Kathy is for LOVERS

1. Berger does not look at history as a concrete concept. Instead, he feels that history is ever changing due to the interpretation of those referring back to history. Only at the exact present are people able to understand what is happening. And even in that moment, people will understand in different ways due to different perceptions of each account. But when one looks to the past, it is almost subjective of what is perceived. This is because people are given the option of omitting or embelishing when remembering the past. Paintings are a perfect way in order to do this, because although a picture may be one thousand words, it is unable to cover everything. If a picture only focuses on one aspect of the time period, then in many years to come this may be the only thing that is remembered.
2. Mystification in art is a concept that is unable to be overcome in some respects. For some pieces of art, it is impossible to know all of the facts because they simply are not present. But this is a different type of mystification. This is the mystification that is unable to be helped because of the lack of facts. The other kind of mystification is the kind that the “experts” pin on a painting. They create a mystification by reading too far into a piece of work. This happens when the art historian describes the painting with intense adjectives. He gives the painting a whole new life by his own personal feelings. It is true that perception is altered with the amount of knowledge that is known in one given area. This is why that art historian’s account is presented in the way it is, because of the amount of research he did on the artist and painting itself gave him the information he needed in order for his perception to change. Berger’s account of the picture was different because he had a different amount of knowledge of the subject. This is not to say that there are certain levels of “knowing” and that once one level is surpassed perception is altered. It is much more subjective than that. That is why perception will always be up to each specific person, and the reason that mystification exists.