Richard Jackson: Between the Real and the Relational

Every once in a while, there occurs a certain shift in contemporary thought, which makes some kind of a cultural diagnosis necessary, perhaps even urgent. In recent years, we could observe such a shift as taking place in the continental tradition of philosophy, where the impact of the “Speculative Turn,” “Speculative Realism” or “Materialism” has been substantial.¹ Though the shift’s significance is at least partly due to the way it has been presented by its supporters in an uncompromising, even aggressive manner, it makes for an easy summary: for too long modern critical philosophy has been dominated by the thought of relations. It is now time to move away from concepts of the relational towards the thinking of the real.

These developments in contemporary philosophy have already proven to be far-reaching, with a comparable move away from relationality currently happening in the arts, the art world being one of the quickest in taking up speculative realist aims.² A good example is the most recent dOCUMENTA 13 exhibition, in which artistic director, Carloyn Christov-Barkargiev, sought to establish the different “affinities and correspondences between cultural, historical and disciplinary spaces and temporalities” through the “biography of object” (Farquharson 153). Graham Harman, one of the main figureheads of the speculative turn was invited to expand on his version of object-oriented ontology³ in one of the hundred short essays that together constituted the accompanying catalogue, The Third Table. This marks a significant change from previous exhibitions, where the focus has been on experience, and the relation the viewer has with the work of art.

Faced with such potentially far-reaching consequences, it seems to me that the uncompromising way in which the shift from relationality to realism has been presented by speculative realism demands further questioning. Are we indeed dealing here with a straightforward rejection of one position for another? Are the two positions as antithetical as it is made out to be? To answer, I find the work of American artist, Richard Jackson, particularly useful. Although he did not take part in dOCUMENTA 13 and has never been mentioned by any of the speculative realists, his work too can be located between the two polar extremes – between the two concepts of the real and the relational. More so, what makes his work especially appropriate for any examination of speculative realism is the way in which the tension between the two extremes is sustained. During a career spanning more than 40 years, Jackson may have moved away from his earlier preoccupation with the viewer’s experience of the artwork towards a more object-oriented approach, and yet he never rejected one position for another. To his various painted environments – Wall and Stacked paintings, and Room installations – both positions are relevant.

Before, however, using Jackson’s work as an opportunity to engage with thought’s move away from relationality, I would like to further define this shift, as presented in contemporary theory. And I would like to do so in a somewhat personal manner, as witnessed through two events that took place in a single institution, Goldsmiths College in London.

Between Relational Aesthetics and Speculative Realism

The first event I am about to describe took place sometime in the autumn term of the academic year 2006-07. During the introductory talk to the current batch of Visual Culture graduate students, Irit Rogoff related an incident she had previously described in Gavin Butt’s essay compilation, After Criticism (117-34). She had been invited to the opening of a Jackson Pollock exhibition that she was reluctant to attend. When she eventually did go to the event, her interest was caught, not by the work on display, but by one of the guests, the star of the television show ER, Julianna Margulies, and together with Butt she spent the rest of the evening following the actress around the exhibition. For Rogoff, this momentary distraction had a profound impact on her subsequent work, as it seemed to demonstrate an alternative mode of cultural participation. By allowing herself to be distracted by the unexpected encounter with celebrity, she refused...