Ruskin's ideas on looking & seeing
See Clearly, Speak Plainly
Some of John Ruskin’s ideas on How To See
Things are on the move, their appearance is a life history, a story of changes. The petals of a flower reveal the nature of its bud. Mountain formations reveal their former and their future shape. Architectural forms evolve and buildings themselves are adapted and developed and each detail can be read.
Things have a scale, the small may be a model of the large and the large of the small.A rock when studied closely will be found to be a mountain in miniature. Mountains are like a body in motion, whilst hills are like a body at rest.
Imagination can take you on a journey using what you can see to see what you can’t. When you see a rainbow imagine the full circle and draw an imaginary line between the centre and your head – the sun will be directly behind you.
Seeing the life of things helps you to see the consequences of things. Count the small grains that pass down a stream in an hour and multiply this by the passage of years and the number of streams and you can see how fast the hills are dissolving. Think of the toil and energy involved in making an object you view and you start to see its true cost.
Appearances can be deceptive; your point of view will influence what you see. The outline of a roof viewed from the ground shows you how the summits of a mountain range may be flatter than you think. If you walk along the top of the roof you walk on the level, but it looks jagged from the ground.
All things seen clearly illuminate the miracle of creation and may be shown to be beautiful, even divine. What is ugly or embarrassing for you is, for the artist, a source of inspiration and often a cause for celebration.
