The Sense of Semblance: Philosophical Analyses of Holocaust Art

by Henry W. Pickford

Overview

Holocaust artworks intuitively must fulfill at least two criteria: artistic (lest they be merely historical documents) and historical (lest they distort the Holocaust or become merely artworks). The Sense of Semblance locates this problematic within philosophical aesthetics, as a version of the conflict between aesthetic autonomy and heteronomy, and argues that Adorno's dialectic of aesthetic semblance describes the normative demand that artworks maintain a dynamic tension between the two. The Sense of Semblance aims to move beyond familiar debates surrounding postmodernism by demonstrating the usefulness of contemporary theories of meaning and understanding, including those from the analytic tradition. Pickford shows how the causal theory of names, the philosophy of tacit knowledge, the analytic philosophy of quotation, Sartre's theory of the imaginary, the epistemology of testimony, and Walter Benjamin's dialectical image can help explicate how individual artworks fulfill artistic and historical desiderata.

In close readings of Celan's poetry, Holocaust memorials in Berlin, the quotational artist Heimrad Backer, Claude Lanzmann's film Shoah, and Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus, Pickford offers interpretations that, in their precision, specificity, and clarity, inaugurate a dialogue between contemporary analytic philosophy and contemporary art.

The Sense of Semblance is the first book to incorporate contemporary analytic philosophy in interpretations of art and architecture, literature, and film about the Holocaust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823245406
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	12/31/2012
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Henry W. Pickford is Associate Research Professor of German at Duke University. He is the editor and translator of Critical Models: Interventions and Catchwords by Theodor W. Adorno.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: The Judgment of Holocaust Art 1

1 Mandelshtam's Meridian: On Paul Celan's Aesthetic-Historical Materialism 17

2 Conflict, and Commemoration: Two Berlin Memorials 74

3 The Aesthetics of Historical Quotation: On Heimrad Bäcker's "System nachschrift" 137

4 The Aesthetic-Historical Imaginary: On Shoah and Maus 160

Conclusion: The Morality of Holocaust Art 204

Notes 211

Bibliography 253

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

"Successfully blending insights from continental and Anglophone philosophy, Pickford's Sense of Semblance establishes a new methodology in the field of philosophical inquiry into Holocaust representation. Indeed, this wholly original study positions itself as nothing less than a systemic analysis of the first principles of aesthetic representation of catastrophic phenomena, and as such seems certain to make an enduring contribution to the field." -R. Clifton Spargo, author of The Ethics of Mourning, Vigilant Memory: Emmanuel Levinas, the Holocaust, and the Unjust Death

"Pickford's work is an ambitious and highly original interdisciplinary examination of Holocaust art and the challenges it poses to philosophical analysis. Pickford offers penetrating analyses of some of the most important and controversial works of Holocaust art among them the poetry of Paul Celan, the Neue Wache and Bavarian Quarter memorials in Berlin, the aesthetics of historical quotation in Heimrad Bäcker's 'system nachschrift,' and the testimonial art of Claude Lanzmann and Art Spiegelman as well as to his ongoing engagement with various modes of philosophical analysis in both the Analytic and Continental traditions. The book deals with complex issues in an extremely lucid manner and is meticulous in its interweaving of philosophical, historical and literary approaches to the Holocaust in art." -Michael Levine, Rutgers University

"Drawing on Adorno's aesthetic theory, Benjamin's notion of dialectical images, and insights from contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, Henry Pickford provides a trenchant and original analysis of the struggle of artists to do justice to the memory of the Holocaust. Examining a wide range of both familiar and unfamiliar material from poetry and film to graphic novels and memorial installations, he shows that against all odds some have succeeded in fashioning both imaginative works of art and powerful reminders of the horrors they urge us never to forget. The Sense of Semblance is a work fully adequate to its demanding subject, an exemplary application of philosophical theory to artistic practice." -Martin Jay, University of California, Berkeley

"When addressing the Holocaust, philosophers tend to raise broad questions regarding ethics, history, and epistemology. Henry Pickford has chosen a very different approach. He has turned his critical attention to individual works of art and literature. The Sense of Semblance offers fascinating and persuasive insights into the vexed and highly controversial problems of the truth content of art dealing with the Holocaust. What distinguishes Pickford's excellent book from preceding studies is its rigorous, yet differentiated use of continental and analytic philosophy to address the challenging problems of representation, expression, performance, and historical veracity. The truth becomes legible through the patient study of the detail. The author has greatly advanced our understanding of Holocaust art and its role in the public sphere through his persistent emphasis of the fundamental epistemological questions." -Peter Hohendahl, Cornell University

". . .Offers a convincing approach for both philosophical thinking and for coming to terms with art about the Holocaust."—Robert Eaglestone, Times Literary Supplement

"At times the prose is dense, but overall Pickford develops clear argumentative paths and admirably manages to elucidate continental philosophers' arguments that are relevant for art criticism."—The British Journal of Aestheticism

"Pickford's masterful discussion of the philosophical questions inherent in Holocaust art is thought-provoking and challenging, of value to those in a variety of disciplines from art history to philosophy and literature."-Holocaust and Genocide Studies

From the Publisher

At times the prose is dense, but overall Pickford develops clear argumentative paths and admirably manages to elucidate continental philosophers' arguments that are relevant for art criticism.

The British Journal of Aesthetics

Pickford's masterful discussion of the philosophical questions inherent in Holocaust art is thought-provoking and challenging, of value to those in a variety of disciplines from art history to philosophy and literature.

Holocaust and Genocide Studies

When addressing the Holocaust, philosophers tend to raise broad questions regarding ethics, history, and epistemology. Henry Pickford has chosen a very different approach. He has turned his critical attention to individual works of art and literature. The Sense of Semblance offers fascinating and persuasive insights into the vexed and highly controversial problems of the truth content of art dealing with the Holocaust. What distinguishes Pickford’s excellent book from preceding studies is its rigorous, yet differentiated use of continental and analytic philosophy to address the challenging problems of representation, expression, performance, and historical veracity. The truth becomes legible through the patient study of the detail. The author has greatly advanced our understanding of Holocaust art and its role in the public sphere through his persistent emphasis of the fundamental epistemological questions.

Cornell University - Peter Hohendahl

“Successfully blending insights from continental and Anglophone philosophy, Pickford’s Sense of Semblance establishes a new methodology in the field of philosophical inquiry into Holocaust representation. Indeed, this wholly original study positions itself as nothing less than a systemic analysis of the first principles of aesthetic representation of catastrophic phenomena, and as such seems certain to make an enduring contribution to the field.

author of The Ethics of Mourning, Vigilant Memory: Emmanuel Levinas, the Holocaust, and the Unjust Death - R. Clifton Spargo

Drawing on Adorno’s aesthetic theory, Benjamin's notion of dialectical images, and insights from contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, Henry Pickford provides a trenchant and original analysis of the struggle of artists to do justice to the memory of the Holocaust. Examining a wide range of both familiar and unfamiliar material from poetry and film to graphic novels and memorial installations, he shows that against all odds some have succeeded in fashioning both imaginative works of art and powerful reminders of the horrors they urge us never to forget. The Sense of Semblance is a work fully adequate to its demanding subject, an exemplary application of philosophical theory to artistic practice.

University of California, Berkeley - Martin Jay