Book Description

Anthology of essays about seven pressing social and art-specific themes that encompass the full scope of the force-field of the visual arts. Renowned international theorists and promising young art critics and curators share their visions on a range of issues in accessible essays: What is the impact of 9/11 on our visual culture and the visual arts? What role does religion play in polarization? What are the consequences of ongoing globalization for the visual arts? How can we explain the revival of interest in canons and what function do they attribute to art? These socially engaged themes are alternated with topics that are traditionally more rooted in art, such as the return of Romanticism, the relative novelty of new media in the 'post-medium' era, and the utopian ideals of design. With such a varied selection of subjects and authors, the book builds a bridge between art and theory as well as between art and society, at a level attuned to academic discourse yet at the same time accessible for a wide-ranging public with an interest in art.