Acknowledgements Abbreviations Anti-introduction: Paint it Black PART I: MESSAGES IN A BOTTLE: AESTHETIC THEORY CONTRA CRITICAL THEORY 1. Introduction 2. Critical Messages in a Bottle and Restoration 3. Excursus I: The Prevalence of a View: Being Uncompromisingly Critical at the Grand Hotel Abyss 4. Excursus II: The Prevalence of a View: 'Don't participate:' The Politics of Social Praxis 5. Aesthetic Messages in a Bottle and Progress 6. Messages in a Bottle as the Work of Art PART II: ART ITSELF THINKS: THE POLITICS OF AESTHETIC (MIS-)EDUCATION 7. Introduction 8. The Politics of Artistic Practice: 'What artist isn't socially engaged?' 9. The Politics of Spectatorship: Shocking Spectators 10. The Politics of Aesthetic (Mis-)Education 11. Contemporary Art Itself Thinking: Making the Invisible Visible? Anti-conclusion: The Russian Ending Notes and Bibliography Index