All John Berger Quotes
- It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that… Establishes
- The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems… Art
- Between the experience of living a normal life at this moment on the planet and the public narratives being offered to give a sense to… Empty
- Every authentic poem contributes to the labor of poetry... to bring together what life has separated or violence has torn apart... Poetry can repair no… Apart
- When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. Book
- Landscapes can be deceptive. Sometimes a landscape seems to be less a setting for the life of its inhabitants than a curtain behind which their… Accidents
- We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves. Always Looking
- The zoo cannot but disappoint. Animal
- The collaboration which sometimes follows is seldom based on good will: usually on desire, rage, fear, pity or longing. The modern illusion concerning painting (which… Act
- What do drawings mean to me? I really don't know. The activity absorbs me. I forget everything else in a way that I don't think… Absorbs
- The animal has secrets which, unlike the secrets of caves, mountains, seas are specifically addressed to man. Addressed
- We who draw do so not only to make something observed visible to others, but also to accompany something invisible to its incalculable destination Accompany
- The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. Burden
- The essence of songs is neither vocal nor cerebral but organic. We follow songs in order to be enclosed. We find ourselves inside a message.… All
- Malevich, Lissitsky, Kandinsky, Tatlin, Pevsner, Rodchenko… all believed in the social role of art… Their works were like hinged doors, connecting activity with activity. Art… Action
- The opposite of love is not to hate but to separate. If love and hate have something in common it is because, in both cases,… Both
- The existence of pleasure is the first mystery. The existence of pain has prompted far more philosophical speculation. Pleasure and pain need to be considered… Considered
- Advertising is not merely an assembly of competing messages; it is a language itself which is always being used to make the same general proposal Advertising
- Hair is associated with sexual power. With passion. The woman's sexual passion needs to be minimized, so that the spectator may feel that he has… Associated
- At times failure is very necessary for the artist. It reminds him that failure is not the ultimate disaster. And this reminder liberates him from… Artist