Adorno: The transcendence of Art
...Consequently, art cannot be considered a boundless entity because it addresses society’s unresolved conflicts and is therefore dependent on them. Art in turn is both for itself as well as well as for the outside. Although Adorno’s principle argument claims that art is unable to liberate itself completely from reality, he calls for a form of artistic expression that does not create an identical representation of reality. Adorno proposes that art is a rupture in a structure with many faults. These ruptures in society instigate questions as well as answers. Adorno argues that works of art respond truthfully to doubts and inquires produced by a flawed and indifferent society. Like Adorno, I would argue that art through non-identical representations that do not deny but reconstruct, are indeed transcendent. Some examples of this kind of art that produces its own transcendence would include Metamorphosis by Kafka that offers a potent non-identical representation of society’s problems. Wha...