John Berger Essay- Ways of Seeing
While in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I traveled through the different galleries and their various cultures; discovering all sorts of arts from Contemporary art, to American art,
Japanese art, and even the Egyptian art where I could appreciate the complexity of mummies.
Throughout all these diverse cultures of art, I was questioning myself and started to wonder how
I could understand art beyond others’ opinion about them. Moreover, I realized that it was a question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is a question that will always be raised while demanding how to understand a certain art. Walking through a room where various French artists had their paintings exposed, I fell in front of the artwork (see above) painted by Paul Gauguin. I did not choose a French artist to make me remember the French culture that I am missing here in Boston, nor to pretend that the French are advanced in art, but a way to analyze and understand, with the experience of a famous art critic, an artwork from an artist who astonished me in my previous art classes.
D'où venons-nous, Qui sommes-nous, Où allons-nous?
By Paul Gauguin
I chose a painting that had a warm expression, and complex story emanating from it. As the title of my essay indicates, the title of the painting translated in English is “Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?” So many questions in the title and the painting, but there were as much coming through my mind while studying this image. This artwork is very ambiguous because I do not know how to start looking at it. I can observe people appearing half naked in the foreground, but we cannot really tell why they appear there. The statue in the back makes the questioning more obscure. It seems like an Oracle that gives people their destiny, and that is maybe why they all look so sad. Truly, I felt that this image was a representation of my origin country, West Indies, by the color Gauguin used. He used
Japanese art, and even the Egyptian art where I could appreciate the complexity of mummies.
Throughout all these diverse cultures of art, I was questioning myself and started to wonder how
I could understand art beyond others’ opinion about them. Moreover, I realized that it was a question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is a question that will always be raised while demanding how to understand a certain art. Walking through a room where various French artists had their paintings exposed, I fell in front of the artwork (see above) painted by Paul Gauguin. I did not choose a French artist to make me remember the French culture that I am missing here in Boston, nor to pretend that the French are advanced in art, but a way to analyze and understand, with the experience of a famous art critic, an artwork from an artist who astonished me in my previous art classes.
D'où venons-nous, Qui sommes-nous, Où allons-nous?
By Paul Gauguin
I chose a painting that had a warm expression, and complex story emanating from it. As the title of my essay indicates, the title of the painting translated in English is “Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?” So many questions in the title and the painting, but there were as much coming through my mind while studying this image. This artwork is very ambiguous because I do not know how to start looking at it. I can observe people appearing half naked in the foreground, but we cannot really tell why they appear there. The statue in the back makes the questioning more obscure. It seems like an Oracle that gives people their destiny, and that is maybe why they all look so sad. Truly, I felt that this image was a representation of my origin country, West Indies, by the color Gauguin used. He used
Cited: Book references: • Berger, John. “Ways of Seeing.” Ways of Reading. An Anthology for Writers. 8th Edition. Ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 97-123. • Hughes, Robert. “Paul Gauguin” The Shock of the New. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. Painting: Gauguin, Paul. D’ou venons nous? Qui sommes nous? Ou allons nous? 1898. Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA, United States.