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There are many barriers to overcome when viewing a piece of art correctly.To understand a piece of art is to understand everything about it and the artist who created it.A person viewing art must look past monetary value, understand the artwork's history, and read into the language and images the artwork is expressing.John Berger explains this greatly in his essay "Ways of Seeing."Berger in his essay expresses his views on the way art is viewed in society.He expresses his views on the perception of images, and how easy it is to read a piece of art falsely.He brings up ideas like mystification, the affects of reproductions, and much more.
One of the many barriers to overcome is the perspective of the person doing the viewing of the image.Everyone has different views and different outlooks on life.Berger explains this in his essay by saying, "The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe" (Berger 106).This is true especially when two of the most controversial issues, religion and politics are intertwined in art.A prime example of this would be a picture of the crucification of Jesus Christ; to people with the Christian belief this painting would have a much more substantial value than to those who are of the Jewish or Buddhist belief.To overcome this obstacle a person must put aside their beliefs and view all things with an open mind.
Another barrier someone must overcome when viewing a piece of art is the artwork's history.It is very easy to make an assumption about a piece of art and be false.To understand a painting fully is to understand the era in which it was created, and what the painter was feeling when he painted it.Berger states, "The past is never there waiting to be discovered, to be recognized for exactly what it is" (Berger 108).To overcome this a person must research the artist and the time period to which the painting was created before making any assumptions to what the painting means.
Mystification of the past also causes many problems in viewing a painting correctly.Berger states the definition of mystification as "the process of explaining away what might otherwise be evident" (Berger 11).An example of mystification is god and religion.A person of the religious faith just believes in god and does not try to examine his existence.Someone that tries to analyze god would be mystifying the past.In creating photocopies of original art work; these pieces of art are being mystified.It is possible to have the same feelings, as a person would view the originals; one of the mistakes people is taking these art works and only copying certain parts of the artwork and ruining the original meaning of the piece of art.To over come this obstacle the spectator must view the piece of art in its entirety.
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Language and images also play a major part in viewing pieces of art.In Berger's essay he shows a painting by Van Gogh.The painting looks like a beach with birds.Someone who views this painting could make the assumption of it being a beach or a nice place.On the next page is the same painting, but the words "This is the last picture that Van Gogh painted before he killed himself" (Berger 1).The painting then takes on a completely different feel.A person would then see the painting as something sad and possibly a bit crazy.To even make an assumption like that would be false.To truly understand this painting a spectator would have to know when Van Gogh died, and when the painting was created.Berger also makes a good point in saying; "The meaning of an image is changed according to what one sees immediately beside it or what comes immediately after it" (p. 1).This is true because someone might compare a painting to something that is going on in that person's life.To overcome this one must understand the past of the artist and the history of the painting.
Reproductions do not give the same feeling as the original.One positive thing reproductions bring is art to other classes than just to the rich class.In earlier times before the invention of the camera, and before reproduction the only people who were able to view these pieces of art were the rich with modern technology, however, the average working class can have reproductions by Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Botticelli.Berger explains this when saying, "Yet very few people are aware of what has happened because of means of reproduction are used nearly all the time to promote the illusion that nothing has changed except that the masses, thanks to reproductions, can now begin to appreciate art as the cultured minority once did" (p. 17).By saying this Berger is also expressing a fine example of the way reproductions mystify the past.
When viewing a piece of artwork one should keep in mind all these things.To understand art is to overcome the obstacles in viewing art.A person must put aside all their beliefs, understand the history of the art work, understand the history of the artist, must not be mystified of the past, and use the language and images of art as tools in understanding what the artist is trying to say.The most important thing in viewing art is to keep an open mind.
Works Cited
1. Berger, John. "Ways of Seeing." Ways of Reading. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 00. 105-1.
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