Adorno And Modernism

The Aesthetic Theory was considered to be concentrated reflection of Adorno's thought of aesthetics.It contained the dialectical critique to the traditional aesthetic theory and the critique and prediction of modernism aesthetics as well.Adorno criticized a variety of cultural phenomena to the late capitalism in accordance with his negative dialectics which Adorno had always been adhering to.At the same time Adorno's critique always showed his appreciation and care to the modernism art.Adorno founded that the modernism art had the new characteristics whereas the traditional aesthetic theory could not explain.The new characteristics were the dialectic of ugly and beautiful,the art as broken and crushed,and the difficulty in comprehending and so on.For the legitimacy and existence value of modernism art Adorno always stood on the position of the Frankfurt School's unorthodox Marxist standpoint which led to the point of difference among Lukacs,Brecht and Benjamin.The differences reflected in every corner of the Aesthetic Theory and mainly focused around the relationship between art and society,the art of autonomy issues and the relationship between the modernism art and the cultural industry and so on. Adorno's critique of cultural industry was concentrated reflection the point of modernism art that his attitude in the relationship between art and society was so complex and tense.