{"product_id":"this-is-not-new-art-culture-and-the-promise-of-change-9780745342702","title":"This Is Not New: Art, Culture, and the Promise of Change","description":"\u003cp\u003e Praise for C\u003ci\u003eurationism\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003cb\u003e\"Balzer writes with zest, scepticism and sly humour\" \u003c\/b\u003eSheila Heti, author of \u003ci\u003ePure Colour\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e What does it mean to call something \"new\"? Why is Western art and culture, even after postmodernism, still so obsessed with the concept? What are the consequences of relying on culture to bring about social change? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In this provocative book, David Balzer argues that Western culture was never designed to produce truly new or original artefacts. Rather, we move from fixation to fixation, trend to trend--a cycle of creation and destruction with deep origins in Judeo-Christianity and the paganism that preceded it. The culture industry promises its own form of change while preserving existing systems of power exactly as they are. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e From the New Jerusalem to the New Left, from Vannevar Bush to Kate Bush, \u003ci\u003e This is Not New\u003c\/i\u003e asks difficult questions about the role of culture not in making change, but in delaying--even preventing--it. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDavid Balzer\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, lawyer, editor, and educator. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eContrivances\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCurationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else\u003c\/i\u003e. His critical writing has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eGlobe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArtforum\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFrieze\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Canada. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Balzer is a writer, lawyer, editor, and educator. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eContrivances\u003c\/i\u003e (2012), \u003ci\u003eCurationism: How Curating Took Over the Art World and Everything Else\u003c\/i\u003e (2014), and \u003ci\u003eThis is Not New: Art, Culture, and the Promise of Change\u003c\/i\u003e (2025). His critical writing has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eGlobe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArtforum\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFrieze\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Canada.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Pluto Press (UK)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51346544689426,"sku":"9780745342702","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bee0ab6a-e6e3-4186-98d0-9684635af4e0.jpg?v=1749048975","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/this-is-not-new-art-culture-and-the-promise-of-change-9780745342702","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}