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Reading Response 08/28: The Mediums of “Ways of Seeing”

The act of comparing the written form of John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” to its audio/visual counterpart is a very meta way of exploring the ideas he presents. Perhaps the most striking difference I noticed during my second (written) time with the material was my constant memory of the first (video). As I read the essay, I could easily recreate the sound and cadence John Berger’s voice in my head, and having already been exposed to the essay’s content, I already knew where all of the points were going. Even though I was reading an essay, the memory of the video consumed the majority of my thoughts rather than leaving room for me to draw new interpretations of the content. Another major difference between the two mediums is, of course, time. The video version of the content always plays at the same rate and does not pause if I look away from it. On the other hand, reading is very rarely done at the same pace for very long. I sped through sections that piqued my interested and dragged somewhat through those that did not. My reading of the essay was also driven by my active participation. If I was not actively reading the text, John Berger could not impart his ideas to me, whereas the video will continue on weather I am following along or not. The video format also offers a more dynamic experience that very importantly includes sound, which is a more organic way to intake information than reading.

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Reading Response 08/28: John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing”

John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” provides an incredibly interesting exploration of how human beings consume visual stimuli and how the context surrounding those stimuli inform their meaning. On this overall idea I completely agree; The connection between images and their surroundings is more impactful than the form of the image in isolation as people naturally want to form patterns to connect and understand disparate things. Furthermore, I think that Berger is incredibly effective in conveying this idea to the reader/viewer. Given that both mediums in which “Ways of Seeing” is presented can include images, the piece does a marvelous job at showing rather than telling. For example, the use of the Van Gogh in both the essay and the video efficiently demonstrates the effect contextual elements have on the experience of art rather than simply explaining it. 

The most interesting point Berger makes throughout the piece is the effect that physical and experiential surroundings have on an image. For the most part I often try to look at art objects as products of the world in which they were made but never as partly the product of my own life and experiences. The example of the collage of images collected on a fridge or corkboard as having a wholly new meaning greater than each individual piece while also reflecting the identity of the person who put them there is incredibly eye opening for me as a consumer of art. Furthermore, I love the realization that even though a single “original” image can be reproduced millions of times, each one can still be considered unique as they all represent something slightly different based on the room they are placed, the objects around them, and the experiences of the one viewing them