John berger ways of seeing perspective code#
John berger ways of seeing perspective series#

Almost all cars portrayed on television are silver, black, or off-white/silver hues much like the knights of oil paintings. When I watch television, and a car commercial appears it drives me nuts. вЂњYou are what you have вЂњ (Berger p139), вЂњthe purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of lifeвЂќ (p142), вЂњthe gap between what publicity actually offers and he future it promises, corresponds with the gap between what the spectator-buyer feels himself to be and what he would like to beвЂќ(p148), вЂњPublicity is the life of this culture-in so far as without publicity capitalism could not survive-and at the same time publicity is its dreamвЂќ (p.154)ДЄll those quotes serve to illustrate my example of the car commercial. Automobile commercials are some of the most expensive, analyzed, and scripted advertising campaigns. You can view these four models in one specific type of advertising, sometimes all four are include in one commercial. Some of the common themes he sees in advertising that also appear in oil paintings are вЂњThe man as knight (horseman) becomes motoristвЂќ, вЂњthe equation of drinking and successвЂќ, The sea offering a new lifeвЂќ, вЂњsex-object (Venus, nymph, surprised) etcвЂќ, as well as many more but I see these four models more than any other. The biggest aha moments taken Berger involved his examination and explanation of publicity as an art form.

Publicity is act of creating the mundane into expressive and at times extravagant portrayals of the вЂњreal worldвЂќ. Berger purports and I agree that most modern advertising is either reminiscent or directly representative of old oil paintings have created a new type of art called publicity. As a last though Berger begins to explain the corollary between past classics and modern advertising. Near the end of his book, Berger really began to speak to me clearly and concisely in a way that has spoken true even after thirty years of publication. Over time the painting has continued to baffle experts and commoners alike. I think actually the Mona Lisa could serve as an exception to the loss of mysticism rule. They have reportedly felt ambivalent to the original, because of the actual size or hype and mystery surrounding it.

Did this act detract or add to the mystery of the original painting? I have never seen the Mona Lisa in person, but friends have seen it and been confounded by its presence. This act caused the world to look again at DaVinci as well as many other renaissance artists for clues to secrecy.

John berger ways of seeing perspective code#

This may have been true at the 1972 publication, but is it true today? Dan Brown in a sense re-mystified the painting and artist with his DaVinci Code book. In the book he used DaVinciвЂ™s Mona Lisa as an example of a painting that has lost the intended mystery, due to over reproduction. вЂњOriginal paintings are silent and still in a sense that information never isвЂќ wrote Berger. If memory serves me correctly, I already had a vague grasp of the concept Berger explored involving mysticism and its involvement in the вЂњdeteriorationвЂќ of the original work after it has been copied repeatedly. Mysticism was an early takeaway lesson I garnered from the book. The first four chapters are nicely balanced to illustrate the key points around the topics (perspective, tone, and mysticism were all covered in the early chapters). The thinking in question can be subconscious or blatantly apparent in their individual approach to the use of design properties such as contrast (tonal or sizes), perspective, sex appeal, and sometimes-fanciful escapism. This book was a fantastic way to introduce deeply common and yet important factors that relate to how a designer вЂњthinksвЂќ about his/her design.

John berger ways of seeing perspective series#

Ways of Seeing by John Berger was written in the early 1970вЂ™s as a companion to the BBC television series (available on YouTube) of the same name.