Category Archives: Blog Post #1

Meme-tastic!!!

   Episode #1 of John Berger’s Ways Of Seeing speaks on the idea that since the invention of the camera, images have become a sort of language that can take on a completely distinct meaning from its original intended purpose. This is done through the manipulation of  context in which the image is found. Take for example the memes we see everyday on social media. The format is simple, yet effective. This image for example…

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Shows a point in time in an episode of a  television series where two of the same character are pointing at each other as if to be confused about what they are seeing. “That man’s an impostor” one of them says, to which the other replies “THAT man is the impostor”. The intended purpose of the films creator during that time was to express that one of these two is an impostor. However, social media has manifested a new “comedic language” in which words are placed over these sorts of images and given a completely new meaning. The end product looking something like this…

…The words placed over the image join together with the image to tell the viewer that having insomnia due to anxiety is the same as having anxiety because of your insomnia. Another example would be the following…

…Just like in the previous example, this image was taken from a film. The characters seem to be in the middle of thinking up a plan, however the words placed over them give the image a new meaning. A sort of friendly and funny meaning. This relates to John Berger’s ideas because it hits on the idea that easily reproducible images can be easily stripped of their original meaning and given a whole new array of possible meanings, which also depends on the viewer’s perspective. 

 

 

~~~The idea that perspective is all about the eye, and how the eye can only be in one place at one time is what makes a viewer’s perspective so distinct from one another and also what gives meaning to what the viewer is looking at. This means that what you are looking at is distinct to you and only you, and no other person sees that image in your head  the way you do but you. This also means that no other person can attach the same meaning to those images as you. They are seeing it from their perspective, through their own life experiences. Things another human being could not replicate. Until the camera. Camera’s are able to capture moments at any given time, and can be duplicated endlessly. Things you would normally travel miles to see now travel to you. It’s ironic how the very act of endlessly reproducing images due to their uniqueness, actually takes away from the image and in a sense lessens the quality. You can see an image of The Eiffel Tower a million times in a textbook, and it wouldn’t mean a thing, but it’s different when you’re standing in front of it. You can feel the greatness of the structure. But you’d probably take a picture of it there anyways. Likewise, when you play music over images you can change the feeling that the image gives off, and thus its meaning. ~~~

 

Blog Post 1

http://www.hardrainproject.com/hrpl?n=9895

one image in specific that has spoken to me with no text or audio but with the photograph it captured is one about the amazon rain forest (posted in link above)and a road dividing the remaining forest and on the other side of the road we have huge plot of land with no trees or grass or plants or any sign of life, just traces of typical careless human doings to the earth, all for self interests, all for money, all for power, all for greed. wherever i am, if i see that image it speaks hard to me, it brings many emotions to me, especially because it is the land of my people, my ancestors and it is being destroyed for negotiations, for business, for some cash in big companies wallets. this definitely is something about what Berger talks about, he speaks about how you can see so much more to one single picture you can see the story and make so much of one image, and also he speaks about being able to view it firsthand and through for example on a phone and it can be different experiences and i agree, the image i saw shocks me, but perhaps actually being in the scene of the photograph might ignite a different experience and thought/emotions.

                                                                                                                                                                                   The invention of camera dates back to 1816, popularity of instant camera took off in 1965 and till date it is taking the world by storm. Today, almost everyone has camera on theirs phone all the time and is using its features to the max. Millennials are expected to take 25,000 selfies in their lifetime. With new invention comes new changes, new manipulation which tends  misuses the invention for their own benefit. These days people are using images for everything, for example, political campaigns, clothing lines, Ads, protest etc because images has the capacity and the platform to reach millions of people around the world with the help of the internet. So images can manipulate a lot of things in anyone’s life and it’s free. Recently, I was on “TikTok” which is like “ Vines”, where they act with some music in background and sometimes notes on the pictures. So there was a trend recently on the app “ Tik Tok” where people put black paint on their face with sad music in the background. The next second, it changes to fun music , the same person is shown with full makeup and of course without the black paint. This context with few images switching from black paint fact to full glowing makeup shows how the world sees fair skin as more attractive and how melanin is not considered beautiful. This trend showcased bad society’s mentality where if you don’t meet society’s standard of beauty then you are not attractive. This trend made me feel so bad and I have seen a lot of people from India keeping up with this trend. Coming from India, I know how melanin is not considered the most attractive skin color and pale skin can win over darker skin color. Which is sad but it’s true in most rural India. It is so sad that the trend is spreading all the wrong message through the use of images and it is even more sad that this has became a trend on that app. 

Blog Post #1 Remembering 9/11

 

 

                                                Remembering 9/11

 

                                                                              

 

I was just a little girl when 9/11 took place. I tend to have flashbacks and blur images of this day.  As I sit here and view this image I begin to feel again those feelings that took place during this day. So many people besides myself can view this image, even those who weren’t there and connect to the horrors that occurred on this day. That’s the power of the camera. It allows us to view a past moment  that took place and personally in our own perspective connect to it. We might not all have the same understanding to this image and over time its meaning changes. The meaning of this image is always going to change over time and more so to the audience viewing it. My expressions do fit what John Berger is describing in episode 1. A Image is a message with a meaning that is going to always going to be different depending where its being viewed from and who is viewing it over time.

 

ways of seeing

 

Name: Mina Sunuwar                                                                                                09/18/2019

