Permanent Red: Essays in Seeing

Why should an artist’s way of looking at the world have any meaning for us? Any artwork reflects the artist’s intentions, but also its times: therefore all art is political

In Permanent Red, John Berger argues that the contemporary artist should strive for a realism that aims for hope, to transform the world. Surveying the work of historical artists as well as that of near contemporaries such as Picasso, L?ger and Matisse, he explores the role of the artist, dividing these figures into those that struggle, those that fail, and the true masters. He explains why we should study the work of the past: in order to understand the present and to rethink the future.

First published in 1960, Permanent Red established John Berger as a firebrand critic willing to broadcast controversial opinions on some of the most important British artists of the day, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

Author: John Berger
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Verso
Published: 03/25/2025
Series: The Essential John Berger
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.4lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781804298473
Language: English