How to View the Tendency of Materialism in Art Works—— Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory and Its Enlightenment

Adorno believes that work of art is to grasp the nonidentical,and the truth content of the work of art is this nonidentical thing.But grasping this nonidentity is like grasping the “thing in itself” in Kant’s epistemology.The truth content of art is expressed in this illusion (Schein).Materialism in works of art appears in the form of illusion.Therefore,the priority of the object in art is the opposite of the priority of the object in cognition,and the priority of the object in art is the freedom from the object.If the priority of the object in art is expressed as freedom from the object,then the priority of the object in art is precisely idealism.This idealism is expressed in the solipsism of art.Solipsism in art is inevitable.However,solipsism in works of art is also established by society,and the autonomy in art is actually its sociality.Therefore,solipsism in art can also move towards materialism.Adorno overemphasizes the autonomy of art and the inner transcendence,which also shows the idealistic dimension embodied in his materialism.