ENG: 101

Response paper             

                                                      ‘Ways of Seeing’ by John Berger

 

John Berger is the famous English artist, novelist, real painter, and poet in ‘Ways of Seeing ‘ author explains that why we discover something about ourselves and situation in which we are surviving. The process of seeing painting, it comes suddenly or naturally in our mind because painting has own authentic meaning. All the paintings of the tradition used the convention of perspective, which is unique any countries. The paint is our tradition of art called those appearances reality, perspective makes the eye center of the visible world. But  people’s eye can only be in one place at a time.The Camera can changed everything like paintings creations, design, more copies.However, we can see things which were not there in front of us. Author mentions that the invention of the camera has changed not only what we see, but how we see it. Our mind is not easy to think of appearances always traveling to a single center. The camera reproduces it making it available in any size anywhere for any purpose. When we are going to think deeper it becomes various meanings and thoughts.

             In my view ‘ways of seeing’ this essay’s writer trying to show us how we see the picture and our  ways of seeing changed because of modern technology and science. The author trying to explain so many ways takes example how much reality,unique,authentic,value,invention,perspective of paintings in old generation. He compared old generation and to present. Many years  before painting is very valuable,familiarity of surrounded by different objects, different sounds, different colors. Originally, painting were placed special national gallery, pieces in church and buildings. That painting makes us internal reality feelings, memorable further long life.everything around the image is part of its meaning. Now a days technology makes easy,and happy for people. You do not have to go anywhere for visible world. We can go google any kinds of research at home. 

        

 

Cameras

Jeffery Chacon

English

Blog#1

 The invention of the camera has really changed our perspective we get from images and and some may get different meanings from an image based on their past experiences or common knowledge. For example, Ai Weiwei’s picture of someone showing his middle finger at the white house. I feel like we are all entitled to our freedom of speech and in this picture that person is not harming or discriminating anyone so I feel like that the controversy that exists regarding that picture is irrelevant. For all we know it is a United States veteran showing his middle finger at the white house because he feels like his or her voice is not being listened to. Another reason why I am not offended because of this picture because In a way I relate a lot to this picture because of the Trump. I am not in agreement with most of his absurd ideas and racist comments he shares on national Television. Although I am aware that this picture was taken long before Trump was in office but this picture might have been directed at whoever was in office at the time of the picture maybe the American sticking out his middle finger was also not in agreement with the administration at the time because of the ways the president might have handled certain situations at the time. This shows how the invention of the camera has changed our lives and created a totally different language that creates a lot of controversy on social media and also shows how an image can mean many different things for different people.

Image result for weiwei middle finger white house

Perspective

Images often convey different meanings, the significance of an image is usually based on the spectator’s point of view, individual way of thinking or past experiences. Each person has their own unique way of seeing things. Therefore, two people observing the same work of art can have a completely different idea of the meaning that it holds behind it, this is called perspective.

Images are a way of transmitting a message without saying any words, they  also allow us to see historical paintings that we are unable to see personally, and as stated in the book in Episode 1 of  Ways of Seeing, images show us how things were in the past and how people once looked.

This image’s theme is perspective. It shows how the painter is drawing the egg as the way he sees it, which can differ from what others see. As stated before, people see things differently depending on certain factors, and what can be very clear to one might not be to others. This fits with the ideas described in Episode 1 of ways of seeing because John Beger states that “…our perception or appreciation of an image depends also upon our own way of seeing”. Based on this we can also say that although this image is about perspective, it can mean something different for someone else.

 

 

The Power of Imagination

          In this image, I can see that there is an old lady sits on a wheelchair  and stays alone in a room. Besides, there are some flowers and a music player on the desk. In the picture, the old lady is smiling and raising her arm so that she can use light to make her shadow look like she is dancing. As we can see from the photo, she is really enjoying this moment. She knows that she is old. She can’t even stand up by herself. But in her mind, she believes that she can still be young again. Here, I can strongly feel that she really wants to change her situation and go back to her young age times so that she can dance again. Therefore, she uses her humor and optimistic attitude to against her life’s struggle. She likes flowers and music, desires to dance. On the other hand, she is also very creative like a child, because I never see a senior who likes to play with his or her shadow. The message from this image, I believe, is to keep optimistic in difficult situation. Don’t be afraid of being under the shadow, you know the light creates shadow. Don’t ever think your world is dark, you should know that your light is created by yourself. If you have a dream, you will never feel old because your heart is young.

 

remains of unethical ways of working

This image is a photo of a sculpture I visited at the metropolitan museum. The message being conveyed is significant to slavery. Tools used for yard work and fields all linked together with chains. The sculpture was displayed in an area with very little light and the tools were rusted and old to show the time period, but also the hard labor these people were induced to. Through the photo alone you wouldn’t be able to see the texture or like I said the rusted look that would be able to be seen at the actual exhibit. The lack of detail not being shown in the image can ultimately change the overall message to the viewer. You don’t get the full effect that you would if you were right in front of the sculpture. Now that I’m looking back at the image it doesn’t have the same effect that it did a year ago. I feel like that would happen with a lot of artwork or sculptures over time it starts to lose value and less feeling or emotion that you once had when looking at images. The idea of being able to see things in a way that you weren’t taught and learned like Berger said leaves more room to have your own opinion and view towards the meaning of art. This allows room for more thought and change rather than seeing things the way everyone else perceive it.