Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
Depraved : The Story of Dangerous Art - Daisy Dixon

Depraved

The Story of Dangerous Art

By: Daisy Dixon

Hardcover | 18 June 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover


RRP $45.00

$43.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $10.94 with

 or 

Available: 18th June 2026

Preorder. Will ship when available.

A work of art is a strange thing. It can carry us to the soaring peaks of beauty or drag us all the way down to the burning depths of depravity. We often treat artworks as sacred, almost ethereal. But they are an intimate piece of this world - born from the hands of geniuses, and from the hands of monsters.

What makes an artwork immoral? Why do these troubling creations have such a hold on us? And how should we deal with them?

We live in a moment when the dangers of art seem more prevalent than ever: artists are 'cancelled' for their misdeeds, public statues are toppled, images of violence and obscenity await us at the touch of a button. But as this provocative new history demonstrates, we humans have always used art to make sense of the less innocent aspects of ourselves and the world around us.

In Depraved, philosopher of art Daisy Dixon takes the reader on a journey through some of the most volatile and contentious works ever produced - from prehistoric sculpture to extreme metal music, Renaissance paintings to videogames. She reveals how beautiful art can sometimes be the most insidious, and why the greatest threat might lie in our own judgements about the art we censor or condemn.

Above all, Dixon builds a powerful case for returning the terrible gaze of our disturbing creations, showing how we can confront them head-on and tame their toxic effects.

More in General Issues in Art

Trip to the Moon : Understanding the True Power Of Story - John Yorke
The Symbols of Art : Decoding the Hidden Meanings of Art - Susie Hodge
Interaction of Color : 50th Anniversary Edition - Josef Albers

RRP $28.95

$21.75

25%
OFF
Ways of Seeing : Penguin Modern Classics - John Berger

RRP $26.99

$20.75

23%
OFF
Color and Light : A Guide for the Realist Painter - James Gurney

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
Monsters : What Do We Do with Great Art by Bad People? - Claire Dederer
Art Is : A Journey into the Light - Makoto Fujimura

RRP $51.95

$40.75

22%
OFF
Daisy Haites : Magnolia Parks: Book 2 - Jessa Hastings

RRP $32.99

$26.99

18%
OFF
Instituting Worlds : Architecture and Islands - Catharina  Gabrielsson
Media Inequality : News Framing and Media Power - Victoria  Fielding