Endgames: Reconstructing Adorno's "End of Art"
Author(s): Eva Geulen
Source: New German Critique, No. 81, Dialectic of Enlightenment (Autumn, 2000), pp. 153-168
Published by: Duke University Press
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Endgames:
Adorno's "End ofArt"
Reconstructing
Eva Geulen
"Theendis thebeginning,
andonegoesonanyway."
- SamuelBeckett,
in
Endgame,
quoted
byT.W.Adorno
to
Understand
"Attempt
Endgame"
I
on artdependon thenotionof an 'end of art;'
Adorno'sreflections
but thisend is ambivalent.1
This ambivalenceis not reducibleto the
characteristic
oscillationbetweena utopianend of arton theone hand,
and its disastrousend, or, as Adornosometimessays, its "wrong
demise,"on theother.Alreadytheoriginof artas represented
by the
sirensepisodein theDialecticof Enlightenment,
to whichits authors
returnas if magicallydrawnseveraltimesin thecourseof theOdysseus chapter,
involvesmorethanone end: notonlyis theoriginof art
said to coincidewiththe end of the sirens'song,not only have all
withthesirens"2and are
songs" fallenill sinceOdysseus'sencounter
therefore
destinedto end,whether
theyare healedor whether
theydie.
1. Forthetraditional
"il
Lindner,
readingoftheendofartinAdomosee Burkhardt
faut6treabsolument
undihreHismodeme.'AdornosAsthetik:
IhrKonstruktionsprinzip
Materialenzur dsthetischer
torizitait,"
Theorie,ed. B. Lindnerand W. MartinLiidke
(Frankfurt/Main:
1979)202ff.
Suhrkamp,
2. Max Horkheimer
& TheodorW. Adomo,Dialektikder Aukldirung,
GesammelteWerke,
ed. RolfTiedemann,
vol.3 (Frankfurt/Main:
1997)78. All transSuhrkamp,
lationshave been modifiedfromthe English,Dialecticof Enlightenment,
trans.John
to Adomowill be
references
1982).All subsequent
Cumming(New York:Continuum,
citedaccording
tovolumeandpagenumber
intheGesammelte
Werke,
excepttheDialecticofEnlightenment,
whereI willalso parenthetically
providetheEnglishpage number.
153
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154
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
itselfpresupposesan inaccessibleend of
Moreover,the interpretation
"To singof Achileven
its
which
art,
precedes
allegorizedbeginning:
les's angerand thetravelsof Odysseusis alreadythewistfulstylization
of whatcan no longerbe sung,"Adornoand Horkheimer
writeon the
Fromtheoutset,theOdyssey
firstpage of theirchapter
(myemphasis).3
is a modemartwork,
and itsexistenceis
songof itsown impossibility,
as mucha paradoxandan anachronism
as anyof itspossibleinterpretations.ThattheDialecticofEnlightenment
exposesand evendramatizes
withan end thatwouldhave to be located
thisparadoxby beginning
beforethedialecticof mythand enlightenment
stillto be unfolded
(and
beforetheambivalent
theverypathosof
originofart),thusundercutting
- thisdiscloses,
thesubsequent
readingsby itsexcessiveexaggeration
an unexpectedly
self-subvertpreciselyin one of itsexcessivemoments,
even
ironic
dimension
of
this
the
of
which
seems
book, denegation
ing,
tohavebecometheobligation
ofanyself-respecting
intellectual.4
Whilethedissolution
of theone end of artintoseveralcontradictory
endscharacterizes
almostall post-Hegelian
discourseon theend of art,
thispluralization
shows particularly
radicaleffectsin Adorno'scase.
oftheirreducible
introduced
heterogeneity
Symptomatic
by suchpluralizationis thefactAdornofamously
issueda verdicton theend of art
and thenagainthought
afterAuschwitz5
it necessaryto objectto any
thatone proceedsto censorship
and
suchdecrees:"At theverymoment
decreesthatitmustbe no longer,artregains,in themidstof theadministeredworld,itsrightto exist,thedenialof whichresemblesitselfan
act of administration."6
to transform
theevidentcontradicAnyattempt
tionbetweenAdorno'sverdictand his verdicton verdictsintoone of
in lightof thecontradictions
praxisand theoryis illegitimate
already
on
each
of
its
sides.
For
when
declared
to
write
that
reigning
Adorno
after
Auschwitz
is
he
on
the
reflected
poetry
impossible, already
problematicof sucha verdictby addingthatthisimpossibility
also underminesthestatusofthisveryposition:"To writea poemafterAuschwitz
3.
4.
GW3: 61 (48).
Adomo, Dialektikder Aufkldrung,
One ofthemostinfluential
was launchedbyJiirgen
HabermasinDer
critiques
philosophischeDiskurs der Moderne (Frankfurt/Main:
Suhrkamp,1985) 130-57. The con-
forthevolumepublished
tributions
onoccasionofthe40thanniversary
oftheDialecticof
Enlightenmentare also largely critical: Vierzig Jahre Flaschenpost "Dialektik der
ed.W. v. Reijen& GunzelinSchmid-Noerr
Fischer,1987).
Aujkldrung,"
(Frankfurt/Main:
5. Adorno,"Kulturkritik
undGesellschaft,"
GW 10.1:30.
6.
Adorno,AsthetischeTheorie,GW 7: 373.
