The Dialectic Of Art And Technology

This paper is a study of Adorno's analysis on the relationship between art and technology, whose task is to recognize and clarify the fundamental nature and practical significance of Adorno's aesthetic theory.Through the research of Adorno's analysis on the relationship between contemporary art and technology, the core question this paper want to reveal is:as Critical Theory of self-criticism on contemporary social life, what possibility and trend do Adorno's aesthetic theory reveal?Chapterâ… andâ…¡reveal:Why Adorno pay attention to art and technology problems? Through thinking of critique of enlightenment rational, Adorno exposes and criticizes rational metaphysics on ontology level, and reveals the root of the situation of times. As its realistic exemple, art reveals the situation by its practices. The true reason of Adorno's concerns on this issue is the belief that the alliance between contemporary art and technology is an opportunity to guide the real truth. Adorno's understanding of contemporary art crisis captures the fundamental problems of contemporary art practice and current status of this times, so it is very instructive.Chapter III, IV and V mainly explain:how does Adorno interprete art, technology and their relationship? In essence, art and technology are all the way of human sensuous activity, so they should be identical with the truth of social life. For contemporary art practice, technology which is alienated to instrumental rationality involved in art, it is not killing or denying art, but is the opportunity that truth power in art accessible to release in contemporary. The dialectical relationship between contemporary Art and technology can be summarized as follows:on one hand, as contemporary art's "home roots", technology results in non-entities of art; on the other hand, the alliance with technology also create real opportunity of contemporary art transcending the capitalism alienation conditions, so it is also "Road to Transcendence " for contemporary art practice. Adorno's critical analysis on contemporary art practice seeks to show:the essence of the alliances between contemporary art and technology is people's sensuous consciousness about their own contemporary alienation situation.The nature of art is not ideology, it is not important whether it is being used; real aesthetic, is non-alienated sensuous communication and sensuous activity, it can not be end by any power, and more than this, it has the ability to transcend reality by rooting in reality, to critique power by useing power, and to converse freedom mode by aufheben modern rationality. Facing human existing way and prospect out of capitalism, when philosophy has no language to express, as the realistic example of Adorno's critique of root of times situation, contemporary art reveals the advent of new living way through the its own practice. Finally, Chapter VI goes back to the questions before the above two aspects:how should we understand Adorno's aesthetic theory? As a Critical Theory of self-criticism on contemporary social life, what possibility and trend do Adorno's aesthetic theory reveal? Marx's Critique of Political Economy reveals the objective conditions of aufheben capital--the dialectics in a capitalist economy. Based on the essence of Marx's aesthetics thougt, Adorno's theory of art reveals the subjective conditions of aufheben capital--the formation of new sensuous awareness, therefore, it should be seen as a logical extension of Marx's critical theory and contemporary development of historical materialism. Of course, there are some limitations in Adorno's aesthetic theory, such as the rational beliefs lead to some theoretical paradox, too strong critic colors led him lack awareness to the truth elements in popular art, his narrow context of Western art do not see sensual charm in the oriental art, and so on. However, these shortcomings can not delete Adorno's aesthetic theory's own contemporary value and practical significance, as the important theoretical results of construction of "historical criticism science" on the road of historical materialism, the value of Adorno's aesthetics is still indelible.