The Emancipated Spectator

In this follow-up to his fruitful The Future of the Image, French philosopher Rancière argues forcefully against familiar critiques of the 'spectacle' ... This persuasive argument is fleshed out through close readings of art, ¬photography, literature and video installation, and a drily amusing analysis of leftwing 'melancholy' and 'rightwing frenzy' in critiques of ¬capitalism. -- Steven Poole * Guardian *
What we see here is Ranciere developing a unique voice as a political theorist. * Bookforum *
French philosopher Jacques Ranciere is a refreshing read for anyone concerned with what art has to do with politics and society. * Art Review *
Ranciere's writings offer one of the few conceptualizations of how we are to continue to resist. -- Slavoj Zizek
The Emancipated Spectator is intended to improve our comprehension of art and deepen our grasp of the politics of perception ... [it has an] impressive concern with the political analysis of art and the use of imagery * Times Higher Education *
What we are given is, above all, a figure of the spectator whose capacities to sense and think are greater than we have been prepared to conceive. * Radical Philosophy *
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
In the face of impossible attempts to proceed with progressive ideas within the terms of postmodernist discourse, Rancière shows a way out of the malaise. -- Liam Gillick
It's clear that Jacques Rancière is relighting the flame that was extinguished for many-that is why he serves as such a signal reference today. -- Thomas Hirschhorn