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Eva Geulen
155
is barbaricand thatalso affectsthe insightwhichsays why it has
become impossibletodayto writepoems."7That and how serious
Adornowas aboutthisdilemmarevealsitselfwhenhis own critiqueof
and radicalas to
decreeingany end of artturnsout to be so effective
of
theverycoreof Adorno'sconstruction
whatis otherwise
undermine
The centraldogma of art's evolutionas deteraestheticmodernity.
is
minedby rationalcontroloverthematerial[Materialbeherrschung]
how
be
and
art
to
dilemma
whether
"The
offered
may posup critique:
is notsolvedby theuse of technical
sible whichfitsintothepresent,
meanswhichare availableand could be used by artaccordingto its
criticalconsciousness"8
(emphasismine).This exampleshouldsuffice
to suggestthatthe motifof the end of art touchesupon aporiasin
thatnegativedialectic- thisexercisein aporiaAdorno'sthought
withit.
co-articulated
failstousurpandwhicharenevertheless
EventhoughAdorno'stwoseemingly
positionsvis a vis
incompatible
their
theend of artare obviouslyinterconnected
alongmanypathways,
of
value:
the
heuristic
juxtaposition the
separation
possesses
preliminary
two related
verdictand its critiquecan helpto isolateand distinguish
which
The first,
in his thought.
temporallogicsoperating
yetdifferent
or "Nachspiel,"comes to the
could be called thelogic of theafterlife
on poetryafter
of his earlierreflections
forein Adomo's radicalization
itmighthavebeenwrong
AuschwitzinNegativeDialectics:"Therefore
to say thatwritingpoetryafterAuschwitzis impossible.Not wrong,
whether
however,is theless cultural
livingafterAuschwitzis
question,
possibleforhimwho was allowedto live and escapedby chanceand,
requiresthecoldness,
by law, oughtto have beenkilled.His living-on
whichAuschwitzwould
thebourgeoisprinciple
parexcellence,without
nothave been possible."9The paradoxicallogic of living-onafterthe
withregardto philosend,whichfounditsmostcondensedformulation
of
sentence
in
the
famous
NegativeDialectics,also conopening
ophy
relatedto the ruin of
cerns art, whose developmentis intimately
in
that
Art,too,is in a funmeaningalludedto
metaphysical
sentence.l0
itsowndeath,ittesdamentalsensealwaysalreadyliving-on;
surviving
tifiesto its own anachronicity.
Accordingto this logic, the end is
undGesellschaft,"
7. Adorno,"Kulturkritik
GW 10.1:30.
8. Adorno,
GW7: 325.
Asthetische
Theorie,
9. Adorno,NegativeDialektik,
GW6: 355.
10. "Philosophy
whichonce seemedobsoletesurvivesbecausethemomentof its
was missed."(GW6: 15).
realization
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156
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
to after-life
and afteralreadybehindus and condemnsthe survivors
as
well
the
both
the
as
fatal
commath,implying
post-finitum
repetition
In
on
of
this
verdict
Auschwitz
Adorno's
never
was
pulsion. light
logic,
a stricture
there
againstpoetrybuta wayof sayingthatafterAuschwitz
Whatappearschronologically
is no morebeforeAuschwitz.
as itspreis alwaysonlyitshistorical
aftermath.11
history
of thislogicof survivorhood
and aftermath
is a another
The correlate
be
termed
and
that
may
"Vorgang,"prelude process.It
temporallogic
therelationships
artworks
andgenresas wellas those
determines
among
between
art
and
art
and
aesthetic
orphibetween andarts, finally
theory
it is essentially
dynamicand
losophy.Similarto thelogicof aftermath,
to all art,theprelude,
to Adorno,whatis anterior
processual.According
else thanthefactthatit alwaysonly
so to speak,of all art,is nothing
an
itselfin and as relation,in and as deadlycompetition,
constitutes
for
or
no
in
which
is
not
"art
with
art
that
requires
yet
longerart,
agon
Thisheterogeto it,in orderto becomeart."l12
something
heterogeneous
to the social whole,even
neityis not reducibleto art's relationship
thatrelation.
tendstoprivilege
Yet,in all other
thoughAdornogenerally
refuseto
respectsas well,artis war:"So muchis true:They[artworks]
be compared.They want to annihilateone another .... Not fornothing
to Gods
did the AncientsreservethePantheonof whatis compatible
one
the
into
an
forced
and Ideas,artworks
agon,
deadlyenemyof
they
This demise [Untergang]is the goal of everywork of art
the other.
....
in thatit seeksto bringdeathto all others.Thatartaimsto end artis
And in themostcondensed
anotherway of sayingthesame thing."l13
Thein a singlesentencefromtheAesthetic
formthislogicis articulated
one
its
ruin."l4
is
with
"In
the
the
artwork's
end,
unfolding
ory:
identical
Situatedbetweenthesetwoobviouslysimilarbutnotentirely
the
numerous
that
are
of
and
negations render
logics Vorgang Nachspiel
of
abana
canon
Adorno'saesthetic
ruin,dissolution,
theory
negativity:
a
donment,
and,finally,
destruction,
de-arting
[Entkunstung],
liquidation,
termthatmostobviouslydisplaystheprocessualdimensioninhabiting
oftheendof artafterAuschwitz,
see Sven
11. Fora moredetailedreconstruction
in
undsprachliche
"'WahrsindSitze als Impuls...' Begriffsarbeit
Kramer,
Darstellung
aufAuschwitz,"
DvJS(1990): 501-23.
AdornosReflexion
GW10.1:439.
12. Adorno,"Die Kunstunddie Kiinste,"
13. Adorno,MinimaMoralia,GW4: 84. AdornohereborrowsfromPaul Valery,
whomhe quotesatlength
onthisissuein"ValeryProustMuseum"GW 11: 181-194,183.
14.
Adorno,AsthetischeTheorie,GW7: 266.
