When you see something whether if it’s the first time you are seeing it or if its your hundredth time seeing it, it brings along not only an understanding of the thing we are seeing but also the feeling or experience. In John Berger’s short novel, Ways of Seeing, he discusses the concept of perception and the way we see something and process it from an art and photography perspective. He argues that if we see a piece of art that has been recreated or reproduced, it has a lesser value than if we see it in person because it’s missing the essence that makes it art, the feeling that comes with seeing it in person. I can agree with some of this statement, seeing something in person is definitely a different feeling than seeing it through a picture or replication of it. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s better or worse seeing it through something else, the only difference is that you’re seeing it from the perspective of the person that took the picture or altered it. The energy of that person, what they were thinking, feeling, what they focused on and so forth.
On page 8 Berger himself writes “the way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe,” I completely agree with this statement, everyone views things differently depending on what experiences they’ve had throughout their lives. It made me think of those art workshops where a person models nude in front of a class and the students must try to draw the model as best they can. Each person will reflect themselves off of the model to produce a completely unique drawing that encompasses who they are as an artist and a person. This is important because it helps other people to see things they might have not seen before, Berger agrees with this statement because he asserts that ” We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice.”
John Berger argues that part of the uniqueness of a painting has to do with where it resides, so if it’s reproduced then it is ultimately being destroyed. Berger states “Because of the camera, the painting now travels to the spectator rather than the spectator to the painting. In it’s travels, its meaning is diversified.” This made me think about how in today’s society, if a piece of art work is photographed a lot or even turned into a meme, it means that the painting is really popular and even encourages folks to want to see it in person. It contradicts what Berger’s is arguing and makes me wonder if his thoughts would be different in today’s society. I know what truly makes a piece of art valuable and extraordinary isn’t where it resides, it’s the feeling it causes you to feel when you see it and what you decide to take from it.
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