Alright, so I finally sat down and really got into John Berger's "Ways of Seeing." I'd heard bits and pieces about it for ages, you know, one of those books people mention, and I figured it was high time I actually gave it a proper go myself. My practice, if you want to call it that, was just to read it, digest it, and see if it actually changed how I look at things.
My First Tussle with Berger
Honestly, when I first started, some of it felt a bit… dense? Not like super academic, but it took me a minute to really get what he was driving at. I had to reread a few sections. But then, it was like a switch flipped. I started to see what he meant about images not just being these simple, innocent things we look at. There's always something more going on beneath the surface.
One of the first things that really struck me was this idea about perspective in old European paintings. You know, how everything is sort of lined up to point towards your eye, the viewer. Berger explains it like everything is rushing towards you. It’s a simple observation, but it made me realize how much those paintings were about the person looking, the owner, the rich dude who commissioned it. It wasn't just a pretty picture; it was a statement about their place in the world.
Images Aren't Just Copies
Then there's this whole thing about how an image isn't just a perfect copy of what was there. The moment someone decides to make an image – whether it's a painting or a photo – they're making choices. What to include, what to leave out, how to frame it. Suddenly, you're not just looking at a scene; you're looking at someone else's decision about that scene. That was a big one for me. I started thinking about all the photos I see, even my own, and what I’m really trying to say with them, even if I don't consciously think about it at the time.
And he talks about how once an image is reproduced, like in a book or on a screen, its meaning can change. It's not in its original fancy gold frame in a palace anymore; it's next to an article or an ad. That context completely shifts how you see it. I started noticing this everywhere, especially online.
The Deal with Photos and Ads
His points about photography really got me thinking too. I used to sort of take photos at face value. But Berger points out that a photo by itself can be super ambiguous. It needs words, a caption, some kind of story to tell you what you're supposed to make of it. Without that, it's just… an image. That’s been a big part of my "practice" – looking at photos and asking, "What story is being attached to this, and what if there was a different story?"
And advertising! Oh man, he was so spot on with advertising. How it borrows the look and feel of those old oil paintings – the glamour, the richness – but uses it to sell you stuff. To make you feel like if you buy this thing, you’ll get a piece of that glamorous life. It’s all about making you slightly dissatisfied with what you have and promising something better. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. I'm looking at commercials and magazine ads completely differently now.
How My "Seeing" Has Changed
So, what’s the upshot of all this reading and thinking? Well, I wouldn't say I'm an art expert now, not by a long shot. But I definitely look at images with a more critical eye. It's become a bit of a habit, this "practice" of questioning:
- Who made this and why?
- Who was it originally for?
- What is it trying to make me feel or believe?
- How is it trying to do that? Through the colors, the composition, the people in it?
It’s not about being negative or cynical all the time. It’s more about being an active participant when I look at something, rather than just letting images wash over me. It’s like I’ve got a new filter. I pause a bit more before I just accept an image for what it seems to be on the surface.
Even scrolling through social media feels different. Every curated shot, every carefully chosen angle – I'm much more aware of the "way of seeing" that’s being presented. It’s made me a more conscious consumer of all the visual stuff that’s constantly thrown at us.
So yeah, tackling "Ways of Seeing" was a good exercise. A bit of a mental workout, but it definitely left me with some lasting tools for, well, seeing things a bit more clearly. Or at least, seeing more of what's really there.
