John Berger’s book “Ways of Seeing” changed the way people thought about art and art criticism. This translation of Berger’s seminal work shows how what we see is always influenced by a whole host of preconceptions about beauty, truth, civilization, taste, social order, the position of art, and so on. Berger peels back layers of meaning from oil paintings, photographs, and graphic art one by one, pointing out that when we see images, we don’t just look at them, but participate in a much more versatile process of interpretation. According to Berger, the history of art is not the history of the alternation of different styles, but the history of different ways of seeing, which defines what we see and consider meaningful when looking at a work of art. Based on the 4-part BBC series of the same name, the book was first published in 1972 and has become a classic of visual culture and art history over the next half century.
Translated by Ingrid Ruudi
Edited by Maarin Ektermann and Neeme Lopp
Language editor: Tiina Hallik
Layout by Maria Muuk
Original design: Richard Hollis
176 pages, in Estonian
Estonian Academy of Arts Press, 2019
ISBN 978-9949-594-72-6