John Berger ~ Drawing

Here, at the BBC, you can find this short video interview with writer/artist/critic John Berger. I especially like the analogy the interviewer makes between Spinoza, as a grinder of lenses helping people to see, and Berger who, through his work, aims to do the same. And I like too Berger's characterization of drawing as "a constant correcting of errors."

Berger has a new book, out in Britain, forthcoming this fall in the U.S.; that is always something to look forward to.

Drawing John Berger

There is a nice story in The Guardian here about John Berger, occasioned by the imminent publication in Britain of a new book of his entitled Bento's Sketchbook. Of course, the book won't appear here in the states until late fall.

Weekend Reading Assignment

Boy & Dog in a Johnnypump (detail), 1982 © Jean Michel Basquiet.

In the past couple of weeks, two essays by Rebecca Solnit have appeared at The Nation; one on radicalism and revolution is here and one extending her work on disaster and politics to the recent events in Japan is here.

And in the April issue of Harper's John Berger has offered an appreciation of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Unfortunately, if understandably, Harper's maintains a pretty much impermeable pay-wall. Berger counsels perseverance when approaching the artist. His first sentence: "Before you get to him,you have to walk through a lot of hot air, because he became a local and then a global legend, and you have to ignore the screeches of the vultures who deal his work." I recommend that you persevere and track down a copy of the magazine.

Finally, I recommend this piece from The Washington Post a few weeks back on the issues underlying the Republican assault on unions. I neglected to mention it at the time. It is by two political scientists Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacker who are smart and insightful on American politics and power generally.

John Berger (5 November 1926 - )

What with all my griping about our recent electoral mayhem, I came close to overlooking the fact that today is the birthday of John Berger (pictured above circa 2008). I admire him immensely. And, unable to totally give up my griping, I want to offer a passage from Berger. I was reminded of it by the harping of the Republicans - McConnell, Boehner and their lot, as they proclaim loudly (as though saying something loudly will somehow make it more persuasive instead of more irritating) - about what 'the American people' were saying in the election. So, here is John Berger:

"The word we, when printed or pronounced on screens, has become suspect, for it is continually used by those in power in the demagogic claim that they are also speaking for those denied power."