false 2784 7 "Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak. "But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but word can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled." John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and the most influential books on art in any language. First published in 1972, it was based on the BBC television series about which the (London) Sunday Times critic commented: "This is an eye-opener in more ways than one: by concentrating on how we look at paintings . . . he will almost certainly change the way you look at pictures." By now he has. "Berger has the ability to cut right through the mystification of the professional art critics . . . He is a liberator of images: and once we have allowed the paintings to work on us directly, we are in a much better position to make a meaningful evaluation" -Peter Fuller, Arts Review "The influence of the series and the book . . . was enormous . . . It opened up for general attention to areas of cultural study that are now commonplace" -Geoff Dyer in Ways of Telling 2507145 1972 Ways of Seeing total:1365|5:483|4:517|3:291|2:55|1:19| 1365 5485 1886 138 4 1 false false Sun May 25 11:11:51 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 12:55:03 -0700 2008
4 essays and 3 pictorial essays. Really interesting stuff cutting away some of the bullshit asso...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 27 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Tue Jul 07 11:41:59 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 12:00:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 05 23:25:37 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 05 23:44:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Thu Feb 26 22:13:42 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 22:22:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Tue Oct 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 21:36:48 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 21:51:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Nov 30 15:52:42 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 30 15:54:54 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Tue Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 19:27:08 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 19:08:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Nov 28 13:30:47 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 28 13:31:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 00:08:14 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 00:11:20 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 19 19:22:41 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 05 22:34:32 -0800 2008 2 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 15 15:36:21 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 15:36:25 -0700 2008
Most statements and questions Berger raises seem to retain their validity and relevance in the face of contemporary art.

As a multimedia artist who has lon...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 04 22:17:11 -0700 2008 Sun May 18 10:00:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 07:07:49 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 09:11:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 23:17:21 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 14 23:17:21 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon May 28 19:36:13 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 13:51:00 -0700 2007
Berger, through simple prose and piercing insight, makes a strong case for a continuity between popular images and images we call art, the nexus of which is power and the maintenance of power.

A lot of loaded words (some wo...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Jul 04 12:15:52 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 12:26:28 -0700 2009 3 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 13:08:32 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 13:10:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Fri Nov 21 20:12:13 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 20:12:13 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Apr 10 02:47:50 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 02:53:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 20:32:45 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 18:26:02 -0700 2009 more...]]>