Pierangelo Maset writes about contemporary artistic production in recent times of war and terrorism and points to the dangers that lie in following modernity's heritage with its totalitarian aspirations.The art of the twentieth century, he states, has moved tumultuously and catastrophically through "Times of Extremes". The role of avant-garde was rarely autonomous but often intimately linked with the ruling systems of power. Although the myth of innocent art prevailed, we should have learned by now that the notion of transcendental and "uninterested" art is no longer feasible. Also today, the political and socioeconomic conditions artists have to cope with are rather turbulent ...