"Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak. "But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before wo...
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May 25, 2008
Pierce
rated it: 
First of all, this entire book is set in bold. I don't know what crazy crazyman let that through the gate at Penguin but I just felt I had to point it out right away. It's still worth reading.
4 essays and 3 pictorial essays. Really interesting stuff cutting away some of the bullshit associated with our appreciation of art. It seems like museums are doing a lot of things wrong as well as right.
Chapter on oil-painting was particularly interesting but it was the last one abo More...
4 essays and 3 pictorial essays. Really interesting stuff cutting away some of the bullshit associated with our appreciation of art. It seems like museums are doing a lot of things wrong as well as right.
Chapter on oil-painting was particularly interesting but it was the last one abo More...
Dec 04, 2011
Cheryl in CC NV
rated it: 
My personal rating. I'm not a scholar, but I've informally paid attention to art (in museums, introductory classes at college, etc.) for decades. I get the idea the Berger wants people like me to feel more comfortable with art, as he rejects so many samples of highbrow analyses. But he didn't quite reach far enough out to me. Maybe seeing the tv series upon which the book is based would help.
I will say I was impressed with some of the insights of the first essay. That one relat More...
I will say I was impressed with some of the insights of the first essay. That one relat More...
Dec 06, 2010
Holly
rated it:
I finally pulled this "oldie but goodie" off my shelf and read it. I wish I had years ago.
Although the examples from its 1970s origin are dated, its thesis is perhaps even more valid today than then: Oil painting emerged just as the Western world entered the era of capitalism and imperialism. The technique of perspective makes the viewer the center of all he (yes, Virginia, "he") sees, just as "Western man" viewed the resources of the world. Oil paintin More...
Although the examples from its 1970s origin are dated, its thesis is perhaps even more valid today than then: Oil painting emerged just as the Western world entered the era of capitalism and imperialism. The technique of perspective makes the viewer the center of all he (yes, Virginia, "he") sees, just as "Western man" viewed the resources of the world. Oil paintin More...
May 22, 2010
Stephen
rated it:
2007 wrote: This book, based on a television series, explores how the art world of now has come to be by exploring what art was to humans in the past. The theroies presented are very interesting and are posed with pictorial references that do very well to prove points. One interesting chapter deals exclusively with the 'Nude' in art overtime. Overtime it has been reviled, reveared, copied, censored, hidden, hoarded and abstracted. Another great chapter deals in the context in whioch people see a
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Jul 07, 2009
Deborah
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This book though initially written in 1972 is still relevant to the reader today especially the essays dealing with the way women are seen in society. It is composed of seven essys, four use words and images, three only images. It discusses how women are view in society with an emphasis and concentration on European or Western culture. The images are from ads and famous European paintings. Being that I work in a museum and see paintings all day long this aspect interests me in particular.
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Nov 11, 2010
Jodi
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Excellent book. Especially enjoyed the last chapter on advertising--Berger tells us (in 1972) that material consumption has been turned into a "subsstitute for democracy." He declared that the "choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of significant political choice"...it "helps to mask and compensate for all that is undemocratic with society."
Enjoyed how Berger gives it to us by summarizing the idea of advertising to the fact that we More...
Enjoyed how Berger gives it to us by summarizing the idea of advertising to the fact that we More...
Mar 05, 2009
Jule
rated it: 
I read this book in an AMTRAK train from the Bay Area to Portland. It was eye-opening :). Some of the essays are pictures only, pictures of paintings. The book is a little older, to me it portrays the spirit of its time, I enjoyed quite a few surprising moments. It definitely brightened my train ride through the night. All this Marxist vocab...
As the title suggests, "Ways of Seeing" is about the ways we see. How our mind is formed through society and how this conditioning i More...
As the title suggests, "Ways of Seeing" is about the ways we see. How our mind is formed through society and how this conditioning i More...
Dec 12, 2011
Shinn
rated it:
Once you get past the squat bold typeface and the dated black and white photos, this book actually throws up some interesting questions.
I liked the first essay, which talks of the "mystification" of art, something I agree with myself. The other essays, in images as well as in words, deal with subjects as different as gender roles in Western art, oil painting as a distinct visual language and advertising. Yet, the essays often link together and I especially liked the paralle More...
I liked the first essay, which talks of the "mystification" of art, something I agree with myself. The other essays, in images as well as in words, deal with subjects as different as gender roles in Western art, oil painting as a distinct visual language and advertising. Yet, the essays often link together and I especially liked the paralle More...
Oct 22, 2010
Jimmy
rated it:
A book about basic visual literacy, with 7 essays, 3 of them containing only images. It's not that he's original... he borrows a lot ideas from Walter Benjamin and Claude Levi-Strauss, but that he explains it in clear, easy language, with examples.
