In this case, the camera and remediation of the painting, made the painting extrememly popular, as well as the original. This painting has become so popular that people try to recreate it, add their own touches to it, and even do things like design clothes with the painting on it. It is debatably one of the world's most widely-known painting- even though only a select people have been to the museum in New York to see the original. This market value depends on it being genuine." (1) This shows that while the invention of the camera and the ability to copy anything took its toll on the value of a painting, something- money and market value of an original- somewhat replaced this.Īn example of a painting that the camera and the possibility of recreating and copying the image made very popular is Van Gogh's starry night. It's become mysterious again because of it's market value. Berger talks about the fact that in original paintings, this loss of worth is often replaced by market value for being an original paintings acquired a new kind of impressiveness, but not because of what it shows, not because of the meaning of its image. There is no longer the feeling of impressiveness because you know it's the only one of it's kind- yes, there is the original still which holds the value, but since most valued paintings have copies and remakes because of the camera, it loses some of it's sense of worth. Berger also touches on the fact that paintings can be easily manipulated- a few reasons why is that there is no unfolding of time in paintings, just the one frame a painting's interpretation can be changed if it is accompanied by music and rhythm and the meaning of an image can be changed depending on what you view after or beside it.īecause of the camera and the fact that any original piece of work can be photographed, copied, and placed virtually anywhere in the world, paintings have lost something. This messes with the "value" of the painting. He also talks a lot about how most original paintings have been recreated, copied, and distributed across the globe. The invention of the camera changed perception of the world- it changed not only what we see but how we see it. Berger touches on the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this makes the eye the center of the visible world.
#John berger ways of seeing sparknotes series#
The videos "question the assumptions usually made about the tradition of European paintings" (1) The first episode in the series draws on Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, and the idea that the reproduction of art such as paintings separates the piece's modern context from the context of which the piece was created. He continues by presenting the concept of how a picture may look the same to many different people that view it, it may carry a different message to each viewer.Ways of Seeing is a four part BBC video series, created by John Berger and producer Mike Dibb in 1972. He suggests that instead of painting the subjects as stoic government officials, they are portrayed as drunkards. “Regents of the Old Men’s Alms House” by Frans Hals is cited as an example to show us that the viewpoint of the painter affects the tone of the painting. Even pictures, according to him, cannot be taken for face value because one must consider the intent of the photographer and other factors that may have skewed the message. He then makes us question if we can truly believe our eyes, if what we see is actually reality. I believe that ultimately, Berger’s argument of original pieces of art losing their value is solid.īerger starts out by establishing how sight is arguably our most important sense. He speculates that this is because of the inaccessibility of art along with the widespread popularity of copies. My first reading of “Ways of Seeing” barely provided me with any information, but subsequent readings finally gave up some of Berger’s most interesting points, such as his idea that the meaning of great works of art no longer send out the message of the original creator. His writings can seem extremely complex and difficult, even cryptic at times but trudging through his works can yield many fascinating nuggets of truth. He has been praised numerous times, yet condemned just as much. Berger seems to be an extremely controversial art critic, based off opinions of him that range from “stimulating” to “preposterous”. 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.
0 kommentar(er)
