SmArts

January 9-15, 2017

John Berger and meaning

By Molly Rector

On January 2 of this year, the art critic John Berger died at the age of 90. In addition to his criticism, Berger was also himself a visual artist, a novelist, an essayist, and a public intellectual figure, among other identities.

Berger spent much of his life strongly advocating for access to critical thinking – he believed all people should have the tools to look deeply at the world and at means of communication (like the television and advertisement). This is why, in 1972, he produced his famous television series “Ways of Seeing.”

The central idea behind “Ways of Seeing” to a great extent informs much of what I’ve written about in this column – as Berger puts it, “the process of seeing … is less spontaneous and natural than we like to believe. A large part of seeing depends on habit and convention.” That is: perception is something we cultivate.

In the first episode of “Ways of Seeing” (which is available for free on YouTube) is primarily a meditation on how context influences meaning. Berger explores this concept through a discussion of how the camera has changed the experience of viewing art. In exploring the various ways the meanings of paintings can be changed (for example, by zooming in on one face, or by placing them in advertisements), Berger maintains an awareness that he himself is using camera technology to arrange images in a particular order, thereby influencing perception. Berger’s final words in the episode ask the viewer to “consider what [he has] arranged, but be skeptical of it.”

Of course, that isn’t a call for people to be cynical – simply a call for greater awareness, for people to cultivate the practice of seeing not just whatever it is we’re looking at (this newspaper page) but also the context in we’re looking at it (at the breakfast table in our familiar homes, on a cloudy day). It’s important, I think, to remember this advice, as we are ever more frequently presented with particular brands of spin – when it comes to art, and also beyond that.

I hope in honor of John Berger, readers of this column today will work to notice context, and guess at how it influences what we perceive.

Molly Rector is a staff writer for the Daily Record. Contact her at molly@dailydata.com.