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Eva Geulen
157
of Adomo'sdiscourseon theend of art
all terms.For thesignificance
of theone end,itssplitting
or douconsistsnotonlyin thepluralization
In
all
in
fact
that
end
is
as
above
the
the
onlygiven process.15
bling,but
thereareonly
short:thereis no endof artto be eulogizedor celebrated,
or Nachspieland thatof processor
endings.The logicof survivorhood
different
endsnordifferent
aspectsof one end:they
Vorgangare neither
on whether
an end is good
as modesof delay.Judgment
operate,rather,
one's
or bad, utopiaor demiseis no longercontingent
position,
upon
has beendisplacedontoprocesses.ForAdorno,
becausetheirdifference
the end of art since the
the ambivalencewhich has characterized
Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes in the eighteenthcentury-
and redemption,
betweencatastrophe
utopiaand demise- remains,
undecidof modernity
and afterAuschwitz,
undertheconditions
strictly
has becomemobilein thetwotemporal
able. Thisundecidability
logics
of Nachspiel and Vorgang.Arthas no end -
anymoreor yet- because
whether
thecriitis permanent
crisis,anditmakeslittleorno difference
its
and
survived
be
no
sis stemsfromthefactthatartshould
end,
longer
andactsoutitsend."The endof art
artenvisions,
or whether
anticipates
withrespect
has nottakenplace,"Adornowritesin theAesthetic
Theory
to theHegelianend of art,buthe adds:"Eventhegestureof itsdisapmutemoveson as a differential."'
pearingandfalling
accountof Adomo'stwologicsof endingsraises
This veryschematic
to eachotherandthesectheirrelation
one
crucial
two
issues, regarding
of the
the internallimitsof Adorno'sprocessualization
ond regarding
of thetwologicsas comend of art.First,eventhoughthecoexistence
theend'spermamodesofdelayingensuresandunderwrites
plementary
betweenthempersists.An
a certainincompatibility
nentundecidability,
is thefactthattheycan easilybe
oftheirpotential
indication
disjunction
kindsof canonsin Adomo's occupation
withtwodifferent
coordinated
Whiletheendlessdialecin particular.
artworks
withartworks,
literary
of
is
end
of
as
tic the
privilegedin interpretations
Vorgang generally
the
or
modemworksby authorssuch as Beckett Kafka,
emphatically
cf. AlexanderGarcia
15. For an analysisof theinternal
splitof "Ent-Kunstung,"
L 'EspritCreateur35.3 (Fall 1995): 53-79,as well as DtittDiittmann,
"Ent-Kunstung,"
2001.Christoph
Studien(Frankfurt/Main:
Drei aesthetische
mann,Kunstende.
Suhrkamp)
ofAdorno'snotion
areconstitutive
thatprocessand relation
Menkearguesconvincingly
nach
derKunst.Asthetische
ofaesthetic
as suchinDie Souverdnitdt
Erfahrung
experience
Adorno(Frankfurt/Main:
Suhrkamp,
1991).
GW7: 309.
Asthetische
16. Adorno,
Theorie,
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158
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
tendsto dominatewhenAdornodeals withfiglogic of theaftermath
uressuchas Eichendorff,
Borchardt,
GeorgeandM5rike,whoareperse
thatdemands"il faut6tre
withan aesthetic
to integrate
difficult
theory
These authors
absolumentmoderne[one mustbe absolutelymodern]."l17
are notjust no longermodem(like Wedekindor Ibsen,forexample);
place.The factthattheessaysdealtheywerenevermodemin thefirst
a-modemauthorsare also theverytextswhichare
ing withgenerally
of languagefora reconstruction
of Adorno'stheory
mostpromising
to thisday suggeststhatthelatenttensionbetweenthe
a desideratum
on
two logics pointsto anothertension,betweena particular
thought
18
under
aesthetic
and
its
theory.
uneasysubsumption
language
limitsof Adomo's doublelogic,his
the internal
Second,regarding
as processdoes not
to dissolvethe end of artintonegativity
attempt
theend once
alwayssucceedin escapingthedangerof hypostasizing
ofemployitselffroma longtradition
moreandthusfailsto distinguish
for
When
of
the
of
art.
the
end
states,
example,that
topos
ing
Adorno
that
of
the
determined
"thequintessence
negation sustainsart
[Inbegriff]
and
is its own,"theend of artis accordeda privilegethatunderwrites
theproblematic
of theend of artsince Idealism.19
history
perpetuates
and beyond,thepolitiFromSchellingvia Wagnerto theavant-garde
of arthavebeenamply
of
a
such
sublation
disastrous
cally
implications
or quinWheretheendof artadvancesto theInbegriff
demonstrated.20
thatcannotbe
it occupiesa meta-position
tessenceof art'snegativity,
intotheprocessof ending,simplybecauseit is its Inbegriff
integrated
- and as Inbegriff
of art'snegativity,
theendof artis thenonlycomsecretknowledge.
municable
as quasi-apocalyptic
on literature
and on music,Adornoexhibitsa peculiarand
17. Bothin writings
on the
withanachronistic
works.Cf. forexamplehis remarks
preoccupation
unexpected
inMinimaMoralia,GW4: 248-49andtheessay"Das Altern
problemofNeo-Classicism
GW14: 143-67.As ofnow,nosystematic
dermodernen
Musik,"Dissonanzen,
analysisof
is available.
Adorno'snotionofanachronicity
Garoflanguagecan be foundinAlexander
18. Theoutlinesofan Adornian
theory
des
cia Dittmann'sanalysisof thenamein Adornoand Heideggerin Das Gedachtnis
Denkens.Versuch
iiberHeideggerundAdorno(Frankfurt/Main:
1991).
Suhrkamp,
TheorieGW7: 60.
