The arts originated in the day-to-day activities of human communities. But through the confluence of the culture industry and status-driven high art, the products of artistic activities have become mere commodities and specimens of culture rather than integral elements in the fabric of our everyday life. Art has become disconnected from life.

What are the ways in which we can reverse this process? How can we make the arts a powerful force in healthy and vibrant communities? Taking his cues from artists, thinkers, and movements as disparate as John Cage, Joseph Beuys, John Dewey, Social Ecology, and DIY punk rock, Adam Michael Krause offers a bold prescription for the future of art and community.

The arts originated in the day-to-day activities of human communities. But through the confluence of the culture industry and status-driven high art, the products of artistic activities have become mere commodities and specimens of culture rather than integral elements in the fabric of our everyday life. Art has become disconnected from life. 

What are the ways in which we can reverse this process? How can we make the arts a powerful force in healthy and vibrant communities? Taking his cues from artists, thinkers, and movements as disparate as John Cage, Joseph Beuys, John Dewey, Social Ecology, and DIY punk rock, Adam Michael Krause offers a bold prescription for the future of art and community.

Author's Preface

Introduction

1. Art as Meaningful Experience

2. Art and Formal Structure

3. The State of Art Theory

4. Kitsch and Conservatism

5. Postmodernism and Dissent

6. The Ecology of Art

7. DIY and the Future of Community

8. Beginning Again