¶ … Seeing
The interesting thing about art and artistic expression today is the many different ways in which it can be interpreted. Indeed, today's variety of cultures, perspectives, and means of communication lend themselves to a myriad of interpretations. Hence, essays such as "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger appear, at first glance, to cater well to this variety of interpretations. What is most interesting about the essay is that it appears, at first, to provide an interpretation of human perspective in general. At the end of the essay, however, this purpose appears to be supplanted by a more exclusive, narrow viewpoint regarding the political nature of original and replicated art. To offer a more in-depth interpretation of the author's viewpoint, the purpose, claims, and "three perspectives" in terms of ethos, pathos, and logos will be considered.
At the start of the essay, its purpose appears to be a consideration of the various ways in which people might see things. This is related, first, to the concept of image. The author points out, quite correctly, that "Seeing comes before words" (p. 7). This means that the image is the primary interpretation of the world around us. Quite logically, the author follows an in-depth consideration of image and its meaning in terms of the human relationship to the world with a consideration of various visual art forms. At the end of the essay, however, this purpose appears to be subsumed by an exclusive focus on art before and after its replication.
The claims of the essay correlate well with its apparent purpose, although this does appear somewhat dual....
First, the claim that vision precedes an awareness of words and writing is well supported by the way in which children perceive the world. The author notes that "The child sees and recognizes before it can speak." This is followed by a consideration of the vision offered by art, which in turn is followed by a consideration of how photography has changed the concept of perspective. The author discusses art and the perception it implicates, at first, by a lengthy consideration of Frans Hals and two of his works depicting the "regents" of his time. From Hals's perspective, the author claims, a negative, non-neutral vision might be interpreted from his depiction, given the perspective of the artist as pauper. On the other hand, the perspective of the contemporary art critic would impose its own background and assumptions about art on the work. The author then uses this as a basis for furthering the discussion regarding photography and the ways in which visual perspective shifted because of this new interpretive technology. Photography meant that art could be replicated, which shifted the meaning and value attached to works of original art. This could then be related to the ethos, pathos, and logos the author uses to expound his views.
Ethos is related to the language the author uses to convince the reader of his viewpoint. This is the one consistency throughout the essay. The author uses a level of academic language that his peers can relate to. As such, the work is aimed at a certain audience with an assumed intellectual prowess and power of critical thinking. Concepts such as the "compositional unity of a painting" (p.…