19. Adorno,
Asthetische
20. The insightat leastif nottheconsequencesto be drawnfromit is generally
sharedbytheleftandtheright.Cf. Odo Marquard,
"Gesamtkunstwerk
undIdentittitsysimAnschlu3an HegelsSchellingkritik"
and"Kunstals Kompensation
tem.Oberlegungen
ihresEndes,"AestheticaundAnaesthetica.
(Paderborn,
PhilosophischeUberlegungen
Wien:Ferdinand
"Moderne
Ziirich,
Habermas,
1989) 100-21.J.irgen
Sch6nigh,
Miinchen,
vs. Postmoderne,"
Adorno1983(Frankfurt/Main:
1983).
Konferenz
Suhrkamp,
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Eva Geulen
159
This is theriskthatAdorno'sradicalprocessualization
of theend of
artruns,and it is nowheregreaterthanin theDialectic of Enlightento the apocalyptictone.But, I wantto
ment,knownforits affinities
it
is
and
where
Adomoand Horkheimer
seem to
argue,
precisely only
fallpreyto theapocalyptic
thatseem
tone,preciselyat thosemoments
extremeand excessivethatmodalitiesof thinking
theend
exaggerated,
of artsurfacewhichmightwithstand
thetotalizing
of the
temptations
endofartandtherefore
stand
a
chance
of
the
might
escaping dangersof
Adorno'snot always successfulmaneuvering
betweenprocessualizaof an endof art.Perhapstheforegrounding
tionand hypostasization
of
in
thisothermodalitymightthen, a last step,lead back to therole of
languageinAdorno'sthought.
II
Some ten yearsago, MartinSeel suggestedthatthe authorsof the
immuneto theseductions
of
DialecticofEnlightenment
are notentirely
in
Seel
failed
hold
such
to
theU. S. cultureindustry
they
contempt.21
and Adorno'sfascination
with
pointout,however,thatHorkheimer's
abjectmass cultureis so strongthatit resultsin an uncannyaffinity,
betweenart and mass culture.The
even a supplemental
dependency
is particularly
extentof theiruncannyresemblance
palpablein thesecless thanthefatalwhichrevealnothing
tionson "style"and "tragedy,"
notion
of
a
of
the
and
stylein all of artfrom
very
ity
prioricorruption
ceased
be
but
to
its inception:"Having
anything style,"stateAdorno
"thecultureindustry
and Horkheimer,
exposesthe latter'ssecret:The
as the aestheticequivaconceptof genuinestylebecomestransparent
Andof tragedy
lentof domination."22
theywritein thesamevein:"As
of
of styleit also unveilsthetruth
unveilsthetruth
thecultureindustry
A relatedpassage fromMinimaMoralia unequivocally
catharsis."23
selfwrestedfromthecultureindustry's
theuncanny
articulates
insights
which
film
and
hits
preparesynthetically
display:"Today's archetypes
of the late industrial
forthe desolateperception
phase notonlyliquimadnessthemadnesswhich
dateartbuttheyburstopenin the&clatant
and whichlendsviolence
was alreadywalledin in theoldestartworks
theterror
of theend illuminates
evento themostmatureone. Brightly
21.
22.
23.
MartinSeel,"Dialektikdes Erhabenen"
in Vierzig
JahreFlaschenpost1Iff.
GW3: 151(130).
Adomo,DialektikderAufkliirung,
GW3: 166(144).
Adomo,DialektikderAufkliirung,
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160
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
The cultureindustry
the lie of its origin."24
is nothing
otherthanthe
it
illumination:
unveils
and
it
is
the
kind
of
reveals,
eschatologigreat
whichcan onlytakeplace at theend,on thedayofjudgcal discovery
of thisall-encompassing
ment.The epistemological
pattern
knowledge
- whichAdornowill attribute
to onlyone otherwork,Beckett'sEndin thespectacleof theapocalypse,
whosevocabugame- is grounded
culture
"For
the
on
the
and
rhetoric
saturate
industry:
chapter
lary
centuriessocietyhas prepareditselfforViktorMatureand Mickey
UndertheseapocaRooney.As theydissolve,theycome to fulfill."25
and
mass culturecoldistinction
between
art
lypticconditionsany
lapses: "Advertisingbecomes art and nothingelse."26 But what
is any- evententative
andprelimcollapsesalongwiththisdistinction
forwherethe
and catastrophe,
betweenredemption
inary- difference
functions
as the catastrophic
cultureindustry
unveilingof universal
the
lie aboutitself.
from
need
to
art
is
redeemed
blindness,
finally
While
rhetoric
and
spreadprincipalindifference.
Apocalypticlogic
forthe purposesof
utilizethisindifference
Adornoand Horkheimer
gainingknowledgeaboutart- namelytheinsightintothatwhichhas
eventuall along- thelogic's auto-dynamic
artproblematic
rendered
differindifference
obliterates
them.
Totalized
with
catches
any
up
ally
and thisleaves
or itscritique,
ence betweenan objectand itscognition
withouttheresourcesnecessaryto
thechapteron thecultureindustry
knowlown
critical
stance.
its
Preciselybecauseapocalyptic
legitimize
aloneis able to
whosesignstheinitiate
edgeis alwayssecretknowledge,
itselfonlyby surrencan legitimize
epistemology
apocalyptic
decipher,
theinterpretaConsequently,
altogether.
deringtheclaimto knowledge
which
tionofthesignsofan endis handedoverto thesignsthemselves,
no longercapableof
are thensaid,and made,to speakforthemselves,
efforts.
norrequiring
powerto
Handingoverinterpretive
anyinterpretive
is preciselywhatcharacterizes
themselves
theobjectsof interpretation
- and most
whoseabsurdhighpoint
on thecultureindustry,
thechapter
insight is thefactthattheobjectsof thecultureindustry
important
revealthemselves
as lie - andgo on anyway.This
confessthemselves,
otherthanmyth,
foranymyththathas become
makesthemsomething
be
In
thecultureindustry
ceases
to
contradistinction,
myth.
transparent
24.
