One of the primary ways the Berger chooses to explain this concept to his readers is through detailing the objectification of women, particularly in paintings. The male principles of power and authority have the propensity for viewing women as objects (some of lust, others of beauty, still others of reference). Women, in turn, internalize this sort of perception and come to view their own authority and power as attributable to their status as such objects viewed by men and by others. Therefore, women's perception of the sight of themselves has a duality in the fact that it is both their own viewing of themselves and also incorporates the viewpoint that others, such as men, may have for themselves. Berger suggests this notion within the following quotation. "The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object -- and most particularly an object of vision: a sight" (47). This quotation underscores one of the central characteristics of sight, that it involves both looking and being looked at. People, of course, are aware of both of these aspects of it. In particular, women share this awareness of the duality of being viewed and viewing, since they see themselves as though "male." This duality of course relates to the dichotomy of the literal and figurative aspects of seeing -- literally, a woman looks as herself much like she looks anything else. Figuratively, however, she regards that sight is through a decidedly male lens of beauty, exoticness, etc. An excellent example of the duality that exists between seeing and being viewed is found in the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in which a husband and wife, George and Martha, endure a turbulent relationship while entertaining another couple. While discussing various aspects of their allegedly adolescent son, the couple alternate between viewing their son...
What is most significant about this fact, however, is that the couple does not actually have a son. In fact, they have never had a son, and merely talk to each other as if they have one in order, perhaps, to account for the fact that they are not able to have a son. Thus, when George announces that he received a telegram the previous day that their son had been killed, Martha vehemently protests that he "can't do this" (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf). The duality of the viewpoint of George and Martha regarding their son is parallel to that explained by Berger about sight. While talking about their son in front of Nick and Honey, the former couple is being aware of how their discussion and their imaginary child is viewed. However, they are also viewing this imaginary boy themselves, which is why Martha objects to George terminating the facade of their having a son by claiming he was killed the day before.
Having a different understanding of what you see is perfectly normal, since this means that you have a perspective. However, it is not normal for you to be dictated a particular theory regarding a topic, since this would mean that you were forced to accept someone else's point-of-view. To a certain extent, the art that society promotes in the present prevents individuals from developing a sense of art on their
Seeing The interesting thing about art and artistic expression today is the many different ways in which it can be interpreted. Indeed, today's variety of cultures, perspectives, and means of communication lend themselves to a myriad of interpretations. Hence, essays such as "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger appear, at first glance, to cater well to this variety of interpretations. What is most interesting about the essay is that it
The painting begged me to ask of it why intermittent shadows struck its sides, why yellow-golden light graced its innards. I guessed that it must have been nighttime that Stella tried to capture, for at night the shining lights from the city would flicker against the bridge and bring out the character of the steel in ways sunlight could not. Sunlight was too harsh and strong; it would overpower
Shelley and Smith's Ozymandias Compare/contrast In Ways of Seeing, John Berger (1972) claims, "When we 'see' a landscape, we situate ourselves in it. If we 'saw' the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history." Berger proposes that sharing ones experiences is dependent on that individual's perspective. Two poets that are able to demonstrate how perspectives may differ after experience the same event are Percy Bysshe Shelley and Horace
In describing a photograph of musicians dressed in borrowed formal wear he is presenting a "reading" that is not unintelligent, but is hardly "native." (And hardly compassionate.) He writes: Their suits deform them. Wearing them, they look as though they were physically misshapen. A past style in clothes often looks absurd until it is re-incorporated into fashion. Indeed the economic logic of fashion depends on making the old-fashioned look absurd.
Modernism As the 1800s came to an end, a group of forward-looking artists, architects and designers broke away from the Victorian constraints and developed a new style that encouraged an interdisciplinary approach fostering a sharing of contemporary thought and ideology until the post-modern period in the 1970s. It was a means for the artists and artisans to express themselves about the world that was quickly becoming increasingly high tech and advanced.
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