#JOHN BERGER WAYS OF SEEING PERSPECTIVE SERIES#

Published in 1981, this philosophical investigation into the subject of our reality by Baudrillard, a French sociologist is prophetic. To understand this better, I would recommend you read Jean BaudrillardвЂ™s Simulacra and Simulation. A world in which the key to unlocking meaning is constantly modifying itself, Berger presented accessibility through a method of decoding our вЂњconstructedвЂќ reality. How? As it attempts to unpack a world that is filled with hidden and layered meaning, through images and art.

#JOHN BERGER WAYS OF SEEING PERSPECTIVE SERIES#

Berger, through the BBC TV series and the book, tells us a story of self that unifies us. It remains the touchstone for whether what is being said is of genuine value or just smoke-and-mirrors by the intellectual elite.

Ways of Seeing continues to influence art criticism. In addition, our conflict as the viewer or the inhabitor of this world with so much to see, Berger believed, вЂњThe relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.вЂќ Berger and Baudrillard The child looks and recognises before it can speakвЂќ, holds great import in the way we understand the world. What are their stories? For Berger вЂ“ вЂњseeing comes before words. To see the art beyond the technique and skill, but more to who is subject, and who is looking at the art. The reason I highlight this is because BergerвЂ™s entire thrust to investigate art theory and art-criticism was based around looking to the individual and personal narratives. From modernism to postmodernism, as we define the term today вЂ“ a pastiche, symbols and their ever-changing meaning, a reference within a reference, non-linear narratives, placing the individual experience over ideas of generalised over-arching, all-encompassing вЂњtruthsвЂќ. We must take into account that John Berger and this book вЂ“ Ways of Seeing, came at a time when the political and aesthetic theory was just on the cusp of change. John Berger, on the cusp of Postmodernism But before we go further into Ways of Seeing we must address the question, where do BergerвЂ™s thoughts and approach fit in the context of 1972. Who decides the beginning, middle and end вЂ“ us, as readers. The book, much like BergerвЂ™s approach to all things creative, is one that allows us to approach it from any point. But I find his observations to be valid across a variety of platforms of expression and experience today. Of course Berger, in the book, is talking specifically with regards to advertising.

Re-read the above excerpt, but now with the Kardashians, Youtube, social-media and our constant drive to participate in acquiring power through likes, follows and retweets. [вЂ¦it is being achieved by imposing a false standard of what is and what is not desirable.вЂќ John Berger, Ways of Seeing, Pg 153-154 Publicity is the life of this culture вЂ“ in so far as without publicity capitalism could not survive вЂ“ and at the same time publicity is its dream. No other kind of hope or satisfaction or pleasure can any longer be envisaged within the culture of capitalism. All hopes are gathered together, made homogenous, simplified, so that they become the intense yet vague, magical yet repeatable promise offered in every purchase. All other human faculties or needs are made subsidiary to this power. It recognises nothing except the power to acquire.

But its offer is as narrow as its references are wide. [Publicity exerts an enormous influence and is a political phenomenon of great importance. And here is one of the reasons why, Berger states, For me, this book is so very relevant вЂ“ almost 40 years later. Just presenting this excerpt as a way for you to dive deep into the book. DonвЂ™t worry, IвЂ™m not giving the game away. Today, I would like to begin by quoting the end of the book. It truly is, as Berger acknowledges himself, a work that should be attributed to Berger, Dobbs, the graphic artist Richard Hollis, and the creative minds of Sven Bomberg and Chris Fox. Title: вЂWays of SeeingвЂ™ Author: John BergerД«ased on a four-part television series (for BBC) envisioned and executed by Berger and Mike Dobbs, the book came about as an add-on in the same year. Book 3 of 45 Days of Book Stories STATS OF THE BOOK

John berger ways of seeing perspective