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 to me it's something that theatre can do, but it's rare; it's very rare.
John BergerRead
To be naked is to be oneself. To be nude is to be seen naked by others and yet not recognized for oneself. A naked body has to be seen as an object in order to become a nude. (The sight of it as an object stimulates the use of it as an object.) Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display. To be naked is to be without disguises.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nakedness expresses authenticity, while nudity objectifies the body.
John Berger's quote distinguishes between being naked and being nude. To be naked signifies a state of being genuine and vulnerable, where one reveals their true self without any barriers or pretenses. In contrast, to be nude involves being exposed physically in a manner that is more about how others perceive the body than the individual’s authenticity, often reducing the person to an object rather than recognizing their humanity.
Themes
NakednessNudityAuthenticityBodyPerception
In practice
Example use cases
In an art class discussing the human form, this quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity in representation.
More from John Berger
All quotes →Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photograph does.
John BergerRead
We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
John BergerRead
The camera relieves us of the burden of memory. It surveys us like God, and it surveys for us. Yet no other god has been so cynical, for the camera records in order to forget.
John BergerRead
Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
John BergerRead
Being a unique superpower undermines the military intelligence of strategy. To think strategically, one has to imagine oneself in the enemy's place. If one cannot do this, it is impossible to foresee, to take by surprise, to outflank. Misinterpreting an enemy can lead to defeat. This is how empires fall.
John BergerRead
Similar quotes
In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption.
Raymond ChandlerRead
Cities are beautiful because they are created slowly; they are made by time. A city is born from a tangle of monuments and infrastructures , culture and market, national history and everyday stories. It takes 500 years to create a city, 50 to create a neighborhood.
Renzo PianoRead
I'd say, if you want to be an artist, start with your art; start with making great music and it will, hopefully, eventually cut through all of the nonsense that is out there.
Queen LatifahRead
Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art.
Ansel AdamsRead
As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.
Vincent Van GoghRead
I wish you could see the two cats drowsing side by side in a Victorian nursing chair, their paws, their ears, their tails complementarily adjusted, their blue eyes blinking open on a single thought of when I shall remember it's their supper time. They might have been composed by Bach for two flutes.
Sylvia Townsend WarnerRead