<div><div>The notion of "the real" continues to be hotly debated in an era when the internet, virtual reality, cybertheory and bioethics challenge the very nature of "reality". Combining the advantages of a critical reader with the immediacy of cutting-edge debate, practitioners and commentators provide crucial insights into contemporary aesthetics, engaging with the ideas of critics and thinkers from Linda Nochlin through to Lyotard and Baudrillard. <br></div></div>