Ways of Seeing
Encyclopedia
Ways of Seeing is a 1972 BBC
four-part television series of 30 minute films created chiefly by writer John Berger
and producer Mike Dibb. Berger's scripts were adapted into a book of the same name. The series and book criticize traditional Western cultural
aesthetics
by raising questions about hidden ideologies
in visual images. The series is partially a response to Kenneth Clark
's Civilisation series, which represents a more traditionalist view of the Western artistic and cultural canon.
. The book consists of seven numbered essay
s: four using words and images; and three essays using only images. The book has contributed to feminist
readings of popular culture
, through essays that focus particularly on depictions of women in advertisements and oil paintings. Ways of Seeing is considered a seminal text for current studies of visual culture
and art history
.
The first part of the television series drew on ideas from Walter Benjamin
's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
arguing that through reproduction an Old Master
's painting's modern context is severed from that which existed at the time of its making. The second film discusses the female nude. Berger asserts that only twenty or thirty old masters depict a woman as herself rather than as a subject of male idealisation or desire. The third programme is on the use of oil paint
as a means of depicting or reflecting the status
of the individuals who commissioned the work of art. In the fourth programme, on publicity and advertising, Berger argues that colour photography
has taken over the role of oil paint, though the context is reversed. An idealised potential for the viewer (via consumption
) is considered a substitution for the actual reality
depicted in old master portraits.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
four-part television series of 30 minute films created chiefly by writer John Berger
John Berger
John Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
and producer Mike Dibb. Berger's scripts were adapted into a book of the same name. The series and book criticize traditional Western cultural
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
by raising questions about hidden ideologies
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
in visual images. The series is partially a response to Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
's Civilisation series, which represents a more traditionalist view of the Western artistic and cultural canon.
Description
The book Ways of Seeing was made by Berger and Dibb, along with Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox, and Richard HollisRichard Hollis
Richard Hollis is one of the most influential figures in British graphic design. Hollis has worked as a printer, a magazine editor, a print-production manager, a book writer, a teacher and a graphic designer....
. The book consists of seven numbered essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s: four using words and images; and three essays using only images. The book has contributed to feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
readings of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, through essays that focus particularly on depictions of women in advertisements and oil paintings. Ways of Seeing is considered a seminal text for current studies of visual culture
Visual culture
Visual Culture as an academic subject is a field of study that generally includes some combination of cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, and anthropology, by focusing on aspects of culture that rely on visual images.- Overview :...
and art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
.
The first part of the television series drew on ideas from Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German-Jewish intellectual, who functioned variously as a literary critic, philosopher, sociologist, translator, radio broadcaster and essayist...
's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" is a 1936 essay by German cultural critic Walter Benjamin, which has been influential across the humanities, and especially in the fields of cultural studies, media theory, architectural theory and art history...
arguing that through reproduction an Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
's painting's modern context is severed from that which existed at the time of its making. The second film discusses the female nude. Berger asserts that only twenty or thirty old masters depict a woman as herself rather than as a subject of male idealisation or desire. The third programme is on the use of oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
as a means of depicting or reflecting the status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
of the individuals who commissioned the work of art. In the fourth programme, on publicity and advertising, Berger argues that colour photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
has taken over the role of oil paint, though the context is reversed. An idealised potential for the viewer (via consumption
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
) is considered a substitution for the actual reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
depicted in old master portraits.
External links
- Illustrations and Amplifications for John Berger's Ways of Seeing
- Excerpt from Ways of Seeing
- part of Ch.1 of Ways of Seeing
- "Puritanic Relationalism: John Berger's Ways of Seeing and Media and Culture Studies" by Jan Bruck and John Docker, Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture 2(2):77–95, 1989.
- "Notes on 'The Gaze': John Berger's Ways of Seeing by Daniel Chandler, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, MCS (website), 10 April 2000.
- Ways of Seeing on YouTube