In The Age Of Ambient Spectacles

The contradistinction built within Nikos Papastergiadis Aesthetics and Politics between two key figures of art & socio-political theory – between that of Jacques Ranciere and Gerald Raunig develop a parallel gauge to view their socio-philosophical determination and how their contemporary theory is applied or can be applied within certain contextual practice per se. Even though Papastergiadis provides a foundational point by expanding similarities the main drive of his argument is the disjunction point when these minds divert. I don't need to explain Raunig's Deleuzian concept of 'concatenation' or 'transversality' or Ranciere's 'distribution of the sensible' because Papastergiadis clearly articulates these concerns through juxtapose and disparity, disseminates his argument eventually by correlating these theorists inherent diversions. Ostensibly, the main differentiation between these two key thinkers is the fabric of art and politics, their distinctions compromise a comparative articulation on how both art and the political machines remain indivisible and for Ranciere should remain in line with an ethical sensibility yet also as a critical force that can remain true to 'dissensus' while remaining in their distinct machine fields ie art or politics. Papastergiadis elaborates that Ranciere denounces the framework of 'convergence' specifically that of contemporary artists practicing in 'relational aesthetics' and even goes so far to also question the validity of and 'rejects both the aesthetic value and political force of artistic strategies that are formed in direct relationship with new social movements.' Ranciere may see this state of dilution solely as a motive to provide an authorial position to equate power relations in the case for 'relational aesthetics' and possibly for artistic/political strategies in alliance, lose this sense of radical potency by way of convolution. In turn losing their distinctiveness (concreteness/singularity) but Raunig counters this with the ability for a particular machine to weave (shuttle or flow) around and between each other from various levels/planes into the 'dispositif' – through concatenation – and re-articulate possibility even still enforcing a pertinence of critique. Papapstergiadis affirms the elemental drive of concatenation, "The dynamics of concatenation are generated by the tensions within and between constituent parts. These complex, unstable and highly differentiated entities interact in a manner that stimulates new lines of movement and resist consolidation into a fixed hierarchic structure. The flows that constitute a concatenation invariably lead towards a mutual transformation in both fields" whether or not this transformation reveals a potent radicality qua Ranciere or for a particular field should not remain dismissive but signify that the value of concatenation between art and politics (or transversality between say temporal alliances/disjunctions between various machines) can test these levels of potentiality, sine qua non.