Modernism Mummified

7/29/2019 Modernism Mummified

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Modernism MummifiedAuthor(s): Daniel BellReviewed work(s):Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 1, Special Issue: Modernist Culture in America(Spring, 1987), pp. 122-132Published by: The Johns Hopkins University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2712633 .

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MODERNISM MUMMIFIEDDANIEL BELL

HarvardUniversityIN HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE IDEA OF THE MODERN, RVING HOWE QUOTES THEfamous emarkfVirginiaWoolf,s everyoneoes sincehyperbolesarresting,that on or aboutDecember 910human aturehanged."Actually, rs.Woolfhadwrittenhat human haracterhanged." hewasreferringin herfamousessay, Mr.Bennettnd Mrs. Brown,"writtenn 1924) to thechanges n thepositionf one's cookor of thepartnersnmarriage.All human elationsaveshifted-thoseetweenmastersndservants,usbandsndwives, arentsndchildren.ndwhen uman elationshange heres at the ame ime changenreligion,onduct, oliticsnd iterature."'This earch or transfigurationn ensibilitysthe ouchstonefmodernityasanimatedther riters.ionel rilling,n emperamentver autious nd omplex,while ersuadednhisreading f heliador ophocleshat uman ature oesnotchange ndthatmoralife sunitary,everthelessameto believe, s he statednthe pening agesofSinceritynd Authenticity,hatnthe ate ixteenthndearlyseventeenthenturiessomethingike mutationnhuman atureook lace," ndthat new oncern ithhe elf,ndbeing tonewithne's elf,became salient,perhaps definitive,haracteristicf Western ulture or omefourhundredyears."2The answer o when ndhowwhatwecall "themodern" merged asa largehistoricalanvas.One can date t with heriseof themuseum, here ulturalartifactsrewrenchedrom heir raditionallaces nddisplayedna new ontextof syncretism:istorymixedup and consciousnessumbledby will, s whenNapoleon ansacked gypt ndEurope o tuffhe ouvrewith is rophies;ndyetvicarious mperorsavealwaysdisplayedheir ower y placing heir eelsonculture.orJacobBurckhardt,hemodernegins, fcourse,ntheRenaissance,with he mphasisn ndividuality,riginality,ndputtingne'snamen tone. necan say, nd wouldplacegreatweight ehind he rgument,hat hemodernbeginswith dam mith nd he ropositionhat he conomys no onger ubjectto the household r moralrulesbut s an autonomousctivity,ust as in thisextensionf iberalismnehas the utonomyf aw frommoralitytoberegardedThis ssay sa reprisend reflectionn themesadvancedn TheCultural ontradictionsfCapitalism(1976) andthe ssay, BeyondModernism,eyond elf," memorialssayfor ionelTrilling,nthevolume rt,oliticsndWilAdited yQuentin nderson,tephenonadio ndStevenMarcus1975)andreprintednmy ollectionfessays, heWindingassage 1980).