25.
26.
Adomo,MinimaMoralia,GW4: 303.
derAuJkliirung,
GW3: 179(156).
Adomo,Dialektik
GW3: 186(163).
Adomo,DialektikderAufkldrung,
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Eva Geulen
161
thrivesnotonlydespitebutbecause its mythical,
deceptive,
manipula"Mass Cultureis bare-faced
maketivequalitiesare utterly
transparent:
This quasi-phenomenological
Schminke]."27
aspect of
up [ungeschminkte
is perhapsHorkheimer's
and Adorno's
mass-culture's
self-disclosure
the
one
thatcan be
observation
and
most
certainly only
single
important
in
mind
can be
thetestof time.Whattheyhave
said to havewithstood
thatranin theUnitedStatestenyearsago
illustrated
by a commercial
itselfwiththesimplesloganof straightforward
whena bankadvertised
"One day we will be yourbank." In the Dialectic of
manipulation:
Adorno's and Horkheimer'sbewilderedamazement
Enlightenment
of the phenomenafindsexpressionin a
the
self-confession
regarding
and
saystheAmerican,
colloquialphrasetheypickedup: "I am a failure,
fails
which
also
"That"is notonlythatbut"that"is
that'sthat."28
art,
in otherwords,has alwaysbeen
and goes on anyway,whoseexistence,
Yet:"'il faut
as thatoftheculture
as paradoxical
industry.
continuer'."'29
whichthe
cultureindusof Tantalus"30
The spectacleof the"tortures
even
is
affords
from,the
with,
indistinguishable
congruous
strictly
try
Aesto
Adorno's
art
that
characterizes
labor"31
high according
"Sisyphus
suffered
the
tortures
between
theveryanalogy
theticTheory.Certainly,
desperate
by Tantalusand thoseof Sisyphusalso marksAdorno'srather
of
withhistheory
ofartforms
histheory
to breakthecontinuum
attempt
the
to
eschew
of
under
the
theculture
Seeking
reign
apocalypse.
industry
to absorb
thatthreatens
dramatization
consequencesof theapocalyptic
the authorsdisbetweenartand cultureindustry,
the verydifference
torture
and self-imposed
ontothatbetweentorture
place theirdifference
and labor.The second(originally
in theformof effort
part
unpublished)
in no
insistson thisdifference
of the chapteron the cultureindustry
is decidedin advance,
artwork
terms:"Certainly
uncertain
everyfixated
the
oftheartifact
butartseeksto sublatetheoverbearing
through
gravity
with
the
identifies
culture
whereas
mass
of
its
own
construction,
might
as the
andstrength
Themotifofeffort
curseofbeingalreadydecided."32
lazinessandweaknessas the
seal of arton theone hand,andimpotence,
on the other,are centeredaroundthe
epithetaof the cultureindustry
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
GW3: 317.
DialektikderAukldirung
undEntwfirfe,"
Adomo,"Aufzeichnungen
GW3: 238.
DialektikderAujkldrung
undEntwiirfe,"
Adomo,"Aufzeichnungen
GW7: 310.
Theorie,
Adomo,Asthetische
GW3: 161(140).
Adomo,DialektikderAujkldrung
Theorie,GW7: 326.
Adomo,Asthetische
GW3: 310.
DialektikderAujklkirung
undEntwiirfe,"
Adomo,"Aufzeichnungen
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162
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
of tensionand laxity.The introduction,
thesuperor,better,
opposition
in
of
these
as
it
be
of
criteria,
imposition
necessary may
light thedifferis
It belongsto a
mode, highlyquestionable.
ence-absorbing
apocalyptic
of labor,effort,
strenuousfetishization,
sexuallycodifiedandgendered,
nessand erection
in
thatorganizesmuchofAdorno'sprose,particularly
theAestheticTheory.Such an oppositionof rigorand flaccidity
falls
behindand contradicts
of theartwork
as a kindof
Adorno'sowntheory
"Einstand"or coexistence
of opposites,including
theopposition
of tenThat theirmutualexclusionpresumably
no longer
sion and laxity.33
existsin an artwork
renderssuspiciousAdorno'sattempt
to instrumenthe
of
an
essential
differtalizethisoppositionfor purposes assigning
encebetweenartandtheculture
industry.
In thefinalinstance,
thisopposition
betweentensionand laxityis, of
as theproduct
betweentheartwork
course,groundedin theopposition
of theculcommodities
of an individualartistand themass-produced
to stabilizetheopposiBut thisattempt
undercapitalism.
tureindustry
to the opposition
tion betweenpotencyand impotenceby reference
is fundamentally
and mass production
betweenindividualproduction
as
thisdistinction
undialectical
anddoomedto failure.In short,
remains,
it were, weak, and its problematicimplicationsfully surfacein
fromthe 1960s.Herethe
Adorno's"Resum~eon theCultureIndustry"
the
same degreethatthe
been
down
to
furor
has
toned
apocalyptic
fortified.
has
been
and
between
tension
Nothingis
flaccidity
opposition
as it had unveiledand revealed
leftfromthedialecticof enlightenment
In thislater
itselfin the earliertextbut sheer"anti-enlightenment."34
between
text,thepriceAdornopaysforhavingsalvagedthedifference
are now indistinguishis thathis remarks
artand thecultureindustry
cultural
andconservative
able fromrestaurative
philosophy.
sceversionoftheapocalyptic
In otherwords,theradical,exaggerated
later
verwith
its
moderate
nariohas significant
compared
advantages
sion but at thepriceof a dilemma:On theone handthe apocalyptic
ofandtheverymediumin whichthe
extreme
is thenecessary
condition
realthreat
of neutralizing
all differences
betweenhighand low becomes
ofbothkitschand
conceivablein thefirst
place.(Thatthedisappearance
andremainsa problem
is indeeda realthreat
an intransigent
modernism
and
to thisdayhas beenarguedindifferent
contexts
byNiklasLuhmann
33.
