Ways of Seeing

Ways of Seeing by John Berger was the easiest article for me to understand so far this semester.  Even though the topics in this piece are not very objective or concrete ideas, I still found myself agreeing with a lot of what was written.  One part of the piece that I found to be particularly insightful stated “Today we see the art of the past as nobody saw it before. We actually perceive it in a different way.”  This quote made me realize that art is always changing and each generation will think of art in a different way than the generation before them.  It made me realize that art can change as societal norms change as well.  Also, I took the last part of the quote to mean that each person will perceive art in a different way.  A piece of art can be one thing to one person and mean nothing to another person.

            Another part of the article that I found insightful was towards the beginning of the content.  It stated “The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.”  This statement is pretty vague but I think it can definitely be related to all aspects of life.  Your beliefs and values shape the way you look at life in it’s entirety.  It only makes sense that this concept can be related to the art world.  Even from what I have learned so far in this class, the way I see things has changed.  For example, after we completed the texture exercise I began noticing textures in my every day life that I never had before.  One last part of the article that I really found interesting was the first few lines when it said “Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.”  I think this really set the tone for the entire article and showed the importance of seeing art before you even try to understand it.