Conversation

Philosopher Theodor Adorno, responding in his time to the horrors of fascism and world war, described art as holding the promise of happiness, but only if it ruthlessly exposes politics as a language devoid of utopian potential.

Activist artist Paul Chan and philosopher Robert Hullot-Kentor address the problem of what art can be in our time. The idea of forgiveness is central to such a discussion. Given the horrors of new wars and environmental destruction, can art help reconcile differences and mitigate conflicts? Or is art, in its formal beauty, a cruel reminder of how difficult true reconciliation is? Is the aesthetics of Adorno the key to unlocking this dialectic of an unforgiving art and an unforgivable nation?

Participants 
Paul Chan, artist
Robert Hullot-Kentor, Long Island University, and author of Origin is the Goal: Collected Essays on T. W. Adorno (Columbia University Press)

This event is presented as part of the Vera List Center’s program cycle on “Considering Forgiveness.”