John Berger Icon Books Interpretation
BY tom Davidson
CONTEXT: John Berger is a British Art critic, painter, poet and novelist. His most famous piece of writing is Ways of Seeing - an in depth look at visual culture, in particular art - the way people view it and the influences that traditional paintings had on society and modern day publicity, and how representations within images have altered their perception.
Berger was born in Hackney in London. He served in the British Army between the years of 1944 and 1946. He then attended art school in Central London.
'SEEING EYE TO EYE'
Berger became a drawing teacher, who then between 1948 and 1955 became an art critic. He published a number of essays and reviews. His most prominent ideas were largely influenced by Marxist humanism.
BERGER SAYS:
Images are the most powerful communicator we have. There are things we cannot describe in words but that images can illustrate.
Seeing comes before words. Seeing establishes our place in the world. A child learns to look and recognise objects before it speaks. We explain the world with words but seeing is the primary function.
The artist is the only one who knows exactly what their painting means. People who view the painting can only have a theory about what it is about. The enigma surrounding this provokes the viewer to want to know more about it. The composition of the painting can often have a powerful effect, by having unity, harmony or contrast.
The subjects of paintings have their own social meaning. Women are an ever recurring subject. The female is more often than not posed in a way that intends to please the gaze, her appearance is meant to entice the viewer. This method is still used today in modern day photos and adverts.
Male presence in paintings is often fabricated - sometimes representing them as being capable of something they are not. His presence is often associated with a power that he wishes to use upon others.
The mirror is a symbol of vanity. If a woman is shown viewing herself in a mirror, she is seen as vain because she is viewing her self. However, the image is still made for the man to view her.
Modern day publicity images have a constant focus on the future. They continuously insinuate the idea that people need particular things in order to be happy. There is always a representation of the ‘lack’ being present in order for this need to be made clear that it needs tending to.
Envy fuels these types of images. When you have what you need it makes you happy that you have what you have and others don’t. When you don’t have it, it makes you want it when you see others that do.
Publicity images are everywhere. We are so used to this kind of image on a day to day basis that we barely even notice it anymore. This high density of visual messages belongs to the moment. They must be continuously updated in order to fit in with the zeitgeist of the times.
THE CRITICS SAY: “Bergers comments on the visual make him a cultural slanderer, intent on scandalising society with his lack of respect for high culture. Berger knows a lot about the visual arts and objects to their reputation and wishes to take them down a peg or two.”
“Bergers ambition in Ways of Seeing is to bring cultural dishonesty to an end. In drawing attention to the element of political anger in the great works of the past, he aims to liberate the visual arts from the air of fake religiosity which currently surrounds them.”
“Berger reinforces his attack on mainstream art history by endorsing the idea that our aesthetic attitudes have been profoundly affected by the rise of mechanical methods for reproducing works of fine art. Paintings, sculptures etc have been deprived of their uniqueness and lack their original aura.”