Since when has art become about market value and not the raw emotion that one receives from looking at it?
John Berger’s Ways of Seeing presents readers with the idea of “bogus religiosity.” An original painting has the power to bring awe to its viewer; even if the viewer has seen the painting through any means of reproduction, be it the television or a photograph, the reproduction does not have the timelessness, magic, or religiosity of the original (21). The original pieces are considered “works of art” due to their rarity, meaningfulness, and the ability to survive.
Bogus religiosity is bogus. The reality with artwork, whether its an original piece or a reproduction, is that it shouldn’t focus on the material aspects like rarity and market value. Art should be about the expression of the creator through a certain medium, and through that medium, the viewer feels an emotional response toward the piece and the meaning of it. Of course, many paintings are only reveled because they are “holy relics.” Like Leonardo DaVinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, to be in front of and seeing the piece with your own body makes the painting and the experience “authentic and therefore…beautiful” (21). To Berger, a reproduction of a painting doesn’t hold the same response, but why shouldn’t it? Just because you see a relic of the past with your own eyes doesn’t make it any more meaningful than owning a print of it in your home. Art is about emotion and passion, and that emotion and passion should be able to be transmitted through any medium, not just through the power of the original piece.
The market value of a painting directly correlates with the piece’s worth and importance. Berger states that the market value of a piece makes a painting “impressive…and mysterious” (23). Sure, the fact that the piece is a relic and comes from a famous painter brings a sense of grandeur and worth for the painting, but this doesn’t apply to all paintings. For many cases, the importance is based on historical, social, or aesthetic value. Francisco de Goya’s La Maja Desnuda demonstrates the past and history, a perfect example of how art can be “more precise and richer than literature” (10). The nude woman in the painting is famous and worth millions not because it is an exceptionally painted portrait; it tells a story. It initiates emotions and draws spectators back to the time of the painter.
The painting hangs in Madrid today, but it holds more meaning that just being a piece of history and art. Emotions flow from the painter to the painting to the viewer. It doesn’t matter that a person may see La Maja Desnuda on a replica on his wall. If a person truly looked at a painting for what its meaning and emotional response were, the market value wouldn’t matter. Bogus religiosity wouldn’t matter. It’s time that lovers of the arts focus on the internal aspect and not the external aspect. We don’t need to see a painting in the flesh for a genuine experience and connection to the piece; we need to use our emotions to truly experience the painting, whether our eyes converge directly toward the painting or through a screen. Art is art; appreciate it for what it is, and not what the market value makes it out to be.
Sunya Mouada 