Millet e nós

Em Millet and the Peasant, diz John Berger: "I believe that he failed because the language of the traditional oil painting could not accommodate the subject he brought with him. One can explain this ideologically. The peasant's interest in the land expressed through his actions is incommensurate with scenic landscape. Most (not all) European landscape painting was addressed to a visitor from the city, later called a tourist; the landscape is his view, the splendour of it is his reward. (...) There was no formula for representing the close, harsh, patient physicality of a peasant's labour on, instead of in front of, the land. And to invent one would mean destroying the traditional language for depicting scenic landscape. (...) Thus Millet's failure and setback may be seen as an historic turning point. The claim of universal democracy was inadmissible for oil painting. And the consequent crisis of meaning forced most painting to become autobiographical. (...)"

    Isto fez-me pensar noutra arte, a arte da escrita. Se nós, os que queremos mudar o mundo e que, em certa medida, escrevemos contra o mundo, não teremos de encontrar novas formas. Se não estaremos, demasiadas vezes, presos ao ponto de vista convencional da época, à moldura "turística" do tempo que nos calhou na rifa. Se não teremos de furar a autobiografia para chegar à vida.