Reading/Viewing Questions

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing Episode 2 

After you watch episode 2 of Ways of Seeing (or even while you are watching it), provide short answers to the questions below.

1. One of the main premises in this episode is Berger’s distinction between nakedness and the nude female form as it is traditionally represented in Western art. What are the differences between these things and why are these differences significant? Do they apply to images you have encountered in your experience

-Berger stated that nude in European painting is a form of art, nude implies a weakness seen as an art form. They stated,” they’re not naked as they are, naked as you see them”. In today’s world, nude painting can be very different in some categories because it’s basically looking at yourself in the mirror that reflects your beauty but it reflects on the judgment you get because in this generation nude painting can be looked differently.

2. According to Berger, how have Western works of art depicted and defined different roles for men and women? According to Berger, what is the significance of this? Do these depictions influence the ways we think of the differences between men’s and women’s roles in society today? 

– In the western work of art, they stated women nude painting can be looked at by men who judge them because they look at them as an object. They tend to use their hand and wear fig leaves to make modest gestures with their hands. Their shame is not so much in relation to one another but they feel shame because of the view of the way the spectator looks at them. In today’s society its really different because we treat women and men equally in opportunity, but some people point of view they think men can do more than women but I’m really against that thought because women and men are both equally strong.

3. How does Berger describe the significance of the mirror in paintings depicting women? What does this object say about the ways beauty is defined in these paintings? What does Berger say about the depiction of the female gaze in the paintings he discusses? What kinds of more contemporary examples does he relate this to, and what significance does he draw from these connections between older European art and depictions of women today?

– Berger describes the mirror painting as a men desire to look at to satisfy their pleasure, they tend to look at the nude painting as an original beauty but in the discussion that Berger has with the women, they stated that oil painting shows women in an unreal way because of how the painting is immensely exaggerated on how their gesture looks.