Critique of relational aesthetics

First published in ISMS: Recuperating Political Radicality in Contemporary Art. I. Constructing the Political in Contemporary Art, edited by Marta Kuzma and Peter Osborne, Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo, 2006, pp. 97-130. ISSN 1503-8467. This essay was derived from a conference paper, ‘Critique of Relational Aesthetics, or, the Dialectics of Social Exchange', presented at the conference, ‘ISMS: Recuperating Political Radicality: Constructing the Political in Contemporary Art', Oslo, 20-1 April, 2006, which was organised by the Office for Contemporary Art Norway and the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex University. The conference and the Versted publication included pieces from other staff from Middlesex Centre: Peter Osborne and Eric Alliez.