Contemporary art has never been so popular - but what is 'contemporary' about contemporary art? What is its
role today, and who is controlling its future? Bloody toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and embroidered tents.
Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, flout generally received
ideas, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great emotional profundity and jaw-dropping triviality.
But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions. Who is really running the art
world? What effect has America's growing political and cultural dominance had on art? Julian Stallabrass takes
us inside the international art world to answer these and other controversial questions, and to argue that behind
contemporary art's variety and apparent unpredictability lies a grim uniformity. Its mysteries are all too easily
explained, its depths much shallower than they seem. Contemporary art seeks to bamboozle its viewers while being
the willing slave of business and government. This book is your antidote and will change the way you see contemporary
art.