Abstract
On October 23, 1965, Theodor Adorno delivered a lecture to the German Werkbund in Berlin in which he addressed the relation between the supposedly “fine” and the so-called “applied” arts—a polarity he finds highly problematical. This essay analyzes Adorno’s discourse in the context both of the German Werkbund and subsequent developments in design and design theory. We conclude with some reflections on the meaning of functionalism today.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Theodor W. Adorno, “Functionalism Today”, in Jane Newman and John Fitch (trans.) and Neil Leach (ed.), Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 6–20. Interested readers (listeners) can hear a live recording of Adorno’s discourse here: https://www.mediathek.at/atom/01785F2A-1E2-0A857-00000BEC-01772EE2.
- 2.
Adorno, loc. cit., p. 8.
- 3.
Adorno, loc. cit., p. 7.
- 4.
Adorno, loc. cit., p. 10.
- 5.
Herbert Marcuse, “Love Mystified: A Critique of Norman O. Brown”, in Negations: Essays in Critical Theory (Boston: Beacon Press, 1968), p. 235.
- 6.
Theodor Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, trans. C. Lenhardt (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984), p. 1.
- 7.
Adorno, loc. cit., p. 18.
- 8.
“Der Werkbund im Spiegel von Rundfunk und Presse”, in Werk und Zeit. Monatszeitung des Deutschen Werkbundes 14 (Nov./Dez. 1965) Heft 11/12, 12–14. I’m grateful to Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Welsch for bringing this source to my attention.
- 9.
Fredric J. Schwartz, The Werkbund: Design Theory and Mass Production Before the First World War (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996); Joan Campbell, The German Werkbund: The Politics of Reform in the Applied Arts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978); and Lucius Burckhardt, ed., The Werkbund: Studies in the History and Ideology of the Deustscher Werkbund, 1907–1933 (London: Design Council, 1980).
- 10.
This is precisely the argument made by Schwartz, loc. cit, p. 216 ff.
- 11.
Tomas Maldonado, “Looking Back at Ulm” (1987), in Herbert Lindinger (ed.), Ulm Design. The Morality of Objects (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991), pp. 222–224.
- 12.
In Kathryn B. Hiesinger and George H. Marcus, eds., Design Since 1945 (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1983), pp. 2, 3.
- 13.
George H. Marcus, Functionalist Design (Munich: Prestel, 1995), p. 9.
- 14.
Cited by McLuhan in Understanding Media (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2001), p. 35.
- 15.
Roland Barthes, The Eiffel Tower, trans. Richard Howard (New York: Hill & Wang, 1979), p. 7, and Writing Degree Zero, trans. Annette Lavers and Colin Smith (New York: Hill & Wang, 1967), p. 52.
- 16.
Ezra Pound, The Cantos (New York: New Directions, 1956), p. XLVI.
- 17.
Adorno, loc. cit., p. 17.
References
Theodor W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, trans. C. Lenhardt (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984), p. 1.
Theodor W. Adorno, “Functionalism Today”, in Jane Newman and John Fitch (trans.) and Neil Leach (ed.), Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory (New York: Routledge, 1997), pp. 6–20.
Lucius Burckhardt, ed., The Werkbund: Studies in the History and Ideology of the Deustscher Werkbund, 1907–1933 (London: Design Council, 1980).
Joan Campbell, The German Werkbund: The Politics of Reform in the Applied Arts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978).
Kathryn B. Hiesinger, and George H. Marcus, eds., Design Since 1945 (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1983), pp. 2, 3.
Tomas Maldonado, “Looking Back at Ulm” (1987), in Herbert Lindinger (ed.), Ulm Design. The Morality of Objects (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991), pp. 222–224.
George H. Marcus, Functionalist Design (Munich: Prestel, 1995), p. 9.
Herbert Marcuse, “Love Mystified: A Critique of Norman O. Brown”, in Negations: Essays in Critical Theory (Boston: Beacon Press, 1968), p. 235.
Fredric J. Schwartz, The Werkbund: Design Theory and Mass Production Before the First World War (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Katz, B.M. (2019). Functionalism Yesterday, Functionalism Tomorrow: Thoughts Inspired by Adorno’s Address to the Deutscher Werkbund, “Funktionalismus Heute,” Delivered in Berlin on October 3, 1965. In: Khandizaji, A. (eds) Reading Adorno . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19048-4_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19048-4_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19047-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19048-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)