Seeing John Berger

A sketch of the artist, writer – and storyteller – John Berger in the words of friends and collaborators.

John Berger was born on 5th November 1926. He died on 2nd January 2017. He was one of the most influential writers and thinkers of his time. He is best known for the 1972 television series, and subsequent book, Ways of Seeing, which examined how images shape our understanding of the world, challenging the authority of traditional art criticism. In essays, novels and poetry, John Berger wrote with clarity, humanity and an attentiveness to lives often overlooked. He thought of himself as a storyteller.

Central to his creative identity was the idea – and activity – of collaboration. Collaboration with photographers, filmmakers, translators, theatre makers, artists and fellow writers. He had, in the phrase of director Sally Potter, a “collaborative instinct.”

With Mike Dibb, Geoff Dyer, Rema Hammami, Anne Michaels and Sally Potter

Producer: Martin Williams