Response John Berger's "The White Bird"

The article is very detailed, insightful, and peppered with a philosophical mindset that I, at first, find to be a little difficult to follow. After carefully rereading the article and revisiting some of its passages, I found myself admiring Berger’s analytical process of using a simple white wooden bird to explain our tradition of art. The most profound passage to me was when Berger stated, “ The evolution of natural forms and the evolution of human perception have coincided to produce the phenomenon of a potential recognition: what is and what we can see (and by seeing also feel) sometimes meet at a point of affirmation. This point, this coincidence, is two-faced: what has been seen is recognized and affirmed and, at the same time, the seer is affirmed by what he sees.” This passage alone conveys to me what the aesthetic emotion derives from; I now understand that aesthetics have always been an inherent part of nature and is therefore impossible  to erase. In a fleeting moment, when we happen to cross paths with something that we find beautiful, everything will seem to have order. In that moment the aesthetic emotion will offer us a sense of peace and hopefulness amidst this chaotic world we live in.

Berger believes that art occurs when humans attempt to make sense of the ephemeral aesthetic emotion and make it “permanent.” Gaining this new insight has allowed me to effectively enhance my artistic process. Before further analyzing the five qualities of the wooden bird, Berger mentioned that even though the little wooden white birds cannot be compared to the caliber of a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt, it still posses a mysterious quality and the ability to captivate its viewer. This statement encouraged me to actually take steps out of my comfort zone of paint and brush and embrace other mediums during my art making processes. I now realize that it only makes sense to utilize a plethora of mediums to attempt to make a mysterious aesthetic emotion tangible and permanent.