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
Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Perception and observation precede verbal communication in human development.
This quote emphasizes the fundamental role of visual perception in learning and communication. John Berger suggests that before a child can articulate thoughts through language, they first engage with the world by seeing and recognizing it. This process highlights the importance of non-verbal communication and the innate ability to understand oneβs surroundings, laying the groundwork for more complex forms of expression.
Themes
PerceptionCommunicationChild DevelopmentObservationLearning
In practice
Example use cases
A teacher may use this quote to emphasize the importance of visual learning techniques.
More from John Berger
All quotes βUnlike 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.
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We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.
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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.
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Propaganda requires a permanent network of communication so that it can systematically stifle reflection with emotive or utopian slogans. Its pace is usually fast.
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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
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