In our chaotic world of co-opted imagery, does art still have power? A fog of images and information permeates the world nowadays: from advertising, television, radio, and film to the glut produced by the new economy and the rise of social media . . . where even our friends suddenly seem to be selling us the ultimate product: themselves. Here, Nato Thompson—one of the country’s most celebrated young curators and critics—investigates what this deluge means for those dedicated to socially engaged art and activism. How can anyone find a voice and make change in a world flooded with such pseudo-art? How are we supposed to discern what’s true in the product emanating from the ceaseless machine of consumer capitalism, a machine that appropriates from art history, and now from the methods of grassroots political organizing and even social networking? Thompson’s invigorating answers to those questions highlights the work of some of the most innovative and interesting artists and activists working today, as well as institutions that empower their communities to see power and reimagine it. From cooperative housing to anarchist infoshops to alternative art venues, Seeing Power reveals ways that art today can and does inspire innovation and dramatic transformation . . . perhaps as never before.

A much discussed question in classical studies is the comparison between the situation of poets in Augustan Rome and that of artists and intellectuals in the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. As instructive as this question proves to be for an understanding of the relation between the freedom of art and thinking on the one hand and power on the other, it also reveals the insufficiency of our present grasp of this crucial articulation of our humanity. This volume offers a multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the problem, complementing the historical perspective with a regard on Eastern traditions. It thus explores tentative paths for future research on an issue of critical importance for the shaping of the global world.

In our chaotic world of co-opted imagery, does art still have power? A fog of images and information permeates the world nowadays: from advertising, television, radio, and film to the glut produced by the new economy and the rise of social media . . . where even our friends suddenly seem to be selling us the ultimate product: themselves. Here, Nato Thompson—one of the country’s most celebrated young curators and critics—investigates what this deluge means for those dedicated to socially engaged art and activism. How can anyone find a voice and make change in a world flooded with such pseudo-art? How are we supposed to discern what’s true in the product emanating from the ceaseless machine of consumer capitalism, a machine that appropriates from art history, and now from the methods of grassroots political organizing and even social networking? Thompson’s invigorating answers to those questions highlights the work of some of the most innovative and interesting artists and activists working today, as well as institutions that empower their communities to see power and reimagine it. From cooperative housing to anarchist infoshops to alternative art venues, Seeing Power reveals ways that art today can and does inspire innovation and dramatic transformation . . . perhaps as never before.

Women, Art, and Power?seven landmark essays on women artists and women in art history?brings together the work of almost twenty years of scholarship and speculation.

A much discussed question in classical studies is the comparison between the situation of poets in Augustan Rome and that of artists and intellectuals in the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. As instructive as this question proves to be for an understanding of the relation between the freedom of art and thinking on the one hand and power on the other, it also reveals the insufficiency of our present grasp of this crucial articulation of our humanity. This volume offers a multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the problem, complementing the historical perspective with a regard on Eastern traditions. It thus explores tentative paths for future research on an issue of critical importance for the shaping of the global world.