An examination of how contemporary political life is shaped through images, narratives, performance and spectacle.

Writing from within the world of socially engaged art, curator Nato Thompson explores the territory where activism, media, culture and power overlap, arguing that politics is often won not through facts alone but through the stories societies tell about themselves.

The book traces the evolution of activist art from the anti-globalisation movement through Occupy, interventionist performance, culture jamming, satire and networked forms of protest. Thompson is particularly interested in how artists and activists attempt to intervene in systems of representation, and how those interventions are absorbed, resisted or transformed by larger media ecologies. Along the way he engages with figures and groups including The Yes Men, Michael Moore, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Paglen and numerous artist-activist collectives.

Seeing Power has become an influential text within contemporary art, media studies and political communication. An excellent addition for readers interested in cultural politics, visual culture, propaganda, social movements and the aesthetics of dissent.

First Melville House printing, 2015. Hardback in very good condition with light shelf wear and a small mark to the front cover. Clean and tightly bound throughout.