Between truth and traume : the work of art and memory in Adorno
Analyzing the dialectical processes through which art works through the past, Between Truth and Trauma: The Work of Art and Memory in Adorno examines Adorno’s concept of memory. I argue that, for Adorno, the work of art both has and is a Zeitkern (temporal nucleus). I demonstrate that the reciprocal immanence of history in the work and immanence of the work in history allows for the past to be worked through. The first chapter examines how the past is preserved and negated by the work of art. The second chapter examines how the past is transcended through the work of art via the interpretive process. The final chapter looks at Adorno’s reading of work by Beckett and Brecht in order to illustrate the ability of the work of art to navigate between truth and trauma.
Adorno sursomption Zeitkern Adorno memory artwork dialectics sublation 20th century German philosophy interpretation Zeitkern