An engaging exploration of the meaning and power of art that looks at popular theories through the ages. -One of the most astonishing aspects of the discourse on contemporary art is the firm and unwavering belief that art has the power to transform society for the better. There seems to be a consensus around the idea that art, especially visual art, is greatly suited to addressing all manner of social, political, economic, ecological, and other imbalances. Celebrated as a powerful remedy for social grievances, art finds its justification in the service it seems to provide to society. -But as art historian Leonhard Emmerling contends in this timely volume, this presumptuous heroism shows willful blindness towards art-s subjugation to contradictions inherent in social relations. He argues that the narrative of the power of art has its specific history. In trying to reconstruct this history in Art of Diremption, he discovers instead art-s fundamental powerlessness as the foundation for ar
