This document is an unedited draft on the basis of which art critic Geeta Kapur made a presentation at Documenta 12 Platform/Stadelschule in Frankfurt/Main on 6 October 2006. The convener of the conference was Georg Schollhammer, editor-in-chief of Documenta 12 Magazines.

A version of this lecture was later presented under the title 'Art and the Historical Imaginary' at a symposium titled 'Art/Critical Perspectives' at the Center for Studies in Modern Contemporary Art at the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, in November 2007.

Artists mentioned in the presentation include Amar Kanwar, Vivan Sundaram, Atul Dodiya, Navjot Altaf, and playwright/director Anuradha Kapur.