The Next Thing : Art in the Twenty-first Century

The Next Thing: Art in the Twenty-first Century is an illustrated collection of commissioned essays that attempt to anticipate, through current artistic productions, the aesthetic sensibility that will define our times.

The Next Thing: Art in the Twenty-first Century is a highly visual collection of essays about the future of art and the art of the future. This anthology brings together writings by world-renown theorists, artists, critics, novelists and philosophers, all of them engaged in current discussions about new and emerging artistic trends and sensibilities. From “post-human” installations, to transgenic experimentations, from tele-presence performance, to nano design, digital-fiction, virtual urbanism or “guerilla art”, new tendencies, are redefining both the boundaries of Meaning and what it means to be Human. The essays comprising The Next Thing identify the impact of these new trends and anticipate possible zeitgeists that will define our century.This anthology counts with contributions by Stelarc, Liliana Porter, Ana Tiscornia, Mieke Bal, Polona Tratnik, Hagi Kenaan, Sue “Johnny” Golding, Pablo Baler, Mark Axelrod, Glenn Harper, Jan Garden Castro, Salima Hashmi, Rashid Rana, Huma Mulji, Ajesha Jatoi, Quddus Mirza, and Naazish Ata-Ullah. Like the artworks here discussed, the book itself is endowed with a transformative power and a subversive understanding of the limits of human identity. The Next Thing challenges perception, defies our imagination and pushes the boundaries of both ethics and aesthetics.For more information on The Next Thing and Pablo Baler, please visit: http://www.pablobaler.com/.