The "Ways of Seeing" is a revolutionary book by John Berger. In this book, Berger analyses how men and women are represented by different cultures and the effects these representations have on their behavior and mutual perception. At the beginning, Berger asserts that presence of women is different from that of men. The presence of man in the world is associated with what he can do, his abilities and power. Woman’s presence is associated to itself and not the world. This notion confirms that woman was meant to serve and take care of man. The woman regularly thinks and surveys herself and through this, the woman’s identity divided between the surveyor and the person who is surveyed ( Berger, 1972 ). At this point, Berger acknowledges that the self-value of a woman is indicated through the manner in which she is depicted, by herself, man and others.
Berger further says that men survey woman before developing any relationship with them. This means that a woman’s actions and looks are signs of how a woman should be treated. Therefore, Berger argument is based on “men act- woman appear”. A woman presents herself as a subject of gaze, and this is what Berger means by the “Ways of Seeing” primarily indicating that there are different ways of seeing man and woman ( Berger, 2008 ).
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Berger further examines nude depictions of women in the European artistic tradition. He draws his first depiction from the story of Eve from the Garden of Eden. Berger argues that the nakedness in Adam and Eve’s story came about how man and woman looked at each other immediately they ate the fruit and the corresponding subordination of the woman to man’s rule. Renaissance art reveals the initial shame indicted by the covering of their bodies with leaves, but the author shows that this shame is only from the third viewer and not from the two ( Berger, 1972 ). The act of being naked is personal and being nude in the artistic understanding means being without clothes. Photographs and painting that illustrate nudity appeal to the sexuality of the viewer; the male viewer and it has no relationship with a woman’s sexuality. A woman is there to be seen by man. In the real sense, unlike presentation, nakedness is a process and not a state. Berger concludes that a woman is not naked for herself but instead as the observer sees her.
The use of a mirror to represent the vanity of women is hypocritical. Men paint a naked image of a woman to watch for his pleasure. In other words, Berger’s ways of seeing distinguish a man stands in the world for that of women contain a long history in the western world, and this has contributed to gender differences. These unbalanced relations between man and woman are profoundly assimilated in our culture, and the awareness of women who do things that men do to them objectify themselves.
Reason for the Book "Ways of Seeing”
The main motive for the book “Ways of Seeing” is to invite people to see and know the world differently. Berger revealed that what people see and know has never settled. The author wanted to create an understanding of what depicts and the visual image ( Berger, 1972 ). He intended to spell out on the social injustices experienced in the world such as gender discrimination. Berger also wanted to demonstrate that where and when a person sees something affects what he or she sees. He tried to teach the world that photographs require a language, and need a narrative of some sort for them to make sense. He further wanted to differentiate the reactions of people when they see the photos of their loved ones because of the relationship to the person portrayed.
At the back of Berger mind, he knew that something needs to be communicated, and if nit brought out, it risks not communicating. Although his writing had limitations, he understood that writing itself cannot eliminate the current inequalities or establish better ways of seeing ( Berger, 2008 ). He wrote with hope. He wanted to become a role model for living a life that was focused on criticizing inequality while enjoying the beauty the world offers him.
Arguments of the books
Berger is a maestro. From his book “Ways of Seeing”, he contends that photographic procedures for reproducing pictures have changed how the art of the past is seen. Pictures of fine arts are made up for the lost time in the lot more significant progression of replicated pictures which are fundamental to the cultural life of entirely created capital societies. A young lady wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the first example in Ways of Seeing. Berger proposes that such duplication of pictures separates craftsmanship from before, in this manner crushing the authority works that once existed.
As Berger would like to think, this is a high-social occurrence of the failure of contemporary individuals to "see" the specialty of the past and therefore to arrange themselves in history. This like this brings up a fundamental issue: "To whom does the importance of the art of the past appropriately belong? To the individuals who can apply it to their own lives or social pecking order of relic authorities? ( Berger, 2008 )
The sub-argument about Berger work is his enunciation of the connection between oil painting and capitalism while promoting pictures. For him, the visual codes of oil painting have achieved their apotheosis inside the visual language of promoting. Since oil painting was the area of the decision class, Berger argues that it must create an optimistic picture intended for futurity that that class must be enticed to accomplish ( Berger, 2008 ). While the two classifications depend on portraying products and items in hyper-reasonable visual detail which begs the feeling of touch, adverting expresses an unmistakable fleetingness and set of worries that are intended to tempt and tantalize the individuals who don't yet appreciate the status of the decision class.
Berger’s text is philosophical. As an author, Berger works creates tantalizing worlds and make illusions disappear. As he explains the extinction between seeing and looking, he clearly states that the human eye naturally look, but looking assumes the idea which is the comprehension of the subject. As an artist, one must see the painting dabbing a pigment onto canvas. Other social issues that Berger solves include the gender gap that humans have created by looking at things and assuming them. Berger’s contribution to European history is undisputable ( Berger, 1972 ). The data that he puts across reveals the doubtable relationship between the visitors who come to museums and their level of education. Today, Berger’s work and contributions have created a lucrative art business. At one point, Berger condemned the acts of segregation and called it injustice which should not be allowed to develop in any society.
Berger’s research was qualitative. First, he set a goal for his research. Goals are what determine the outcome of the research. Second, he determined the outcomes for his research. Berger’s main study was on the social psyche via visual culture. Using this second step, Berger was able to balance his academic gravitas with playfulness to see the world in a different world. Berger’s approach answered his questions and concern. Berger’s book did not just academically meritorious but also enriching life.
References
Berger, J. (1972). Ways of. Seez'«g (Harmondsworth and London: Penguin & BBC, 1972) .
Berger, J. (2008). Ways of seeing . Penguin
