Ways of Seeing  by John Berger

The Television Series and Book

 The paperback edition is available in the in the Horner ‘Book Corner’  of CameraWork45

Produced by the BBC and broadcast in 1972 in four parts and still available today on YouTube, the series inspired  the book , divided into 7 essays developed by Berger and other 4  contributors.  John Berger(1926-2017) in the book clearly credits  Walter Benjamin’s essay  “The Work of Art in the Age of  Mechanical Reproduction” .  Both the series and essays are invitations to reflect on how we see and on how what we see is portrayed.  Deep but very accessible, definitely worth reading and or watching. To be noted the first television episodes is a reflection on photography’s impact on both the accessibility of classic art forms and on the way we perceive them.

 

picture of front and back cover of Ways of seeing by John Berger

For some reason beyond me the BBC no longer hosts these videos on their player .

Links to the Series on YouTube  (email Chris at camerawork45@gmail.com if there are any issues there). Each episode lasts about 30 minutes

 

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

 

Read more about John Peter Berger                  Read more about Walter Benjamin

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