{"product_id":"kaos-theory-the-afrokosmic-ark-of-ben-caldwell-9781626401174","title":"Kaos Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA brilliant, multi-media work about artist, filmmaker, and community organizer Ben Caldwell.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Caldwell's restlessness of spirit is mimicked in the book's elaborate, frenetic design. It is one of the most beautiful objects I held in my hands this year, a coffee-table book as much as a rigorous monograph, full of archival images, photographs, flyers, and documents telling the story of Caldwell's life...\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2023 Finalist for Biography, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinalist, 2023 Golden Poppy Awards, California Independent Booksellers Association\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCalifornia Book Award Gold Medal Winner for Contributions to Publishing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eKAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of filmmaker, educator and community activist Ben Caldwell and KAOS Network, the media-arts center he founded in Los Angeles's Leimert Park neighborhood. Through vivid illustrations, archival media, and engaging storytelling, \u003ci\u003eKAOS Theory\u003c\/i\u003e shows how Ben crafted a life centered around the power of fellowship, community, and the use of art and media as a social force. The text takes a journey through history and time, beginning with Ben's ancestors in the American southwest, up through Ben's childhood in New Mexico, his experiences in Vietnam, his work as a filmmaker and pioneer of the L.A. Rebellion Film Movement, and as founder of KAOS Network.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut \u003ci\u003eKAOS Theory\u003c\/i\u003e is more than just the story of one man's life. It is a work of art, remembrance, and tribute. Encompassing music, film, art, and performance, \u003ci\u003eKAOS Theory\u003c\/i\u003e honors the vibrant and influential communities that continue to shape the cultural landscape of Los Angeles, the African Diaspora, and beyond.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobeson Taj Frazier\u003c\/b\u003e is an associate professor of communication at USC and director of IDEA (the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg). He is the author of two books, a multimedia\/film producer, and has published articles and essays about U.S. Black social movements and political ideologies, globalization, fine arts, popular culture, and U.S.-China relations and cultural contact. Frazier's first book, \u003ci\u003eThe East is Black: Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination\u003c\/i\u003e (Duke University Press, 2014), analyzes the political and cultural ties cultivated between China and U.S. Black political movements during the Cold War. His second project, \u003ci\u003eIt's Yours: A Story About Hip Hop and the Internet\u003c\/i\u003e (2019), is a documentary film that examines how hip-hop artists' and the broader global hip-hop community's use of the Internet and digital technologies has revolutionized the music industry and global youth culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Angel City Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50625689223442,"sku":"9781626401174","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_54fe9a51-23ac-4fbc-96c3-20b920ced51d.jpg?v=1732636431","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/kaos-theory-the-afrokosmic-ark-of-ben-caldwell-9781626401174","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}