John Berger's Ways Of Seeing
What we previously know or believe greatly impacts how we view the world and the visual culture that surrounds us. John Berger argues in the first chapter of his work written in 1972 entitled “Ways of Seeing”, that art “embodies a [different and unique] way of seeing” and an artist’s perspective of the truth may not necessarily correlate with what actually occurred. Whilst viewers may assume that what they are seeing within an artwork is historically and culturally accurate, the reality is that they are merely seeing the artist’s personal perception of events, which may differ from what another person sees or believes. Berger’s argument can be observed when comparing the oil painting “The Death of Captain James Cook, February 14th 1779” (see
…show more content…
Unlike Zoffany’s painting Gilson depicts the Indigenous Australians as the victims of forced colonisation and horrendous brutality at the hands of their colonisers. This is demonstrated through the busy and lively aesthetic being created through the use of both harmonious colours such as the yellows and greens of the land, and contrasting colours such as the red of the European colonisers to enhance the dynamism of the painting. Gilson graphically portrays the barbaric treatment of the Aborigines as second-class citizens in her rather stylized painting with the depiction of gallows, evidently used by the Europeans to hang the Aboriginal people. The central placement of the gallows similarly to Zoffany’s central placement of Captain Cook in his painting, makes it a focal point of the large painting which showcases multiple events going on simultaneously, and illustrates the truth of how the Europeans were the aggressors and the Indigenous people were treated as inferior through being victims of forced colonisation. Gilson’s painting moreover reflects Berger’s notion that what people see is impacted by what they know, with Gilson’s prior knowledge of the cruel treatment of the Aboriginal people by the Europeans displaying her view that the Europeans were the aggressors and those being colonised were the victims. Berger’s concept that every person sees events differently and that artwork is merely how an event is “seen by other people” is moreover reflected through Gilson’s painting opposing Zoffany’s portrayal of Europeans and Indigenous
Unlike Zoffany’s painting Gilson depicts the Indigenous Australians as the victims of forced colonisation and horrendous brutality at the hands of their colonisers. This is demonstrated through the busy and lively aesthetic being created through the use of both harmonious colours such as the yellows and greens of the land, and contrasting colours such as the red of the European colonisers to enhance the dynamism of the painting. Gilson graphically portrays the barbaric treatment of the Aborigines as second-class citizens in her rather stylized painting with the depiction of gallows, evidently used by the Europeans to hang the Aboriginal people. The central placement of the gallows similarly to Zoffany’s central placement of Captain Cook in his painting, makes it a focal point of the large painting which showcases multiple events going on simultaneously, and illustrates the truth of how the Europeans were the aggressors and the Indigenous people were treated as inferior through being victims of forced colonisation. Gilson’s painting moreover reflects Berger’s notion that what people see is impacted by what they know, with Gilson’s prior knowledge of the cruel treatment of the Aboriginal people by the Europeans displaying her view that the Europeans were the aggressors and those being colonised were the victims. Berger’s concept that every person sees events differently and that artwork is merely how an event is “seen by other people” is moreover reflected through Gilson’s painting opposing Zoffany’s portrayal of Europeans and Indigenous