Aesthetics and politics

In Nikos Papastergiadis's “Aesthetics and Politics in the Age of the Ambient Spectacles' he discusses aesthetics and political structures and contexts, he discusses these ideas comparing the ideas of Gerald Raunig and Jacques Ranciere. Many interesting ideas were raised such as;

• Papastergiadis starts with a discussion of the changing perception of the image, looking at the use and representation of imagery created by 9/11. In modernity a shift occurred where the artist was neither the 'primary nor the dominant generator of imagery” as many people now argue that the artist has become “ a critical navigator in an atmosphere that is already saturated with images, symbols and narratives.” Ultimately, there has been a shift in the role of the artist due to the changing role of the image in contemporary culture.
  

• The ideas discussed about art and activism within the discussion were very thought provoking especially with the some of the ideas discussed within the course. He sees art and activism as a interdisciplinary combination of artistic and activist strategies, this becomes a co-operation between the fields. This is a transfer of skills from both fields also bringing together political and social struggles and artistic intervention. Raunig in his book Art and Revolution addresses art and activism by saying “activist practices are allowed to feature in artistic and political narratives only if they are purged of their radical aspects appropriated and co-opted into the machines of the spectacle.” This is an interesting notion to consider as when art, revolution and politics become intertwined they eventually fail as this boundary between art and revolution becomes a blurred distinction. (http://www.translocal.org/writings/artandrevolution.html)

• 'Transversal activism' becomes an important feature of activism practice. Gerald Raunig has many thoughts on this especially in his book Art and Revolution. Raunig describes 'Transversal Activism' as “organizational principles of numerous resistance groups that at the times operate in isolation from each other to come together for a brief moment or co-operate across vast distances”