Ways of Seeing

“What the modern means of reproduction have done is to destroy the authority of art and to remove it.” (Berger, 126) This quote from, ‘Ways of Seeing’ indicates a portion of John Berger’s bitterness towards the reproduction of art. Throughout his essay he states that reproduction has belittled the original, and has made images of art valueless. On the contrary, I believe that the reproduction of art has generated countless benefits for the art community, such as knowledge, popularity, and value.…

Ways of Seeing by John Berger talks about the way we see things and how it is affected by our knowledge and beliefs. The author talks about how we see art differently today than in the past. He mentions that it is due to the technology advancement. In the traditional method paintings are stationary where it can be placed on at one location where as using a camera a picture can be captured in any size or color and more importantly it can be viewed anywhere. For example, unlike in the past where a…

approaches this with a different mindset. Berger is neutral and seemingly more open-minded. Berger’s main focus is on the art that we see and interact with hundreds of times a day: advertisements. Berger also discusses how traditionally paintings were a way for a person to display their wealth and all they had accomplished. This ties into Kimball’s opinion that those who, he more specifically notes, attend Bard College do so as a testament to their wealth in compensation for their lack the…

Rhetorical Analysis Essay “Ways of Seeing” In John Berger’s essay, “Ways of Seeing” he discusses how art is being examined. From the past where the originality of the painting and the way the painter wants to portray it so that the spectator could see the meaning of what was trying to be presented, to the now modern day view of the art. The purpose of his writing is to inform the academic audience, that in modern day culture, the worth of an art piece created through the eyes of the painter is…

In the essay titled “Ways of Seeing,” by John Berger, it is apparent that the author speaks to a higher class of academics that there is a subjective way people of today’s culture view things, including art. He contends that the socially accepted normality’s skew the perspective of the current generation and it is believed that there should be multiple ways of thinking instead of one. Though subtle at first glance, Mr. Berger uses the three key rhetorical strategies; logos, ethos, and pathos to…

discriminated by society, and how parents are biased against daughters. They send their sons to school to attain education whereas they compel their daughters to perform household chores or assign them as servants in other’s houses. In “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger states, “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” Our knowledge and belief in something affects our vision. My experience of patriarchal society informs my vision of issues of gender discrimination now. I…

In Chapter 7 of Ways of Seeing, Berger mainly talks about publicity images, which "never speak of the present" but "often refer to the past and always speak of the future" (p 130). In another word, publicity offers its future buyer an image of himself/herself became glamorous by the product or its related opportunities (p 132). Indeed, this kind of illusion of authority is also incorporated into lots of traditional oil paintings; and in this regard, publicity and oil paintings share tons of…

John Berger in his nonfictional work, “Ways of Seeing” (1972), argues that the perception of historically significant art, moreover perception generally, is fundamentally altered by and bounded within the subject of perception’s accoutrements and that perception can be and moreover is controlled, modified and gerrymandered by the powers that be, to alter or suppress perception in their interests. The Matrix (1999) tells the story of Thomas Anderson, a miscreant cyber-criminal under alias ‘Neo’…

Two Ways of Viewing the River When Mark Twain starts his career as a riverboat captain, he is enthralled and captivated by the grandeur of the Mississippi River. He is aware of the hidden dangers lurking beneath the water’s swirling surface, but his first impressions of the river’s majestic beauty clouds his perspective. Twain eventually recognizes that the river, although beautiful, was a dangerous, treacherous waterway with no compassion for people or the boats that traveled its route.…

Different “Ways of Seeing” In the essay, “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger applies Marxism to art history. Marxism is the social, economic and political theory formed by Karl Marx. It deals with class struggle and the oppression of the lower classes by the upper classes. In the essay, Berger focuses on using Marxist methodology, when he analyzes and explains an artist named Frans Hal. Berger uses Hals paintings to demonstrate the structure of social classes, and their struggles to give an idea of…