Connecting Hegelian aesthetics with contemporary cultural politics Jason Miller argues that
both the aesthetic and political value of art are found in the reflexive self-awareness that
artistic representation enables. The significance of art in modern life is that it shows us
both the particular element in humanity as well as the human element in particularity. Just as
Hegel asks us to acknowledge how different historical and cultural contexts produce radically
different experiences of art identity-based art calls on its audiences to situate themselves
in relation to perspectives and experiences potentially quite remote?or even inaccessible?from
their own. Miller offers a timely response to questions such as: How does contemporary art's
politics of perception contest liberal notions of deliberative politics? How does the cultural
identity of the artist relate to the representations of cultural identity in their work? How do
we understand and evaluate identity-based art aesthetically?