The chapter about oil painting was especially illuminating for me, as I had never understood how to tell a "great" oil painting from a mediocre one, having no context in which to see them. But Berger here really dissects the histo More...
The chapter about oil painting was especially illuminating for me, as I had never understood how to tell a "great" oil painting from a mediocre one, having no context in which to see them. But Berger here really dissects the histo More...
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Mar 09, 2011
Greta
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This was an incredible little book about looking at art. John Berger discusses the origins of and meaning behind oil painting and how photography changed our relationship to it, but also gave us another way of looking at things. I particularly liked the chapter discussing "publicity" (advertising) and how he so coherently explains how capitalism and its ensuing consumption is turned by advertising into a substitute for democracy. We perceive choice as freedom and the freedom to choo
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Oct 18, 2011
Faryal
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Read this for my Composition class. Its a great read when first read since his main ideas stand out, have clarity, and are verified (to some degree), however re-reading it introduces the more "radical" ideas.
In his essay he raises the idea of "mysticification." Which is great and all but he chooses to not define it. I had to keep going back trying to find a definition in context however failed. He seems to switch it around a lot.
My Composition profess More...
In his essay he raises the idea of "mysticification." Which is great and all but he chooses to not define it. I had to keep going back trying to find a definition in context however failed. He seems to switch it around a lot.
My Composition profess More...
May 27, 2011
BonB
rated it:
A classic.
Like every art history student in the late 70s, I first read it in an Introduction to Art History class. It is in itself a historical document; published before America's fascination with French theory really took hold, and it neatly and succinctly offers capsule overviews of Benjamin and Barthes as well as a good if somewhat dated analysis of the nude from a feminist viewpoint. When Berger wrote this book, he was very much the rebellious iconoclast (going so far as to sugg More...
Like every art history student in the late 70s, I first read it in an Introduction to Art History class. It is in itself a historical document; published before America's fascination with French theory really took hold, and it neatly and succinctly offers capsule overviews of Benjamin and Barthes as well as a good if somewhat dated analysis of the nude from a feminist viewpoint. When Berger wrote this book, he was very much the rebellious iconoclast (going so far as to sugg More...
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Aug 15, 2010
Audrey
rated it:
An excellent review of ideas about art history in real-world (read: political and social) context. Berger synthesizes ideas from Walter Benjamin, Levi-Strauss, and other thinkers succinctly and to great effect. He powers through the obfuscatory bullshit of art historians to get to meaty ideas about power and wealth, though I will warn you about a leftward slant. Personally, I'm in complete agreement with him, but if you are in a different political camp, or if you subscribe to the aforementioned
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Feb 12, 2012
Patrik
rated it:
John Berger is a brilliant writer, and I'd recommend Ways of Seeing as an important must-read, not only because the subject is fascinating, but also because the book is easy to get through. The first chapter will be nothing new to anyone with a basic background in art history, but the analysis gets more engaging as the book goes on. The last chapter, on advertising, may be out of date -- things have changed (somewhat) since 1972. This was nevertheless one of the more inspiring parts of the bo
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Jan 24, 2010
erase-rwd
rated it:
* Words written next to an artwork will change the way it's entirely perceived - such as in advertising, and the works of Damien Hirst (see "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living")
Reproductions and cropping a part of a painting will also change the way it's meaning.
This also draws similarities & differences between the wealth, status & power one already has, represented by the subjects/still-life objects/themes of paintings (everything but More...
Reproductions and cropping a part of a painting will also change the way it's meaning.
This also draws similarities & differences between the wealth, status & power one already has, represented by the subjects/still-life objects/themes of paintings (everything but More...
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Feb 26, 2009
Kelly
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". . . [M:]en act, and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves." Berger's hypothesis in this essay is supported by his deconstruction of women taken as the subject of post-medieval European paintings. It's a set-up, mostly, so that he can then defend socialism. Whatevs. This essay alone is worth the read. The paintings are included in the book (onl
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Oct 26, 2011
Doug
rated it:
The links between art and ownership and capitalism in the four essays seem obvious now, but certainly weren't before I read this book. I never thought to put art in a historical context to see that the beginnings of capitalism coincided with the development of oil painting, which turned into a way for rich people to display their stuff. And I never thought to make a distinction between art and its images, where context matters more than its original purpose. I don't think I got anything out o
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Oct 13, 2009
Tyler
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Nov 10, 2009
Mike
rated it:
Well worth reading. I will be armed with a new visual lexicon the next time I visit the West Wing of the National Gallery of Art. This book also made me feel like a complete sop for the visual capitalist culture and its offspring that surround me, making me feel impotent and ineffectual, but also equipping me with the consciousness to fight against this state of affairs. But, will I do this? Or just meditate inconsequentially on the effort it would require to do so?