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Modernismummified 123principallys a setofformalrocedures),ndthe utonomyf he esthetic romall constraintso that rt xists or rt's ake alone.And fone believes hat hefundamentalource f ll knowledgend ensibilitys epistemological,newouldhaveto datethe reationrom ant,with hepropositionfan activityheoryfknowledgeas againsthe lassical ontemplativeheoryerivingnowledgerompreexistingorms),o that,s Kant ays n theProlegomena,The understandingdoesnotderivets aws a priori) rom,utprescribeshem o,nature," theoremthat s carried ut n modem rt nd n politics.3What s clear, ut of all thesevariegatedlements,s thatwhatdefineshemoderns a sense fopennesso change, f detachmentrom lace andtime, fsocial ndgeographical obility,nda readiness,fnot agerness,o welcomehenew, ven tthe xpense f raditionnd he ast. t s the ropositionhathere reno endsor purposes iven in nature,"hat he ndividual,nd his orher elf-realization,s thenew deal nd mago f ife, nd hatne anremake ne's elf ndremakeocietynthe fforto achieve hose ndividualoals.Revolution,hichhadoncebeen ricorson nendless ycle, owbecomes ruptureith he ndlesswheel, nd s the mpulse odestroyld worlds,ndfornewworlds o create.Inallthis t s clear hat apitalismndmodernismave ommonoots. othweredynamicn their estless neading fthe dough;forboththerewas "nothingsacred"; or oth herewereno imits nthe ffortsfruggedndividualismrtheunrestrainedelf o tearup thepast ndto make tnew.Yetwhat salsoclear, ndthis s thehistorytill obeunraveled,s that rothersthoughheymayhavebeen nthewomb,herewasa deepfratricideherebyherisingourgeoisie,ublimatingts nergiesntowork, earedhe xcesses ndthefloutingf onventionsndcultural ormsy henewboheme, hile he vatars fmodernismespised ndheld n contempthemoney-mindedourgeoisie,orwhom culturewas onlya commoditynd a sourceof display, tatus, ndconsumption.Capitalismnd ultural odernismlsohaddifferentrajectories.t ts xtreme,capitalismecame oncerned ithfficiency,ptimization,ndmaximizations tsubordinatedhe ndividualo theorganization.ulturalmodernismpened nattack,ftennunyieldingage, gainsthe ocialorder; ecame oncerned iththe elf,ftenoa narcissisticxtent;enied rt he unctionfrepresentation;ndbecame nusuallybsorbed ithhematerialslone-texturesnd ounds-whichitusedfor xpressiveness.I havetried,nmywork, o relate ulturalmodernismochanges n socialstructure.haveargued hat nmodernism-inainting,iterature, usic, ndpoetry-thereasa commonyntax hichhave alled he eclipse fdistance,"and that n thesevariedgenres herewas a common ttack n the"rationalcosmology" hathad definedWestern ulture ince theRenaissance; hatofforegroundnd backgroundn space throughmathematicalerspective;fbeginning,middle, nd end, as the ordered hronologyf time;and of a"correspondenceheoryf ruth"nthedeaofmimesisrthe emanticelation f


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124 American uarterlyword o object.4 hadtried o show hatwhere he esthetic as oined opolitics,particularlyn thetwentiethentury,he world-view"fmodernismadbeenprincipallyeactionaryrrevolutionarywhethertefanGeorge nd GottfriedBenn, rtheGermanxpressionistsntheatrend rt;whetheround, liot, eatsandWyndhamewis and theambiguous olitics fa Lawrence, rtheearlyrevolutionarytance fAuden, tc., tc.).And had argued hat ontemporarybourgeois ociety, eeingits inflated, ecorative ulture ollapseundertheonslaughtfculturalmodernism,ad n an astonishingour eforce aken verculturalmodernismnd flauntedt as itsownculture-this eing heculturalcontradictionfcapitalism.Today, ccording othewinds ftheZeitgeist, odernismasended.We have"postmodernism"renchingodernismromts istoricalontext,ndumblingtwithdifferentultural tyles old hat,nouveau, nd deco) in a new,bizarresyncretismsuchas PhilipJohnson'sedimentotheAT& T tower n MadisonAvenue),nd academics ansackinghe exts odeconstructhepast ndcreatenewpresence. o thehoot wlofMinervacreechesnthe alsedawn.

IIWhat fAmerica? acking past ndhavingmade tselfna revolutionaryct,America asbeenthe nly ure apitalistocietywe haveknown. uthastherebeen n AmericanModernism? nd f o,whatwas t?ModernismntheUnited tates xistednform,otn ontent.ot nly s this narbitraryistinction,ut amnecessarilysing hesewordsn an arbitraryay.And t sby xposition,atherhan efinition,hathis istinctionanbemade learand,perhaps,seful.Incontent,mericanultureleavingsidenineteenth-centuryewEnglandndthetwentieth-centuryouth-yetthisremains large country) as primarilysmall-town,rotestant, oralizingndanti-intellectualnthe ense hatRichardHofstadterasusedthis erm. f, s Santayana nceremarked, mericans ereinnocentfpoison, hey ere venmore oof exualitynot ex).Can one magineHuysmans, SwinburneranAubrey eardsleythough heYellow ook wasinitiatedy nAmericanxpatriate)rany ther dandyesthete"to useMartinGreen's hrase) ntheAmericancene?Americanmodernists,s isobvious rom hehistory,ouldflourishrincipallyonlynEurope: ameseaving ewYork ndBoston,ound romdaho, liot rom

