The Sovereign Self

“An extraordinarily knowledgeable explanation for those outside the art world, as well as those critically within it, of the philosophical traditions and social contradictions within which artists do their work. This is a book to own.” - Susan Buck-Morss, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

“The leading critic, theorist, and historian of ‘socially engaged art,’ Grant H. Kester offers a thorough, brilliantly synthetic, and convincing argument through the complex subject of aesthetic autonomy. The Sovereign Self is a major statement based on a lifetime of reflection, boldly and powerfully done.” - Terry Smith, Andrew W. Mellon Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, University of Pittsburgh

"Kester’s book is a highly valuable examination of the intertwined trajectories of aesthetic experience and autonomy."  - Matthew Bowman, Art Monthly

"An ambitious critical genealogy of the notion of aesthetic autonomy from the eighteenth century through to the present. . . . an insightful, well-documented and often convincing critique of a certain idea of aesthetic autonomy; Kester’s is a ‘strong’ theory, the strength of which lies in its reading and re-evaluation of key philosophical and art theoretical texts, more so than in the heuristic purchase it demonstrates on artistic—and political—practice, past or present." - Steyn Bergs, Radical Philosophy

"The Sovereign Self is remarkable in its analytical scope. Kester deftly traces a highly influential conceptual and axiological pattern across a wide array of aesthetic and political phenomena. . . . The Sovereign Self offers a new roadmap for understanding autonomy as an aesthetic, ethical, and political ideal, while inviting further dialogue between academics and art practitioners." - Victoria Zurita, Modernism/modernity