Ways of Seeing
Based on the BBC Television Series
by John Berger · first published 1972
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, accessible look at how we see art, advertising and images, built from a 1970s BBC series. Praised for changing how readers view art and persuasion, without the gatekeeping or pretension of typical art criticism.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
How do we see the world around us? The Penguin on Design series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings on art, design and the media have changed our vision forever."Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.""But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but word can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled."John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of
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For you budding industrial designers; The Design of Everyday Things - Don Norman Ways of Seeing - Jon Berger Principles of Form and Design - Wucius Wong Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think and Work - Nigel Cross
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗> Exactly the same goes for painting the casual videos of John Berger's "Ways of Seeing" / "Art of Looking" have taught me (an ignorant pleb) more about how to "get" art than any opinions from art critics. There is so much pretentiousness and gate-keeping in this field it's insane. Just…
on “On getting poetry” ↗The form of the blog post reminded me very much of Jon Berger's Ways of Seeing, a life-changing political book on art history that changes the way you look at the world. I'd be surprised if the author hadn't read it, or one of its descendants. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ways-Seeing-Penguin-Modern-Classics/...
on “Web Design: The First 100 Years (2014)” ↗You may start here: Ways of Seeing, John Berger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk
on “Ask HN: How do I get into Art?” ↗I'll bite. I'd start with Ways of Seeing by John Berger http://www.amazon.com/Ways-Seeing-John-Berger/dp/014103579X
on “Culture is not about esthetics (2011)” ↗Have a read of John Berger's "Ways of seeing". He believes the rich are trying to exclude the poor from art by insisting that the original has some indefinable quality to it that is inherently better in order to retain a higher ground by owning…
on “How to Make Millions as an Art Forger” ↗A book on a similar theme from before the internet is [Ways of Seeing][1] by John Berger. The typography, set in bold throughout, doesn't do the text any favors, but the writing and information is good. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ways_of_Seeing
on “How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds” ↗I recommend John Berger's "Ways of Seeing", available on YouTube. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ways_of_Seeing
on “This AI is bad at drawing but will try anyways” ↗The Design of Everyday Things Ways of Seeing The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗Extremely relevant to this is the excellent program Ways of Seeing by John Berger: https://youtu.be/0pDE4VX_9Kk
on “717 Gigapixel Image of Rembrandt's Nightwatch” ↗My favourite one is John Berger / Ways of Seeing. It's available on youtube [0]. If you enjoy photography you might enjoying this documentary as well. I think it's very much related to the recent topic https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32794757 [0]…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?” ↗Where're my art history peeps on this thread? Ways of Seeing by John Berger. It's a short book, written about 50 years ago to accompany a British TV series, which you can find on YouTube, and which I highly recommend before reading the book. Its a book about visual…
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?” ↗…too. Also: 19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei by Eliot Weinberger A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander Impro by Keith Johnstone (you don't need to care about theatre or improv to enjoy this book) Ways of Seeing by John Berger (or just watch the TV show)
on “Ask HN: What Books helped you sharpen your brains?” ↗…(an assemblage: a way of assembling one's life)] aside from, say, starting an archive of design you find noteworthy on something like are.na, these are on my to-read to which op might find seedful: - Ways of Seeing: https://www.ways-of-seeing.com/ - Designing Design: https://www.lars-mueller-publishers.com/designing-design - The Politics of Design: http://thepoliticsofdesign.com/about-the-book
on “Ask HN: How to become a coder who can design?” ↗Twas always thus, and is beautifully described by John Berger in his book nd tv series Ways of Seeing. In, I think, 1974? Well worth your youtube time.
on “'Incredibly noticeable': alcohol ban cut family violence, crime in Alice Springs” ↗