34.
Asthetische
GW7: 264.
Theorie,
Adorno,
GW 10.1:345.
Adorno,"R6sum6eilberKulturindustrie,"
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Eva Geulen
163
theapocalyptic
On theotherhand,however,
modecuts
BorisGroys.35)
the
of differentiation
andpaysthepriceforunveiling
offall possibilities
the
it
describes.
from
threat
objects
indistinguishable
bybecoming
But then,the Dialectic of Enlightenment,
althoughvictimof the ter-
senremarkable
rorof samenessit deplores,also containsthefollowing
This
tence: "Complete resemblanceis the absolute difference."36
reversaland leap is no longerdialectical- or,if it were,it wouldbe
at best.But it can also be readotherat worstand theological
mythical
and peron the level of representation
wise and elsewhere,occurring
infelicitous
a
somewhat
with
once
Schaidelbach
what
to
termed,
taining
in Adorno'stexts,
of "narrative
thedimension
formulation,
coherency"
dimenor
the
dramatic
to
as
whatJamesonhas referred
performative
and on
sionof his prose.37Whatbecomesevidentfromthisperspective
is
is thatthechapteron thecultureindustry
thelevel of representation
itsdesperate
no apocalypsebut,rather,
parody,andperhapstheimmediate relevanceof thistexthad to undergoa latencyperiodduringwhich
couldemerge.
beforethisdimension
itbecameantiquated
absentfrom
This is notto say thatthenotionof parodyis altogether
of
the
to
refer
theauthorsfrequently
thetext.On thecontrary,
category
radio,forexample,is said to be thedemonic
parody:The omnipresent
charismatic
Weber's
of
Max
Adornoand Horkheimer
leader,38
parody
of a fairytale,
fulfillment
as thedisfigured
denouncethecultureindustry
as
national
never-never
of
the
a
"all parody
land,just
societyis a paraboutlaughformulation
In
one
extreme
the
human
of
society."39
ody
is a
audience
a
"Such
claim:
the
authors
in
ter the sitcoms,
laughing
parody of humanity..
.
. What is fiendishabout this false laughteris
thatitis a compelling
parodyofthebest,reconciliation."40
use of "parody"is also thefoil
However,thisapocalyptically
inspired
35. Niklas Luhmann,Die Kunstder Gesellschaft
(Frankfurt/Main:
Suhrkamp,
ofart;BorisGroys,"Fundamentalismus
on theself-descriptions
1995),esp. thechapters
Die Kunstdes Sammelns(Frankfurt/
als MittelwegzwischenHoch-undMassenkultur,"
Main:Hanser,1997).
GW3: 168(144).
36. Adorno,DialektikderAuJkldrung,
Konstruktiondes
37. Herbert Schadelbach, "Dialektik als Vemunftkritik.
et al. (Frankfurt/
bei Adorno,"
Rationalen
Habermas,
1983,ed.
Adorno-Konferenz
Jtirgen
AdornoandtheResisLate
Marxism.
Main:Suhrkamp,
Jameson,
1983)66-94,92; Fredric
tanceofDialectic(London:Verso,1990) 134.
GW3: 183(159).
38. Adorno,DialektikderAukldrung,
GW3: 179-80(156).
39. Adorno,DialektikderAuJkldrung,
GW3: 163(141).
40. Adorno,Dialektik
derAuJkldrung,
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164
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
foranother
dimension
of parody,another
parody,and perhapstheother
ofparody.FortheDialecticofEnlightenment
is theparodyofan apocaend
of
where
seeks
art
not
it
to
instrumentalize
theconceptof
lyptic
but
where
it
surrenders
to
the
precisely
entirely
parody
apocalyptic
on thecultureindustry
is thus
tirade.The parodicqualityof thechapter
nota qualityembeddedin thetextas suchbutonlyconstitutes
itselfas
and in thedoublerelationto theexplicitly
refigured
conceptof parody
on theone handandtheinvoluntarily
parodiedapocalypseon theother.
in
this
excessive
that
moment
exceedsbothparodyand apocaOnly
does
this
text
itself
of theterror
of sameness.This
out
catapult
lypse
notionof parody,or rather,
to use a distinction
introduced
by Samuel
also suggestsitselfas a mediumin
Weber,this"parodicpractice"41
whichthe antinomical
nexusof the logicsof Nachspieland Vorgang
The logicofNachspielcan be considered
can be coherently
articulated:
andviceversa.
a parodyof Vorgang
Such a modeof readingAdomo'stextopensup theway forde-aeshis aesthetic
witha radicality
thathis textsharborbut
theory
theticizing
whichhas not been fullyexplored.In theAestheticTheory,Adomo
writes:"On its Hegelian summitphilosophicalaestheticsprognosticatedthe end of art.AestheticsafterHegel forgotthis,art,however,
Artandpost-aesthetic
artaftertheend
sensesit all themoredeeply."42
of art are Adomo's texts- some of Adomo's texts,sometimesanddelaytheendof art,theyparody
becausetheynotonlytemporalize
to theverydegreethatitcan alwaysonlybe afterit.Parodyis anterior
math.At a timewhenmanyof Adomo's textsread like self-parodies
avant la lettre,it is perhapsnecessaryto do justice to the parodic
foritsreconstruction
that
ofhis texts.Andit is notirrelevant
dimension
and
the
that
avoids
is
from
rhetorical
a
preregister
concept
parody
of mimesis,theveryconceptwhichso
emptsrecourseto thecategory
oflanguage.
to
andtheory
access
Adorno's
powerfully
guards
practice
III
The interdependency
of the two logics of "Vorgang"and "Nachin Adomo's
spiel" in the space of parodicpracticeis moststriking
encounter
witha textwhereeverything
occursaftertheend.His reading
41.
