“Bitting the real”: commitment before representation

Abstract

Usually we understand art’s commitment from the point of view of representation, this is, associated with the program of a political party, a revolutionary project, an historic perspective or an ethical position. But many artists talk about a kind of commitment with the real that precedes any poetic or ideological formulation. This paper aims to explore, in a dialogue with some contemporary artists, critics and philosophers, what is at stake in that peculiar relation with the real.