An underappreciated gem, that one starts dreaming of reading for the second time while still in the middle of the book. Erudite doesn't begin to describe it: Malraux deconstructs art history and glues it back together in a way that exposes new angles of settled art theory concepts under everyone's noses. The book connects the dots I never knew could be connected and gives a philosophical and humanistic perspective to the way seeing affects one's thinking. The art history will never seem lineal again after reading this piece of art philosophy, which, in a truly futuristic way gains back it's relevance in the digital era.
P.S. I especially recommend it to those who are already familiar with writings by Walter Benjamin or John Berger on how photography and film affect the meaning of the original masterpiece.
Perfect weekend read - William Morris by Jake Jackson as N M Wells, Rosalind Ormiston First of all, it is a beautifully published book - even by high standards of Morris himself. Large scale and perfectly reproduced patterns open a window into the endless garden of Arts & Crafts in great detail, which is very helpful for professionals interested in the subject (the quality is beyond anything one can find online).
Secondly, though it would be more than enough to be impressed by the quality of prints, short bio of William Morris, basic points of his philosophy behind the art, and descriptions of the print process, are really helpful.
Of course, this is not a detailed biography or a deep analytic writing on his life and art, but it gives a perfect glance into the place, era, the natural conflict between industrialised mass production and high quality crafts in political-philosophical environment of the time, and most importantly - Morris' inspirations, worldview, and motivation behind those magnificent patterns, the apogee of the genre. Meet me on Goodreads here
John Berger's ('one of the most influential intellectuals of our time' according to the Observer) "Ways of Seeing" is one of those books that I wish someone had told me about when I was a student. Someone could have saved me hours wasted in galleries and museums trying to keep a straight face pretending I understood what I was looking at.
Well, I knew few dates and few names of the painters, knew something about their place in art history and could appreciate their craftsmanship, but I had almost no deeper understanding, or at least a clear method of reading art beyond that. So I'm deeply thankful to John Berger for pointing my attention to:
A different meaning that words and our own emotions bring to the art piece.
Status and power that content of classical European oil paintings ensured to the owner;
Gender issues and portrayal of the female body (I love how Berger draws a clear line between terms 'nude' and 'naked');
An analysis of glamour as an invention of industrial society in modern times during which 'The pursuit of individual happiness has been acknowledged as a universal right. Yet the existing social conditions make the individual feel powerless' (p.148). And I'm pretty sure, no one ever forgot to show this book to people in advertising business.
I guess Berger summed up a lot of things that intuitively were floating in my head, but could not be described in my own words. And though 'seeing comes before words' according to Berger himself, now, after reading his book, I have a clear starting point and few keywords in my head every time I start to analyse any visual in front of me.
The book contains and extends ideas firstly presented in "A BAFTA award-winning series with John Berger, which rapidly became regarded as one of the most influential art programmes ever made." (BBC2)
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In the first programme Berger examines the impact of photography on our appreciation of art from the past.
This second programme deals with the portrayal of the female nude, an important part of the tradition of European art. Berger examines these paintings and asks whether they celebrate women as they really are or only as men would like them to be.
With the invention of oil paint around 1400, painters were able to portray people and objects with an unprecedented degree of realism, and painting became the ideal way to celebrate private possessions. In this programme, John Berger questions the value we place on that tradition.
In this programme, Berger analyses the images of advertising and publicity and shows how they relate to the tradition of oil painting - in moods, relationships and poses.
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'A snap in the face of the art establishment ... Ways of Seeing revolutionized the way that Fine Art is read and understood' - Guardian.
Museum Without Walls by André Malraux
