Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
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."
About the Author
Nato Thompson is chief curator at Creative Time, one of New York’s most prestigious art organizations. He is the editor of The Interventionists: A Users’ Manual for the Creative Disruption of Everyday Life and author of Experimental Geography: Radical Approaches to Landscape, Cartography, and Urbanism, and Ahistoric Occasion: Artists Making History. He produced Paul Chan’s acclaimed “Waiting for Godot in New Orleans,” which included free public performances of Samuel Beckett’s play, theater workshops, educational seminars, and more. Other recent projects include Democracy in America and “Key to the City,” which gave out 35,000 free keys that unlocked a host of mysterious events including small exhibitions and provided access to little-known, otherwise off-limits spaces in New York.