Though more than 3 More...
Though more than 3 More...
Nov 28, 2008
Sharon
rated it:
I read this book for a college course and made the mistake of giving the slender volume to a friend whom I thought woudl enjoy it. I really need to acquire another one! Berger writes eloquently about the relationship between art and the presumed observer/audience. This book gave me the tools to appreciate forms of art that I did not care for (e.g., cubism) by understanding what the artist was about. Highly recommended for anyone, whether a museum goer or a magazine reader, so that you know
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Feb 20, 2009
Simon
rated it:
I can't remember where or why I picked this one up, as I don't usually go in for Marxist art history books, but this one has plenty of interesting things to say about pictures and how we look at them (why are female nudes always looking out at the viewer? why do models in advertisements often look so blank and bored? why was oil painting so good at portraying wealth?)
My only criticism would be that it could be longer and larger - a nice big coffee table edition would allow for better, colo More...
My only criticism would be that it could be longer and larger - a nice big coffee table edition would allow for better, colo More...
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Aug 15, 2011
Sunil
rated it:
Perhaps one of the all time must read small books ( less than 200 pages). Revisited for a reference and ended up rereading it . As fascinating as it is pioneering ( considering it was written in 1972, way back in capitalism's childhood, well before it grew up and cast it's powerful grip around the idea of human life).
Berger and co essentially chart the history of visual imagery in art, from the era of oil painting to television, slowly peeling out layer after layer teasing out the More...
Berger and co essentially chart the history of visual imagery in art, from the era of oil painting to television, slowly peeling out layer after layer teasing out the More...
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Nov 05, 2008
Adam
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This is an extraordinarily persuasive set of 7 essays, 3 of which are pictorial; the remaining 4 a combination of text and images. I was amazed at how easily the authors convinced me of their arguments regarding art history, artistic value, and the most dominant image in modern society; the advertisement. This book has caused me to unearth a few other books on high culture and popular culture (to be read soon!) Though the authors never identify themselves with any strains of thought, their an
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Jun 15, 2008
Robert
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An interesting yet somewhat necessarily dated (1972) approach to art's issues and perceptions among artists and audiences.
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 long practiced in both traditional (analog) and digital realms, I recognize some limitations and fallacies in Berger's analysis and own aesthetic persuasions and reservations.
The significance More...
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 long practiced in both traditional (analog) and digital realms, I recognize some limitations and fallacies in Berger's analysis and own aesthetic persuasions and reservations.
The significance More...
May 18, 2008
Sarah
rated it:
really good so far. you always here the naked woman in art defended by calling it a study of human form, or as something being worshiped or an ideal of perfection or whatever, any of these do one thing and thats objectify the form of a woman. the woman is presenting herself to the artist, then to the viewer. she is giving and we are taking. the artist has taken and kept. this essay really said many of the things i already felt when i see women in art but wasn't able to explain. this is somethin
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Apr 20, 2008
Tina
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This book includes 7 different essays, four of which have words. I prefer the essays with words--perhaps I'm not art-savvy enough to understand what the entirely pictorial essays are saying. Berger says in a note to the reader that the "purely pictorial essays...are intended to raise as many questions as the verbal essays." But I need some guidance. (Perhaps, if this book wasn't almost entirely read on the bus in 30 minute intervals, I'd take more time to "get" the pictori
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Sep 14, 2007
This is a collection of short essays on how technological advances in painting and photography – and the sheer proliferation of images – have shaped western cultural norms. For me, the most interesting essay was on the history of oil paintings. Berger suggests that oil paintings allowed the eye to practically grasp painted objects because of their clarity, something that the invention of photography would later accentuate. Although there were a few painters who really did use the form to create
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Jun 05, 2007
What I learned: the difference between nude and naked.
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 would say "Marxist" language) can be used here, and are applied often by Berger: "ruling class," "power structure," "colonialism," etc., but to put power and imag More...
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 would say "Marxist" language) can be used here, and are applied often by Berger: "ruling class," "power structure," "colonialism," etc., but to put power and imag More...
Jul 04, 2009
Lesley
rated it:
When I was 20 years old, and an undergraduate student at The University of Iowa, I had a professor who made us read this book and told us, "This book changed my life." I can't say that this book necessarily changed my life, but it most definitely cahnged the way in which I view the the world. It is a must read for all women, especially, as it highlights the sexualization of women in the media, and in art in general. It makes you realize that in fact, as James Brown said, it's a man'
