A fascinating response from Imago Asthetik. On the one hand, from reading Adorno, he has learned to emphasize " the non- or anti-discursive character of visual art and music, in connection with its 'bodily' presence".
An excellent prescription - and a fine example of "changing my mind about the way I look at art". Although, one wouldn't necessarily need to read Adorno, or even be literate, to adopt this approach. But, on the other hand, he wants to follow J. M. Bernstein's discourse when looking at 17th C. Dutch paintings: "De Hooch can paint the world because the world depicted is the constant crossing of nature as matter and order, and culture as matter and order. De Hooch's painterly materialism continually works to dissolve any permanent boundary between nature and culture, between subjective lilves ant the material conditions of those lives, without ever denying the difference between them." So, it seems that he has already forgotten Adorno's wise lesson. "Matter", "nature", "order", and "culture" are all part of Bernstein's discourse. (and perhaps we should all read "Against Voluptuous Bodies" to examine them) The various paintings by De Hooch, Vermeer, etc are something completely different. ***************************************************************** >I must finish a few things, so I cannot spend too much time on this message. But let me offer a fast outline of 'changing my mind.' In calling attention to both the manner in which De hooch uses his paint (e.g. painting a brick wall), and the choice of subject, Bernstein's argument transformed the way I actually look at Dutch painting in General (Greenaways recent film, Nightwatching had a similar effect for me viz Rembrant's Night Watch). I would not say that it licensed me to disregard some set of prejudices I entertained prior to seeing Dutch painting, but it did call my attention to a set of concerns which were not apparent to me, and which, once entertained, produce a completely different way of seeing, and a different aesthetic experience. Adornos work on aesthetics has had a rather profound effect on the way I relate to art, and it would be difficult for me to summarize all of the transformations, tensions, and contradictions, his work has generated for me. Suffice it to say, his emphasis of the non- or anti-discursive character of visual art and music, in connection with its 'bodily' presence (the orchestration and interpretation involved in performance, the thing-like character of an artwork that, in its stubborn refusal to express some concept, some purpose or use-value, escapes the category of 'thing,' the letter and syntax of the text, the weight of paint upon a canvas), involves a particular kind of comportment towards art, which I have not seen very many theorists or artists address, and which now seem to me to be fundamental to any encounter with it. ____________________________________________________________ Click for quotes on adjustable mortgages. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/fc/BLSrjnxQs3kBUoXGFNCCNRT7ltCETF OVNqdVTYW9PtaMBxbezDIFedrs8q0/
