“In The New Philistines, Sohrab Ahmari has conducted a compelling exploration of how identity politics is now central to UK arts programming. Indeed, for many practitioners, identity politics is their sole subject.
Ahmari was first prompted to examine how identity politics has influenced so much quasi avant-garde art after experiencing a confused and patronising production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What Ahmari finds leads him to conclude that, far from being cutting edge, much supposedly edgy art is deeply conformist and reaches an audience disinclined to contest its political message.
As a London-based journalist at the Wall Street Journal, and an Iranian-born American, Ahmari is a well-positioned observer of British cultural life. He is both distanced from and familiar with what he commentates upon…”
Read the full review online (Spiked, 7 December 2016) here: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/philistines-in-avant-garde-clothing/19074#.WEgQWPl_s5k
alexanderadamsart 