“In no other form of society in history has there been such a concentration of images, such a density of visual messages.”
― Ways of Seeing
― Ways of Seeing
“The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight.”
― Ways of Seeing
― Ways of Seeing
“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's voice makes everything its own.”
― Keeping a Rendezvous: Essays
― Keeping a Rendezvous: Essays
“[...] For the first time ever, images of art have become ephemeral, ubiquitous, insubstantial, available, valueless, free. They surround us in the same way as a language surrounds us. They have entered the mainstream of life over which they no longer, in themselves, have power.
Yet very few people are aware of what has happened because the means of reproduction are used nearly all the time to promote the illusion that nothing has changed except that the masses, thanks to reproductions, can now begin to appreciate art as the cultured minority once did. Understandably, the masses remain uninterested and sceptical.”
― Ways of Seeing
Yet very few people are aware of what has happened because the means of reproduction are used nearly all the time to promote the illusion that nothing has changed except that the masses, thanks to reproductions, can now begin to appreciate art as the cultured minority once did. Understandably, the masses remain uninterested and sceptical.”
― Ways of Seeing
Vijay’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Vijay’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Vijay
Lists liked by Vijay




