Ways of Seeing

John Berger's Ways of Seeing changed the way people think about painting and art criticism. This watershed work shows, through word and image, how what we see is always influenced by a whole host of assumptions concerning the nature of beauty, truth, civilization, form, taste, class and gender. Exploring the layers of meaning within oil paintings, photographs and graphic art, Berger argues that when we see, we are not just looking - we are reading the language of images.

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Created By

John Berger

Status

Ended

Original Name

Ways of Seeing

First Air Date

January 8, 1972

Last Air Date

January 29, 1972

Seasons

Episodes

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

BBC Two

S01E04

Commercial Art

In the fourth programme, on publicity and advertising, Berger argues that colour photography has taken over the role of oil paint, though the context is reversed. An idealised potential for the viewer (via consumption) is considered a substitution for the actual reality depicted in old master portraits.

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