Before looking into John Berger's work, I didn't have much of a deep thought into art and its relation to society. I knew for some styles like European paintings it was to be perceived and interpreted by us. However, in part of watching this series I was able to question and understand how this old tradition ties into the modern society that we play an active role in.
It had never occurred to me how by digital reproduction the original meaning of the work can be open to easy manipulation. I had the feeling that going to a museum to view the original in its hanging spot was different from the replicas or images presented online, but breaking it down to components of stillness and silence shows how much we draw from context. How much we see in the frame, the music that artificially creates an atmosphere, and monitors we view these works all play a vital role in that connection between us and the painting. On the other hand, with this spread I agree with Berger how we're not tied to any one art expert's depiction of the work and their opinions. Although it may be changed in some form, we are still given channels to understand and interpret the work for ourselves.
In terms of nudity as an art form, before I wasn't able to properly wrap my head around the excessive nature of it and assumed it to be completely humiliating for the model. As a male, at times I take for granted the privileges that my gender has in society. For women to be constantly judged, valued by how they look in the glances of others and in their mirror's reflection is infuriating. Through the second episode, I became aware of the connection between this “nude” genre and how it differs from being naked. So far into social development, we as a collective need to understand how women shouldn't be depicted as objects and gear away from using that sexualized beauty as a means for determining their success. The sense of identity and acceptance should be a universal feature, not something gendered and relatable to a painting whose style died off early last century.
Coming to understand oil paintings, to an extent I enjoy how realistic the paintings were in visualizing the objects in fine detail. However, the purpose of expressing one's narcissism and wealth and property in their own property is not surprising in the slightest. The means of ownership relative to the time period to modern day is vital to understanding history. Especially since these paintings lack the detail of where these people's wealth stemmed from. Compared to color photography, I find that color photography and oil paintings are almost two sides of the same coin. While they are similar in how they show the preferred lives that others should be envious of, their target audience is completely different. While oil paintings allow one to celebrate their private possessions, color photography allows one to be persuaded into false promises. By watching this series, I have gained a greater recognition of how this old tradition persists in a different form today, but also the visual sense of society's values and skepticism of it.