First off, my thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for an eARC of this book.
It has been decades since I have read Berger. Better known as an art critic than an artist (and perhaps as an novelist as well), this slim volume mixes the two.
It is an ongoing conversation betwen John Berger and his son Yves (also an artist) regarding the perception and practice of an artist. Regarding both artistic works, and the world and self. In ways it is a continuation of "Ways of Seeing".
The ebook format for this book is not recommended. There are many reproductions of artwork in here, and in the ebook format the images are scrunched together on the page of a pad reader. What they are of, let alone the detail, is almost unrecognizable at times. Also, on occasion it is hard to determine which of the two is writing - again, this may be a shortcoming only in the ebook version. There is no clear delineation between who is writing when.
OTOH, their conversation, a little slow to begin with (and moves from postcards to emails it appears), becomes an insightful and interesting commentary between the two on art and artists and practice. Also, at the end of the volume there is a collection of sketches by the two artists.
Perhaps for Berger completists, and active artists, only - but I still enjoyed the read.
4 out of 5
Publication date: November 12, 2024