John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

2.9.1 Art’s ontological privileges
‘Art’ appears to be the most privileged term here. The designation of something
as a work of art seems to imply some form of transcendent value. Stephen
Wright (2000) indicates that for Adorno, art was not merely useless, but was
somehow ‘radically useless’ and therefore performs as a means of subversion in
a world of functionalist logic and utilitarian rationality. Wright finds this point
of view dissatisfying and calls for a more discerning understanding of utilitarian
rationality that acknowledges both art’s use-value 33 and its difference from the
‘merely useful’. Wright states:
“…that art’s use-value is inseparable from its heuristic value - that is, its
ability to foster discovery, draw attention to the overlooked.” (Wright,
2000).
In addition, formalists such as Michael Fried have tried to undermine the place
the process of design has to play in art. In the theory and criticism of Michael
Fried (1967) the term ‘objecthood’ is used as the antithesis of art. Fried sets up
a system in which art objects are autonomous from the everyday world. Fried's
claims about ‘objecthood’ are formulated in regard to what he claims is
‘Literalist’ art (which has since become known as ‘Minimalist’ art). This work is
created with an acknowledgement of its existence as ‘merely’ or ‘just’ being an
object. Fried claims that this Minimalist art is a deviation from the normal
condition of art. Tony Gibart (2002) points out that ‘art’ and ‘objecthood’ form
a dichotomy of classification that is dependent on whether the objects exhibit
the qualities of banal, everyday objects or have been made to transcend these
qualities. Fried’s analysis of Minimalism is that it is art that wants to be
considered in the domain of the everyday as opposed to in the reified conditions
of the art world. Fried's argument is an attempt to maintain a distinct category
of art object which takes on a transcendental significance.
‘Aura’ was the term used in 1936 by Walter Benjamin (Benjamin, 1992) to
convey the sense of awe created in an audience by unique objects such as works
of art or historically significant artifacts. Benjamin maintains that mass
production and technologies of reproduction jeopardise notions of ‘authenticity’
33 The concept of ‘use-value’ was introduced by Karl Marx in opposition to ‘exchange value’.
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