Ways of Seeing

“Ways of Seeing,” by John Berger, was an easier read than the previous article. Although, at time, I found myself confused as to the point he was trying to make, I was able to grab the essence of his thoughts. In the beginning of the article he explains that the way we see things is affected by what we know and what we believe. I found this to be relevant in everyone’s life since we all grow up differently and have a different view on life. Our experiences shape who we are and the way we interpret different things. Berger uses photographers and painters as examples to explain this thought. He states that a photographers view is reflected on his choice of subject while painters view is reconstituted by the marks he makes on paper. Both are different artists with different training backgrounds and portray they view the world in a different way.

Berger explained that with the invention of the camera, we view paintings differently. We view paintings as something that is older and put ourselves back in time when we look at them. But the meaning of a painting becomes transmittable and may be ignored.   

Another point Berger made was the idea that a picture is worth a thousands words and it is determined by perspective. I was able to relate this to our last class. During the last class we spoke about how different images communicate, specifically in the form of advertisements. We went over different advertisements and pointed out the first thing our eyes gravitate to. Most of those in the class focused on the same thing but some gravitated to another point in the advertisement first. This was just a matter of perspective. I also found that exercise to be very interesting because it made me realize how complex the creation of an advertisement is because the first thing the audience notices is essential to how the product is marketed.