The boundary of a contemporary art object or project is no longer thought of solely in physical terms but rather in relation to the specific social field it creates. Art is thus increasingly implicated in questions of ethics. This collection evaluates the relation of ethics to aesthetics, an encounter central to the contested space of much recent practice. It brings together theoretical foundations for an ethics of aesthetics; appraisals of art that engages with ethical issues; statements and examples of methodologies adopted by a diverse range of artists; and examination of artworks that question the ethical conditions in which contemporary art is produced and experienced.

Artists surveyed include Michael Asher, Tania Bruguera, Christoph Büchel, Merlin Carpenter, Paul Chan, Lygia Clark, Dexter Sinister, Fischli & Weiss, Andrea Fraser, Liam Gillick, David Hammons, Sharon Hayes, Thomas Hirschhorn, Khaled Hourani, Martin Kippenberger, Sharon Lockhart, Renzo Martens, Hélio Oiticica, Seth Price, Walid Raad, Martha Rosler, Tino Sehgal, Santiago Sierra, Wolfgang Tillmans and Rirkrit Tiravanija.

Writers include Giorgio Agamben, Ariella Azoulay, Alain Badiou, Roland Barthes, Claire Bishop, Nicolas Bourriaud, Simon Critchley, Keller Easterling, Isabelle Graw, Jean-François Lyotard, Scorched Earth, Susan Sontag, Hito Steyerl, Triple Candie, Jan Verwoert and Eyal Weizman.