John Berger

John Berger ‘Ways of Seeing.’


Chapter 3:


John Berger tries to explain the social presence of a woman and how different it is to that of a man. A women’s presence is judged by her voice, what she wears, her gestures, expressions and opinions. ‘A Man’s presence may be fabricated, in the sense that he pretends to be capable of what he is not. But the pretence is always towards a power which he exercises on others.’ He says the women are born into a world where they are constantly judged by their image. They appearance of a women could determine how she is treated by a man. ‘Men survey women before treating them.’ He explains that women know that they are being watched and consequently watch themselves and their behaviour in the presence of men. ‘Men act and women appear’.
I think that this statement has some truth to it. Women are constantly obsessed with their image in order to be appreciated by a man. I also think this gives them a certain sense of power and control because they determine where a relationship goes.

John Berger looks at the way in which nude European oil paintings are portrayed. He first looks at a picture of Adam and Eve during the renaissance and describes how their shame is portrayed by the couple by their stance. This changes later through the years where their shame is viewed more as confidence in an advertisement.

The meaning that we acquire from a piece of art is always different to what the artist intended. We reach so many conclusions when we are faced with a piece of art. John Berger differentiates the conventions and what a nude piece signifies. ‘To be naked is to be oneself,’ John Berger describes nudity as a disguise. This could interpret that we are all used to seeing each other with clothes on and without it, we are alien to others. He also describes nudity as a form of a dress.
Nude paintings of women are there to satisfy the audience (Man). It is often seen in these paintings that the women is not interested in her surroundings or her partner in the painting, her main focus is engaging the spectator. The audience’s relationship with the painting is limited because he can only observe the painting and would therefore realise that she is not naked for him.

This chapter basically explains the presence of women and men in our society. Women are often reduced to sexual objects and instruments to pleasure men. Women also feel the needs to look their best in order to get attention from men. They almost crave for attention from men. This message is constantly seen in the media with magazines articles and television adverts. John Berger also explains how women are viewed not just in everyday life but in paintings as well. Women are represented differently to Men and these representations and are suited to the man’s needs.