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The uniqueness of every painting was once part of the uniqueness of the place where it resided.

— John Berger Ways of Seeing (1972)

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More quotes by John Berger

A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand, is that the two statements are connected by an and not by a but.

Animals are born, are sentient and are mortal. In these things they resemble man. In their superficial anatomy — less in their deep anatomy — in their habits, in their time, in their physical capacities, they differ from man. They are both like and unlike.

About Looking (1980)

Glamour cannot exist without personal social envy being a common and widespread emotion. The industrial society which has moved towards democracy and then stopped half way is the ideal society for generating such an emotion. The pursuit of individual happiness has been acknowledged as a universal right. Yet the existing social conditions make the individual feel powerless.

Ways of Seeing (1972)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Berger (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.