A positive solution is the increasing trend of donations from private collections to museums, provide public accessibility to experience our artistic history.
Although Berger expands on what he views as a highly complex social problem, he offers no solution. In the ambitious task of his essay, Berger is largely successful in bringing attention to the historical relevance of visual art. Diego Rivera’s murals depicting the political and social struggles of Mexico are a perfect example of this translation. These examples may seem unrelated to Berger’s point however, the significance of these events has been translated into visual art. The success of Gandhi and his peaceful methods became an example which later inspired and educated leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Civil Disobedience”, inspired Mahatma Gandhi. The past can be a powerful learning tool, offering proven examples for positive solutions. For this reason, as Berger illustrates statistically, the less educated lower classes have little or no interest in “art appreciation.” These heavily guarded “holy relics” are viewed as priceless objects, owned and maintained by the wealthy.Ĭonsequently, these objects are not viewed as direct historical links offering crucial perspective for an individual to understand their present existence.īerger illustrates convincingly that this historical ignorance negatively impacts the choices and actions one makes in the present.
The ruling classes have always maintained the financial power to control works of art physically, and consequently their meaning.