Non-identity And The Arts: Adorno's Theory Of Art Study

Adorno is an important representative of the first generation of Frankfurt School. His thoughts of non-identity and art theory based on non-identity, has great influence in the world. The main task of this article is studying Adorno's art theory in the perspective of the relation between non-identity and culture industry, as well as the relation between non-identity and modern art.In the period Adorno lived, people underwent the trauma in the two world wars and the grieved suffering of Jew's extermination. Besides this, they also faced this so-called capitalistic "reconciliation". Incisive Adorno used his grieved personal experience from which his thoughts aroused to tell people: this kind of "reconciliation" was not a real reconciliation. It is a surface reconciliation which in essence resulted from that enlighten rationality, totality and identity suppressed non-identity all out; it is this suppression that capitalism relies on to make the real society eliminate the conflict on the surface and conceal the reconciliatory impossibility which is constrained into the deepest level of consciousness; the false identity and pseudo reconciliation in modern society is at the cost of oppressing the heterogeneity things. In order to overcome such condition, we must insist on negative dialectics and keep paying close attention to the heterogeneity things. We can establish the "constellation" of non-identity by using "eternal denial" to break the objectified reality dominated by enlighten rationality, totality and identity. Centered on the non-identity, this is Adorno's main thinking on today society in the philosophy level. This article makes analyses of starting point, background and main content of Adorno's thinking. This article thinks that Adorno's well-educated music edification in his childhood and his grieved memory of Jew being oppressed by Fascist in his middle age are his personal life background in which the non-identity philosophy thinking can be generated. The main support for non-identity construction is Adorno's criticism of enlighten rationality, totality and identity. Sigmund Freud's dynamics explanation of collective psyche acts as the important academic sources of non-identity. The constellation of admitting contradiction and difference and concerning heterogeneity things is the existent way of non-identity and the eternal denial is the main method of realizing the non-identity.Adorno's discussion on the social reality is not only on the philosophic level, but also culture and art. In the following, Chapter II and Chapter III separately study and expound upon Adorno's theory about culture industry and modern art.In Chapter II, following the way of considering culture as industry, this article analyzes Adorno's culture industry theory from production, product and consume etc. and gives prominence to the conflict between culture industry and non-identity. In respect of production, culture is regarded as industry under the control of capitalism. Different culture art product is looked upon as commodity measured by quantity. In order to pursue the profit maximization of culture industry, the commodity exchange principle is considered as universal principle to be applied into the culture art whose special regularity is replaced for this reason. In respect of product, for the sake of selling, culture industry does not hesitate to employ various skills and means to pursue the novel forms of product. But the gorgeous appearance is difficult to conceal the devoid content and the stereotyped expression. So it presents pseudo-individualization condition. In respect of consumption, the people are made to give up the spirit of negation and critique because of the oppressive character of culture industry and the masochism disposition of the people. Being content with all kinds of false satisfaction, people lose the sensitivity of reality, with the attenuation of main body and degeneration of feeling. The internal surmounting dimension is dispelled unconsciously and the revolting consciousness is also almost wiped out by the capitalist. Therefore, the culture industry not only runs counter to the non-identity and goes its opposite side, but also loses the negative strength which the culture industry ought to have. And thus it becomes one part of objectified reality and the positive strength of extant society. In order to display Adorno's theory about culture industry, this chapter discusses the debates about public culture between Adorno and Benjamin and thinks that the two men have their own advantages and disadvantages. Meanwhile, this chapter analyses the change of Adorno's attitude toward culture industry in his later years and thinks that this transform can not change his keynote of culture industry.In Chapter III, from the character of modern art, and the relation between it and external world, the article shows the concordance between modern art and non-identity. As an effective carrier to display suffering consciousness, modern art attaches importance to art autonomy and stresses upon negative and critical functions of art. It also makes people keep wide-awake and produces possibility of exceeding oneself and opening oneself. By indirect imitation, in the constellation relationship between modern art and external world (for the sake of convenience in discussion, this article differentiate two condition-reality and ideology), modern art shows the reconciliatory impossibility in real society. Through the non-identical condition, such as the characters of fragment, conundrum, illusion and dynamic etc., the thoughts of non-identity can be displayed in modern art which becomes the ideal art in Adorno's heart. Adorno's theory about modern music is an important component of modern art theory. In order to deeply and overall expound upon Adorno's modern art theory, this chapter gives prominence to his opinion on modern music, especially the atonal music. With the aim of advocating "the liberation of diaphony", the music changed from tonality into atonality. This change is not only the transformation of form, but also a profound revolution. It realized equal position of all tones in music and marked that the conception of disequilibrium and central tone had already shattered. Because of this, atonal music became the ideal carrier in Adorno's heart to realize non-identity and social criticism, and so it is praised highly. American musician Schoenberg, born in Austria, was given praise by Adorno because he used twelve-tone technique to practice atnal music. However, Russian composer Stravinsky was named "pseudo-modern musician" by Adorno because of his advocacy of new-classicism.In chapter IV, the author discusses the merits and faults of Adorno's art theory and its practical significance. Firstly, this article introduces the theories of Fiske and Gendron which conflict with Adorno's culture industry theory. By comparing these theories, this article comprehensively analyses the advantages and disadvantages of Adorno's culture industry theory. Secondly, this article analyses the relation between Adorno and postmodernism which is always the topic many scholars discuss. There are many different views about this: many scholars think that Adorno is modernist, while others think that he belongs to postmodernism. From the perspective of true contents and spirit demands of modern art, this article expresses my own opinion and thinks that Adorno's theory and postmodern theory are seemingly in harmony but actually at variance. Through this analysis, we can see not only the boundary line between Adorno's art theory and postmodern theory, but also the value and significance. Finally, this article discusses the bounds in the application of Adorno's art theory in China relating with the present conditions of Chinese culture and art. Adorno's theory holds great significance for recognizing the activity of modern culture and art. It is also an important visual angle from which we look closely at the activity of modern culture and art and guide the practice of it. But after all, it is the product of the period Adorno lived and it has its own stipulation and particularity. So we can not enlarge its significance infinitely or consider it as universal theory of cross-period and cross-society to put into use. In view of essential differences between Chinese and Western social system, social development stage, cultural operation pattern and people's social position, we need to hold a circumspect attitude toward assimilating and applying things from the western.The last part is the Epilogue of this article: the philosophy and art have their own characteristic for themselves. The two can mutually compensate and support with each other. The philosophy can exceed itself by depending on art. Similarly, art can exceed itself by relying on philosophy. On account of this point, philosophy and art becomes the forceful weapon for Adorno to resist the capitalistic society. But due to the limitation of Adorno's theory, this resistance has the dense color of Utopia.