SamuelWeber,"UppingtheAnte:Deconstruction
Deconas ParodicPractice,"
structionis/inAmerica.A New Sense of thePolitical, ed. Anselm Haverkamp(New York:
New YorkUP, 1995)60-78.
42.
Adorno,AsthetischeTheorie,GW 7: 503.
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Eva Geulen
165
to thecomof Beckett'sEndgameowes its cohesivenessand strength
"The
of
of
meaningwhich
pellinglogic parody:
explosion metaphysical
lets
aesthetic
aloneguaranteed
aesthetic
meaningcrumblewith
meaning
to thatof thetraditional
canon."43
notinferior
a necessityand austerity
the centralcategoriesof
Reminiscenceand parody are therefore
betweenparody
Adorno'sreading,whichalso spellsoutthedistinction
for
and determinate
after
negation:
"Emphatinegation, parodynegates
in
the
of
their
of
forms
the
means
use
age
impossibilcally,parody
ity."44Accordingto Adorno'sreading,Beckett'splaycontainsnothing
theavant-garde,
thatis notsubjectto parody:poetry,
humor,
education,
in particular,
but Hegel's master-slave
philosophy existentialism,
itself.
dialecticas well - and eventhemenaceof thecultureindustry
theentireplayis woven."45
of inversion,
In short:"Withthetechnique
In a post-apocalyptic
scenario,parodyas the techniqueof inversion
As a result,thecultureindusto indifference.
condemnsall differences
is virtuallyindistinguishable
of
reconciliation
demonic
parody
try's
between"hell ...
distinction
the
thatneutralizes
fromtheindifference
in whichsimplynothing
changesanymore,and themessianicstatein
stoodinitsproper
whicheverything
place."46
- in the
- and also disintegrates
culminates
Adorno'sinterpretation
readingof theplay's finalscene,forat thispointeven the difference
and difference
betweenindifference
collapses as parodyerodes the
"Differences
schemaof its interpretability:
aside,whichmightbe deciNo
withthebeginning.
identical
this
scene
is
sive or entirely
irrelevant,
over
it does notstartall
couldsaywhether
andno philosopher
spectator
witha sentencewhich
again."47And Adornoconcludesthisparagraph
of dialecticitself:"Dialecticdies out [penparodiestheverymovement
deltaus]."48Thatcould have been and perhapsshouldhave been the
end of the essay,less because it concernsthe play's finalscene but
"dialecticdiesout"parodysuspendsinundecidbecausein thesentence
as
abilitywhatAdorno, ifhe couldnotstopthere,finallyforcesintoa
indifference
at the conclusionof his text.For
decidedand signifying
to
as Adornowriteselsewherein the essay in reference
eventually,
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
GW11:281-321,here282.
Adorno,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
GW 11: 302.
Adorno,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
GW11: 320.
Adorno,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
GW11: 321.
Adomo,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
GW 11:314-15.
Adomo,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
GW11: 315.
Adomo,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
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166
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
Hamm's sentencethathis lifehas alwaysbeen a future
life,dialectic
does notdie outbutrather
comeshome:"In thisconception,
Benjamin's
idea of dialecticat a standstill
comeshome."Andwheredialecticcomes
absurdtheultimateindifferhome,it rendersabsurdbutmeaningfully
is thatthequietudeofnothingness
andthatof
ence:"The finalabsurdity
do not let themselves
be distinguished."
reconciliation
That,however,
and indifference
thatdemandsa
amountsto a decisionon undecidability
legitimatizationthat Adorno can find -
unexpectedly-
only by
inhisessay
he so fervently
denounces
recourseto theveryexistentialism
on Beckett:"Hope crawlsoutof theworld,back to whereit began,in
and end coincide,seals theend of
death."49
Death,in whichbeginning
seals
off
the
ofbeginning
theessayand
it against possibility
again.
executionof his
Adorno'sBeckettexegesisis notonlytheexemplary
italso constitutes
a strict
on
ofmodernity,
theory
analogueto thechapter
thecultureindustry.
The problemof theBeckettessay and its radicalized post-apocalyptic
dramatization
of parodyis nottheend of art,but
whoexecutes
ForafterBeckett,
theneedto decreetheendofmodernity.
if
his
own
as
it
were
the
idea
of
death
mandateofa
Proust's
protocolling
rienne va plus. Adorno'sattempt
to understand
testament,
Endgameis
it containsdramatizes
The construction
of modernity
itselfa testament.
Dialecticcomeshome.The end
itselfoncemoreandtakesleaveforever.
as theend of
of artis suspendedby parody- onlyto finallytriumph
end
into
death
and
of
all
which
sinks
back
as
things.
origin
modernity,
whichimplicitly
And yet,like the chapteron the cultureindustry,
herethedifferbetweenparodyandparodicpractice,
marksa difference
ence betweendialecticdyingoutand dialecticcominghomeconstitutes
ofa difference
It holdsopenthatclosure
instance
subsisting.
yetanother
alikeappeartohavereachedintheend.
whichtheessayandmodernity
in Adorno'sdisParody,nottheconceptbutthepractice,functions
ofwhatis said in a waythatexceedstheantithetcourseas a corrective
in whichtwoopposedpositionsaremadeto correct
ical procedure
each
other.Suchparodicexcesscannotbe isolatedandplayedoffagainstthe
forto theextentthatitis parodic,itonlyalwayssurthought
expressed,
facesincidentally
and relationally.
