The Emancipated Spectator

Following up on his acclaimed work The Future of the Image, Rancière explores the meaning of critical art and suggests how we may overcome the potential trap of being a spectator. As passive spectators, he argues, we risk consumerist oppression and an upheaval of social relations. Suggesting a more active part in the process of observation, Rancière reveals how we may affirm the status of spectatorship and build upon it. In our contemporary age of mass visual media, Rancière’s lucid perspective stands alone in a sea of trivializing critiques of spectacle.
"His art lies in the rigor of his argument - its careful, precise unfolding - and at the same time not treating his reader, whether university professor or unemployed actress, as an imbecile." Kristin Ross
"It's clear that Jacques Ranciere is relighting the flame that was extinguished for many - that is why he serves as such a signal reference today." Thomas Hirschhorn
In the face of impossible attempts to proceed with progressive ideas within the terms of postmodernist discourse, Ranciere shows a way out of the malaise." Liam Gillick