all power‚ authority‚ and meaning that was once held by an original work of art has been lost through the mass reproduction of these works that has occurred in recent years. He writes of an entirely bogus religiosity (116-117) that surrounds these art objects and that the meaning of the original work no longer lies in what it uniquely says but in what it uniquely is (117). He claims that because of reproduction‚ the art of the past no
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a group of people can look at the same image‚ or object‚ and describe it differently. Which leads to Berger’s idea‚ in Ways of Seeing‚ that how we see things is subjective‚ it is rather determined by what we know‚ or what we believe (141). Our past experiences also have a role in how we see things‚ recognize them‚ and then relate to them. Berger starts with the idea that seeing comes before words‚ because in our human nature‚ we see before we use words. Then comes the realization that as we can see
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August 2012 A Different View In his essay‚ “Ways of Seeing”‚ John Berger discusses how women are seen differently then men. He describes that a woman views herself in two ways‚ as the surveyed and as the surveyor (Berger 4). Women are always aware of how they look as well as how others see her‚ especially men. Berger states that men act and women appear‚ simplifying the idea that a woman’s actions depict how a man treats her (Berger 5). Berger uses European paintings to prove his argument.
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Liberty Leading the People “Every image embodies a way of seeing‚ our perception or appreciation of an image depends also upon our own way of seeing” (Berger 142). In other words‚ Berger is saying if ten people look at the same piece of art each interpretation is going to be just as unique and different as the person looking at it. Based on one’s knowledge of the artist‚ time period‚ and the painting itself gives a whole different perspective than someone who doesn’t know any of the history. Also
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