Perspective

The perspective presented by the authors of Ways of Seeing is that of the reader. John Berger and his coauthors describe in Chapters 1, 3, 5, and 7 with words and images the changing perspectives available to a reader. As the technology of a society advances, its culture adapts over time. The authors present the reader's changing perspective based on the interdependent and interactive environment that affect it. For example, an oil painting historically is the only pictorial depiction of a person, thing, or landscape. It is created by the artist from his point of view. However, invention of the camera enabled a second way to create a pictorial representation or image that replaces the artist's point of view. Consequently, perspective of the reader/spectator is no longer limited to the point of view of the oil painter, but is expanded to the point of view of the picture-taker with a camera...