Berger and Haymaker and Sleeping Girl (Mushroom Girl) by Thomas Gainsborough

In psychology, there is a phenomenon known as the “Mere Exposure Effect”. It basically states that the more we are exposed to something the more we come to like it; that people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. In social psychology, this effect is sometimes called the familiarity principle. I find that this phenomenon contributes a lot to how people view art. The more familiar we are with a certain subject, the more attracted we will feel to art pieces that relates to and speak volumes of that particular subject, and thus the more thoughts and opinions we will have to share about on the exact art work that captured our eyes in the first place. Berger asserts that original paintings exude silence to the audience [Berger p.158]; I have to say I disagree with that. Paintings may first appear as silent pieces but they contain volumes of information; we just need to find a way to familiarize ourselves with the art and communicate with it in order to access this knowledge. To become familiar with a painting, one is required to submerge himself/herself in it and ask it questions. Having a “conversation” with the painting can allow us to think of issues that we would not have thought of otherwise. Another way to become familiarized with something is to have background knowledge of its history. After all, the way we view our surroundings is always influenced by what we know and understand. The more we know about a subject, the more we have to say about it. However, this runs a risk of mystification as since what we know comes from other people’s knowledge, and no humans can speak of a subject without being opinionated about it, we are susceptible to the influences their thoughts and opinions inevitably bring about.

“Original paintings are silent and still in a sense that information never is.”[Berger p.158] I finally understood the true meaning behind this sentence as I walked through the sea of paintings on display in the...