The Hard Question of Art (Cognitive Futures)
List Price:
$26.95
| Expected release date is Aug 25th 2026 |
- Availability: Confirm prior to ordering
- Branding: minimum 50 pieces (add’l costs below)
- Check Freight Rates (branded products only)
Branding Options (v), Availability & Lead Times
- 1-Color Imprint: $2.00 ea.
- Promo-Page Insert: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed, single-sided page)
- Belly-Band Wrap: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed)
- Set-Up Charge: $45 per decoration
- Availability: Product availability changes daily, so please confirm your quantity is available prior to placing an order.
- Branded Products: allow 10 business days from proof approval for production. Branding options may be limited or unavailable based on product design or cover artwork.
- Unbranded Products: allow 3-5 business days for shipping. All Unbranded items receive FREE ground shipping in the US. Inquire for international shipping.
- RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS: All orders, branded or unbranded, are NON-CANCELLABLE and NON-RETURNABLE once a purchase order has been received.
Product Details
Author:
Metahaven
Format:
Hardcover
Pages:
208
Publisher:
Verso Books (August 25, 2026)
Imprint:
Verso
Release Date:
August 25, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9781804291948
ISBN-10:
1804291943
Weight:
20oz
Dimensions:
8.25" x 5.5"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_delta_active_D20260421T233010_155981014-20260421.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$26.95
Country of Origin:
United Kingdom
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
12
As low as:
$20.75
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
What is art in the age of inequality, climate change, and AI?
Art doesn’t change the world directly; yet we persist in wanting it to. This book argues for a different understanding of creative practices. In these urgent times, we need to rethink the purpose and effects of art – for the creator, the audience, the owner. Art is what moves us, and there is more to being moved than meets the eye.
Through a series of thought experiments, design collective Metahaven shows that art exists in the space between the image formed by the artist and the cognitive effort required to complete it. Art therefore is a question of perception. But what is the future of that space between image and interpretation when attention itself is collapsing?
The Hard Question of Art examines the many ways that art engages perception. Exploring cognition, empathy, complexity, and physics, Metahaven asks whether our capacity to perceive art anew can withstand the pressures of our times. Does beauty matter? Does art have a moral purpose? Is art a game or puzzle that AI will transform? Is the murmuration of starlings a form of art? As our age asks us to feel and understand more at the same time, what are the cognitive futures of art?
Art doesn’t change the world directly; yet we persist in wanting it to. This book argues for a different understanding of creative practices. In these urgent times, we need to rethink the purpose and effects of art – for the creator, the audience, the owner. Art is what moves us, and there is more to being moved than meets the eye.
Through a series of thought experiments, design collective Metahaven shows that art exists in the space between the image formed by the artist and the cognitive effort required to complete it. Art therefore is a question of perception. But what is the future of that space between image and interpretation when attention itself is collapsing?
The Hard Question of Art examines the many ways that art engages perception. Exploring cognition, empathy, complexity, and physics, Metahaven asks whether our capacity to perceive art anew can withstand the pressures of our times. Does beauty matter? Does art have a moral purpose? Is art a game or puzzle that AI will transform? Is the murmuration of starlings a form of art? As our age asks us to feel and understand more at the same time, what are the cognitive futures of art?
