aesthetics and politics in the age of ambient spectacles

From this reading I understand that Nikos Papastergiadis wants to explore how art works in and with political and, aesthetic structures and context. Papastergiadis looks at the writings of Ranciere and Raunig for possible answers. I found a few points from Ranciere interesting to me:

Ranciere was able to outline the three basic modes of representation:
1. "naked" images that serve as a depiction of the original
2. "ostensive"images that transform themselves as they react again to the original referent
3. "metaphoric" images that play on the "ambiguity of resemblances and the instability of dissemblances, bringing about a local reorganisation, a singular rearrangement of circulating images...It aims to play with the forms and products of imagery, rather than carry out their demystification".

Ranciere also goes on to say "he or she always has the capacity to not just observe and follow the line of a story, but also the ability to see another storyline, which may in fact depart from the intended message and create a new narrative". Then Papastergiadis adds: Hence, the task of the artist is not limited to helping the viewer to be active in their own condition of spectatorship..... they still reinscribe the presumption that the primary position of the audience is passivity, and that it is only though the force of the artist's hand that their critical faculties are awakened.