SUMMARY & REFLECTION

 

WAYS OF SEEING, EPISODE 1: PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS – JOHN BERGER

In this video, Berger points out what is involved in seeing, and how the way we see art is determined by what we know. He stresses the concepts involved in seeing and explains their connectedness with images. It is seeing that establishes our place in the world, but we use words to explain this world. Despite this he argues there is always a distinction between what we see and what we know. He goes on to argue that the real meaning of many images has been obscured by academics, changed by photographic reproduction and distorted by monetary value. Berger makes some very interesting comments that connected his topic of art to photography. These particular comments were of great interest to me because of the nature of my photo collage assignment. Berger stated that photography, in particular the movie camera, changed the way we see images. Cameras were able to add moving images as well as sound to the experience of the viewer. It gave the artist more power to immerse their viewer in their created environment. A photograph was able to capture realistic perspective. Manipulation of images can create unique viewpoints and distortions. For my project I want to employ the art, discussed in the video, of zooming in on certain elements of an image. This can give a singular dynamic viewpoint that differs from the intended meaning of the overall work.