Thatparodyin thissensemightcona crucialdimension
ofAdorno'stextsdoes notmeanthattheydo
stitute
not lend themselvesto further
exegesis,but suggestsonly thatany
to
his
reconstruct
theories
needsto proceedas a readingof his
attempt
49.
GW 11: 321.
Adorno,"Versuchdas Endspielzu verstehen,"
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Eva Geulen
167
textsand cannotrelyon theterminology
theyemploy,even and espeincludesparody.
ciallywhenthatvocabulary
That muchis alreadydemandedby theDialectic of Enlightenment.
tojust shutup andescape from
On theoccasionofOdysseus'sinability
theCyclops- whenhe insistson exposingthetrickof languageand
- Adomo and Horkheimer
pronounceshis name, Udeis/Odysseus
write: "Speech thoughit deludes physicalforce,is incapable of
as parody,thestreamof consciousness,
Its flowaccompanies,
restraint.
its
itself;
autonomy
acquiresan aspectof madness
unperturbed
thought
and
it
manic
when
enters
the
through
speech,as ifthought
reality
has
realover
whereas
the
same
bore
name,
only
power
thought
reality
of the streamof
ity by virtueof distance."50The curiousaffinity
and flowof languagesuggeststhatin orderbe thought,
thought
thought
has to entertheworldof speech,discourse.But as discourseentersthe
"real"world,it is forced,
byvirtueofbeingspeech,to treatbothreality
as if theywerelanguage,as if theyborethe same name.
and thought
and realitybetrays
of thought
identification
Thatis to say,theterrible
the
first
and
must
discourse
because
forget and foremost
both,
forgets
of
The
rush
is
not
and
what
itself
between
difference
speech,
language.
not as its parodybut "as parody."As
however,accompaniesthought
otherthanwhat it says and names,language
parody,as something
discourseis
retainstheknowledgethatit is neither
realitynorthought;
Yet
it
enters
when
it
must
what
hauntedanddisfigured
reality.
forget
by
thisknowledgeis alwaysonlya knowledgeof languageas parody,as
as allegory.
else,saidontheside,saidotherwise,
something
start
to flow.In marked
of
Adorno
Whenever
speaks speech,things
theBeckthat
structures
and reduction
to theeconomization
opposition
flowor rushof languagesurfacesin
ettessay,theimageof thestream,
whoseworkalreadyrelatesto the
thoseofhis textsdedicatedto authors
The "Speechon Poetry
and
late
as
quotation.
parody
period
preceding
in Eduard
theeverso slightecho of antiquity
and Society"highlights
Moirike'spoetryand sensesthemedievalmomentin a fewversesby
dermai/,Nunmussich gar/Um deinaug
StefanGeorge:"Nundratngt
und haar/Alle tage/In sehnenleben "[Now May intrudes,/
Through
in desire]."Adornocomments:
youreye and hair/mustI liveforever/
evergiven
"These fourlineswhichI countamongthemostirresistible
notfromanother
to Germanpoetryare likea quotation,
poet,butfrom
50.
GW3: 87 (68).
derAuJkldrung,
Adomo,Dialektik
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168
Adorno's 'End ofArt'
Reconstructing
This irretrievability
thatwhichlanguagehas irretrievably
is
missed."''51
a failurethatno speechcan rectify,
butstructural,
no longerhistorical
an omissionno languagecanretrieve.
in
This undercurrent
of a latenttheoryof languagerunsstrongest
The extremerelaxationof economic
Adorno'sessay on Eichendorff.
of construction
poetryseems
principles
Adornodetectsin Eichendorffs
his own prose,whichsurrenders
to
itselfunprotected
to have affected
thatconcernstherushof language,thecourseof
thestreamof thought
discourse.But as extremeand extremely
movingas his readingis, it
ofhypostasization,
thetemptation,
does notalwaysresistthetemptation
as
Eichendorff's
"second
forexample,to identify
nature"in
language
whichthefirst,
andperforms
"reconciliation
withthe
lostnaturereturns
Thisasks too much,and hereAdomo
objectsby powerof language."52
of languagethatit sustainsas
has once moreforgotten
thenegativity
in
in
which
But
Adomospeaksof Eichendorff
another
passage,
parody.
is
he concedesthatlanguagein Eichendorff
as if speakingof himself,
"as if naturehad becomea
firstnorsecondnature.It is, rather,
neither
in
Buttheallegoricalintention
languageforthemelancholic.
meaningful
notbynatureto whichhe ascribesit
Eichendorffs
languageis sustained
Disat thispoint,butby his languagein itsdistancefrommeaning."53
tancefrommeaningand distantmeaningare neitherthe same as the
ofmeaningnorthesameas fullmeaning.In the
completedisappearance
all
ends
of art,thosedistantand thosenear,thefalse
of
end,
Adorno's
andtheambivathegoodendin Eichendorff
endin thecultureindustry,
areparodiesoftheend,itspassionate
lentendinBeckett,
parodies.
51.
52.
53.
GW 11:48-46,here66.
Adomo,"RedetiberLyrikundGesellschaft,"
GW 11:69-94,here84.
Adorno,"ZumGeddichtnis
Eichendorffs,"
GW 11: 83.
Adomo,"ZumGedichtnis
Eichendorffs,"
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