The fleeting promise of art : Adorno's aesthetic theory revisited / Peter Uwe Hohendahl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hohendahl, Peter Uwe.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Adorno, Theodor W., 1903-1969--Aesthetics.

Adorno, Theodor W.

Aesthetics, German--20th century.

Aesthetics, German.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (197 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, New York ; New York : Cornell University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A discussion of Theodor Adorno's Aesthetic Theory is bound to look significantly different today than it would have looked when the book was first published in 1970, or when it first appeared in English translation in the 1980's. In The Fleeting Promise of Art, Peter Uwe Hohendahl reexamines Aesthetic Theory along with Adorno's other writings on aesthetics in light of the unexpected return of the aesthetic to today's cultural debates. Is Adorno's aesthetic theory still relevant today? Hohendahl answers this question with an emphatic yes. As he shows, a careful reading of the work exposes different questions and arguments today than it did in the past. Over the years Adorno's concern over the fate of art in a late capitalist society has met with everything from suspicion to indifference. In part this could be explained by relative unfamiliarity with the German dialectical tradition in North America. Today's debate is better informed, more multifaceted, and further removed from the immediate aftermath of the Cold War and of the shadow of postmodernism. Adorno's insistence on the radical autonomy of the artwork has much to offer contemporary discussions of art and the aesthetic in search of new responses to the pervasive effects of a neoliberal art market and culture industry. Focusing specifically on Adorno's engagement with literary works, Hohendahl shows how radically transformative Adorno's ideas have been and how thoroughly they have shaped current discussions in aesthetics. Among the topics he considers are the role of art in modernism and postmodernism, the truth claims of artworks, the function of the ugly in modern artworks, the precarious value of the literary tradition, and the surprising significance of realism for Adorno.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I

1. Human Freedom and the Autonomy of Art: The Legacy of Kant

2. The Ephemeral and the Absolute: The Truth Content of Art

3. Aesthetic Violence: The Concepts of the Ugly and Primitive

Part II

4. Reality, Realism, and Representation

5. A Precarious Balance: Rereading German Classicism

Epilogue

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780801469275

0801469279

9781322523163

1322523169

9780801469282

0801469287

OCLC:

862958093