Description
In This Is Not New, David Balzer offers a sharp and witty examination of contemporary art and culture’s obsession with newness. Through a series of interconnected essays, Balzer deconstructs the mythology of innovation that dominates creative industries, arguing that what appears revolutionary is often merely a repackaging of historical precedent.
The book explores how institutions, markets, and cultural gatekeepers perpetually market ideas as groundbreaking while remaining fundamentally conservative in their practices. Balzer demonstrates that claims of cultural progress frequently mask cyclical patterns and nostalgic borrowing from the past. By analyzing the rhetoric of change across art, design, fashion, and entertainment, he reveals the gap between what culture claims to be doing and what it actually accomplishes.
Balzer’s critique extends to questioning whether genuine cultural transformation is possible within existing power structures, making this essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary art criticism, cultural theory, and the nature of creative work.
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