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Biographical note: Sacha Kagan is research associate at Leuphana University Lueneburg and founding coordinator of the international network Cultura21. He works in the trans-disciplinary field of arts and (un-)sustainability. What is the cultural dimension of sustainability? This book offers a thought-provoking answer, with a theoretical synthesis on »cultures of sustainability«. Describing how modernity degenerated into a culture of unsustainability, to which the arts are contributing, Sacha Kagan engages us in a fundamental rethinking of our ways of knowing and seeing the world. We must learn not to be afraid of complexity, and to re-awaken a sensibility to patterns that connect. With an overview of ecological art over the past 40 years, and a discussion of art and social change, the book assesses the potential role of art in a much needed transformation process. Review text: »Sacha Kagan's work is impressive in the breadth of concepts, names and theories, the depth of their study, the saturation of the empirical material.« (Aus dem Russischen übersetzt.) Laboratorium, 5/2 (2013) »Sacha Kagan [...] presents a comprehensive and sophisticated analysis of the relationship between art and sustainability in the context of complexity theory.« Anne Milne, The Goose, 11 (2012) »Kagan has done the scholarly sphere, and by association other spheres as well, invaluable service.« George Kaye, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1-3 (2012) »Kagan beschäftigt sich mit der Frage nach der kulturellen Dimension von Nachhaltigkeit und gibt auf der Grundlage eines visionären Modells der 'Kulturen der Nachhaltigkeit' spannende Antworten. Der Autor lädt in einem Diskurs über Kunst und sozialen Wandel dazu ein, das eigene Bild davon, wie die Welt funktioniert, grundlegend in Frage zu stellen. Seine Botschaft: Keine Angst vor Komplexität, mehr Gespür für faszinierende Zusammenhänge.« Kulturelle Bildung, 9 (2012) Besprochen in: www.turbulence.org, 8 (2011) Oxford Art Journal, 35/1 (2012) Oya, 9 (2011), Lara Mallien Stradda, 25 (2012), Martina Marti International Sociology, 27/9 (2012), Diane Barthel-Bouchier
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