Shin w. Kim
HUA 290
Pro. Michael Rodriguez
May. 08. 2007
John Berger “Ways of Seeing”
When I heard the title of the book “Ways of seeing” the beginning of the class, I
thought this book would be very interesting and helpful for me. I’ve expected this
book even during I was reading the book. However, It was different with what I
thought. It is very difficult to understand and I couldn’t get any idea of what the
author tries to tell. Although this book is difficult, I could think the ways of seeing in
my way. It could be very essential process to have a critical thinking of the art. This
book is like philosophy. Of course I learned something from the book, but I decided
to write my philosophy of the ways of seeing instead of the questionnaires professor
gave us. Actually, it is hard to find an exact answer for the questions. However, I
could get my ideas of the questions among the book.
The chapter 1 was interesting. This chapter is the most difficult chapter of others.
However, I tried to read and read again and get some ideas of the ways of seeing in
my mind. There are lots of ideas in the chapter 1. I could earn a lot of essentiality
even if it is one sentence.
As the author mentioned in the book, “the relathion between what we see and
what we know is never settled”. There are always a gap between what I see and what I
know when I see something. When I see something that I knew already, but the sight
is different with what I already knew. For example, I knew already the sky is blue and
the clouds are white. However, sometime, I see the sky, I forget my knowledge about
the sky. ‘The sky is blue and the clouds are white’ but, this is not at all. I become to
see without any knowledge. I just see the new sky instead of the sky that I knew
already. The sky is not same with the sky that I knew already. No, I could be
forgetten my any knowledge about the sky. Although it is hard to explain, I totally
agree with this part.
“The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe” (P8). It
means like simular with the quatation I mentioned before, but I understand and get an
indea in also another way. If the sight is a common sight I usually see, it can be
changed by what I believe and what I feel. If I see the the tree when I feel blessed, the
tree seems like the godsend which is the god gives me for blessing me. even if it is
just a tree in front of my house, I see it after I finish pray to the god, the tree seems
like a guardian angel who is protecting our house. On the other hand, when I see the
sunset, It looks very peaceful someday and sometimes it sight makes me depressed or
longing. It depends on how I feel. As my example shows, the sight is always changed
by how I feel and believe.
“The key of dreams” this painting is painted by Magritte Rene. He was a
surrealist. His art shows a more representational style of surrealism. His work is often
witty and amusing. This ‘The key of dream’ is also amusing and also curious. When I
saw this painting, I was so curious what the artist tried ro express through this
painting. Magritte said, “My painting is visible images which conceal nothing; they
evoke mystery and, Indeed, when one sees one of my pictures, one asks oneself this
question, What does that mean?’ It does not mean anything, because mystery means
nothing either, it is unknowable.”. As Magritte said, doesn’t this painting have any
meaning? When I read this book and see this painting, I’ve expecting the meaning of
the painting. I’ve tried to find exact meaning of the painting which is exactly fits on
my expectation. However, I was wrong. I thought wrong way. Like this happening, I
could dicover what I am wrong and find another way of thinking. That’s what I like
this book. I think Magritte wanted to tell us that throw any expectation toward the
completeness or plausible meaning of the painting. A big expectation of the meaning
makes my way of seeing muddy. I think If we see something with clear mind and
perspective as children see something, the thing will give us satisfieable meaning, the
meaning will be followed our seeing after we saw. I think Magritte wanted to tell that
too. We just see without any expectation and then think purely about the painting. The
meaming can be changed by how we see and how we can be seen. So, the most
important thing is how we see, in another way to say, the ways of seeing.
“What is the link between word and the object, idea, or feeling, identification?
Signifiers take meaning only by convention, not by any particular law or firm
connection to the external world or the thing itself; there is no absolute foundation of
language and sign” (Mondrian). This painting is like picture puzzle that cannot be
solved by any rule or reason.
The ways of seeing, it is very important assignment for artists. However, I did
decide to understand there is no exact answer of the ways of seeing. Nobody reply the
exact answer to which is the best way of the seeing and how we have a good way of
seeing. We have to experience a lot of challenges of seeing and try to think with what
we see. I think the most important thing is we have to see purely and with clear mind.