Ways of Seeing: Art Perception

Ways of Seeing: Art Perception

By Shaynin Jade Richardson

John Berger's "Ways of Seeing"
book cover. 

This book was very fascinating to read, but it actually proved quite difficult for me to interpret it's main focus. Ways of seeing by primarily John Berger consists of four essays that attempt to interpret hidden ideologies in popular visual images like these. Through a collection of art work, John Berger takes his readers through a discussion and interpretation of the images. 

English art critic, novelist,
painter and poet, Mr. John Berger.

I began reading this book while enrolled in an introductory art history course a couple of semesters ago and really enjoyed the images along with the discussions of the different ways of viewing and interpreting certain works of art. The discussion of the depiction of women in advertisements and oil paintings is the most interesting to me, because it gives a detailed description and interpretation of the depiction of women in pieces all throughout the history of our imagery world. I really enjoyed looking at works from different times in history that portrayed women in similar ways.

While researching a bit more about the book, I recently learned that there was a television series covering the same material and that the books are actually the shows script and I was actually able to find some of those episodes on YouTube! If you’re into interpreting different aspects of art, this book will guide you through a great discussion of interpretations and ways of seeing art, along with providing the images to view while reading.

Have You Caught What's Contagious

Book Title: Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Author: Jonah Berger

Length: 256 pages

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Price: $18.89 USD (Amazon)

Have You Caught What’s Contagious?

Photo Produced From: nytimes.com

Do you ever wonder how or why things become popular? In Jonah Berger’s book “Contagious: Why Things Catch On,” he discusses and explains how and why things like this happen. He discusses how word of mouth can be one of the fastest ways to learn about a new product or idea. This concept makes me think of the saying “monkey see, monkey do.” This reminds me of when the popular TV show “Friends” made a hairstyle iconic. “The Rachel” made famous by actress Jennifer Aniston, became one of the most popular hairstyles of the 90s – if even got its own name!

Photo Produced From: limeylitgirl.blogspot.com

Jonah Berger is a successful writer and professor whose works have been published in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  He is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, even teaching a class called: Contagious: How Products, Behaviors and Ideas Catch On.

This book discusses and explains why things go viral and what it takes to make it a sensation. Having published many articles and even teaching a class on social epidemics (how products, ideas, and behaviors become popular), Berger is obviously an expert on the subject. He proves his theory with relatable and relevant examples such as Rebecca Black’s infamous “Friday” song.

Overall, I found this book to be an interesting read. I always noticed when things caught on, but never really thought about the reasoning behind how or why it happened. This book opened my eyes on how sensations occur and why as well. Many of his ideas in the book can be applied to many fields, especially my own, Public Relations. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in the Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations and Psychology fields.

How To Become Contagious

How To Become Contagious

BY KIERAN OVERSTREET

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

Author: Jonah Berger

Book Length: 244

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Price: $26 (New hard cover) 

After reading Contagious, I found that his six steps on how to make a product contagious were very compelling. I thought that they gave wonderful insight into how one might take their products to the next level. Those six steps are social currency, triggers, emotions, public, particular value and stories.

            Jonah Berger is an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania. Berger studies social epidemics, which is the study of how behaviors catch on. He wrote multiple journals that have been published in multiple elite journals.

            Throughout this book, I think the subject was intriguing. It talks in depth about the six steps that are listed above. I think after reading this book, the audience needs to know these six steps and how they relate to products success. The strength of the book is the content. The weakness is the length of the book. I feel that there was a lot of content that was not meaningful. I feel that it could have been expressed in straight-to-the-point type of way.

            Overall, it was a great book. It opens your eyes to content that you did not know applied to products. It gives you the insight you need in order to make your product the most successful thing possible. It is an easy read however it is a little lengthy.

This is just a brief description of Berger’s steps to read more check out some other blogs that I have listed below.

Contagious: Why Things Catch On

6 Keys to Contagious Marketing

Book Review: Contagious

Infographic: The Six Insider's Secret of Contagious Content

Create Contagious Content