John Berger ran a series of 4 television programs about art, originally broadcast in 1972. Looking at the first program, he was detailing how we look at art, be it photographs or paintings, the originals; he wanted to explain that the original had so much atmosphere, depth and sheer presence first hand, than looking at the original but via a television set. He also showed how an iconic painting or photograph when zoomed in on, through the television or even just cropped can diminish everything that the painting was try to state and how, in this instance, Botticelli’s Venus & Mars when cropping just the head of Venus, she is portrayed as just another pretty woman. This cropping can be done to alter people’s ideas, manipulate they’re thoughts on a subject, the saying ‘the camera never lies’ clearly falls apart with this statement, the viewer can be intentionally mislead to make them come the wrong but intended conclusion just though the simple act of cropping, sometimes it’s not what you show, it’s what you leave out.
The invention of the television and now the internet can now make images, obviously photographs of the originals or copies of copies of copies available to everyone, anywhere at any time, and the image that you can see at the top of this blog is potentially being viewed by someone else right now. The only difference is that the impact the original has, is that it is not surrounded by clutter on a desk, such as tea mugs, staplers, hole-punches, desktop printers and a whole gamut of distracting peripherals. Another element of note is that in a portrait gallery, there is little distraction of sound; you are engaged in the image, taking note of small areas, however never isolating that section from the rest and therefore you are still seeing the whole image as it was intended. When viewing an image via the television, it can be extenuated through panning from left to right and vice versa and so creating, as Berger (1972) says, selecting and rearranging elements to create a narrative and thus creates an unfolding story or even a story board, however there is no unfolding of the story when viewed as a whole, simultaneously. An image can also be manipulated with the use of music, often used in television programs to break the silence and add mood, though an painting can deliver different feelings if for example music from an energetic, lively opera can change the feeling if the music is that of a religious choral piece. In conclusion of the first 156 minutes of the episode it is clear that sound, panning and cropping of paintings can have enormous impact, though sometimes detrimental and mis-leading.
The invention of the television and now the internet can now make images, obviously photographs of the originals or copies of copies of copies available to everyone, anywhere at any time, and the image that you can see at the top of this blog is potentially being viewed by someone else right now. The only difference is that the impact the original has, is that it is not surrounded by clutter on a desk, such as tea mugs, staplers, hole-punches, desktop printers and a whole gamut of distracting peripherals. Another element of note is that in a portrait gallery, there is little distraction of sound; you are engaged in the image, taking note of small areas, however never isolating that section from the rest and therefore you are still seeing the whole image as it was intended. When viewing an image via the television, it can be extenuated through panning from left to right and vice versa and so creating, as Berger (1972) says, selecting and rearranging elements to create a narrative and thus creates an unfolding story or even a story board, however there is no unfolding of the story when viewed as a whole, simultaneously. An image can also be manipulated with the use of music, often used in television programs to break the silence and add mood, though an painting can deliver different feelings if for example music from an energetic, lively opera can change the feeling if the music is that of a religious choral piece. In conclusion of the first 156 minutes of the episode it is clear that sound, panning and cropping of paintings can have enormous impact, though sometimes detrimental and mis-leading.
The Ways Of Seeing. (1972) Episode 1, Art in the age of mechanical reproduction. [Television Broadcast]. 1972. UK: BBC.
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