Why Only Art Can Save Us: Aesthetics and the Absence of Emergency

The state of emergency, as described by thinkers like Carl Schmidt, Walter Benjamin, and Giorgio Agamben, is at the heart of any theory of politics. Santiago Zabala's book "Why Only Art Can Save Us" argues that in an age where the greatest emergency is the absence of emergency, only contemporary arts capacity to alter reality can save us. He draws on Martin Heidegger's distinction between works of art that rescue us from emergency and those that are rescuers into emergency and argues that works of art are not simply a means of elevating consumerism or contemplating beauty but are points of departure to change the world. Radical artists create works that disclose and demand active intervention in ongoing crises, and Zabala shows how arts ability to create new realities is fundamental to the politics of radical democracy in the state of emergency that is the present.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2019
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The state of emergency, as envisioned by thinkers like Carl Schmidt, Walter Benjamin, and Giorgio Agamben, holds a central place in any theory of politics. However, the prevailing concern today lies not in the crises we face, which often serve as justifications for governments to assert their authority, but rather in the emergencies that political realism fails to acknowledge. These emergencies encompass a wide range of issues, from widespread surveillance to climate change to the systemic shocks of neoliberalism. We urgently need a means of disrupting the existing order that can invigorate radical democratic action rather than reinforcing the status quo.

In his provocative book, Santiago Zabala asserts that in an age where the greatest emergency is the absence of emergency, only the capacity of contemporary arts to alter reality can save us. Why Only Art Can Save Us offers a novel aesthetics centered on the nature of the emergency that defines the twenty-first century. Zabala draws upon Martin Heidegger's distinction between works of art that rescue us from emergency and those that become rescuers of emergency. The former represent a means of cultural politics, conserving the status quo while concealing emergencies; the latter are disruptive events that thrust us into new emergencies. Building on the work of Arthur Danto, Jacques Rancière, and Gianni Vattimo, who have made aesthetics more responsive to contemporary art, Zabala argues that works of art are not merely a means of enhancing consumerism or appreciating beauty but rather serve as points of departure for transformative change.

Radical artists create works that expose and demand active intervention in ongoing crises. By interpreting works of art that aim to propel us into absent emergencies, Zabala demonstrates how the arts' ability to create new realities is fundamental to the politics of radical democracy in the state of emergency that is the present.

Weight: 324g
Dimension: 155 x 227 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231183499