St.Louis,Gertrudetein romaltimore,emingwayromhe llinoisuburbs,ndthe lostgeneration"f he wentiesoing arlieroLondon r ater oParis. helittlemagazines ooktheir ue from urope.The painters, eginning ith heArmory how, gain hailedfromEurope.The composers, gain, spenttheobligatoryeriodbroad.The two nnovativemerican riters,os Passos andFaulkner, ere xperi-mental ndmodernist,ut heywerenotpart f a nativemodernistulturenthe


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Modernismummified 125sense hat uchwriterssMallarm&,imbaud ndProustwere bletoplacetheirimprintseeplyn a Frenchulture.os Passos ntroducedstylefmontageloseto cinema nd, o some xtent,hepoliticalxpressionistheaterfGermany,uthis nfluence as argelynthe adicalmilieu fhis ime.And hough os Passoscontinued is montage echniques henhe abandoned isradicalism,e waswrittenff ythe riticss passe.Faulknerwrote owerfulxperimentalovels,derivedrom heFrenchnfluencesTheSound nd the uryan rankwithny fthe reatmodernistomansfleuves)et ereceivedittle riticalttention.aulknerwas revived nly n 1945whenhe sketched orMalcolmCowleythemap ofYoknapatawphaounty,nd Cowley hen edefinedaulknernthe ociologicalcontextf the truggle etweenheSartorises nd Snopesesfor he soul oftheSouth-not s a modernistriter.The two distinctivemodernistnnovations-ascultures-were azz andphotography,ut azz was outsidehemainstream,egardeds sinfulven nthejazz ageof he wenties,ndonly ecame majornfluencenAmericanulturenthe forties ith he arger ommercialazz bands,whilephotography,espiteStieglitz,as aestheticallyarginaloAmericanoncerns.heonegreatechnicalinnovation,ilm, asregardeds "themovies"n heUnitedtates, form fmassentertainment,nd s "the inema"nFrance,wheretbecame n aestheticnd oprovidedhe oute acktocriticalommentaryntheUnited tates.Inthese enses,while hereweremodernistsn theUnited tates,herewas nomodernistulturencontent.heoneplacewherehere asa modernistulturentheUnited tateswas nform-andhiswas themachineesthetic. nd, s the ldsaying oes, hiswas no accident. hemachine estheticxcludedhe elf ndtheperson,twas bstractndfunctional,ndfusedwithndustrialesign.hotographycame nto ts wnnotwithhe eriodical ameraWork,utwithhe usinesscene;theFortuneages providedts showcase. hegreat unctionalactoriesnd thehugefunctionalkyscrapers,s wellas thecurvingibbonsf thenew concretemotorways,ecame he mblematicymbolsf henew ulture.hekey ermhatdefinedtsformwasfunctional. odernistrtistsuch s Charles heeler,nhis"precisionist"aintingsnd photographs,eflectedhese bstract eometricaldesigns. bstractrtists,uch s Stuart avis,fused herhythmsf azz with helinear orms fthemachine ge.Amodernistultureegan o ppearn heUnited tates fterWorldWar Iwiththe ollapseof the mall-townrotestantoldon Americanife, hedistinctiveimprintfurbanisms the ocus feconomic ctivities,nd theflood fFrench-EuropeanurrealistsBreton, asson, rnst) ho nfluencedhenew rt f GorkyorPollock; heRussian migresuchas StravinskyrBalanchine, hoshapeddevelopmentsnmusic nddance; he argenumber rom entral urope uch sErwin anofskyndRomanJakobson,ho nfluencedrthistorynd inguistics,and themanyGermanrefugeeswho broughtn continentalociology ndphilosophyas well sphysicsndotherciences). hecompletetoryf ll thosemyriadnfluencesemains o be told.


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126 American uarterlyIII

Whatof modernismoday? thas becomewhat ulture sually ecomes nperiods f uxurynddecadence, decorativeommodityr he astduchessnthewall. On theone handthere re theculturatiho makeupthenew ndustryfgalleriesndmuseumsndmagazines,s well sentertainment,he urveyorsndtransmittersnd icerones f ulture. nd n the ther,he orporationsndbanksthat inetheirorridors ith herequisite ewman,Motherwell,oland,MorrisLouis orKline,where he hickmpastond therivers f color agandgo limpagainstheneutraleige arpetsndthewhitewashed alls.5Modernismodaysthe official" igh ulture-becauset sdeadandstuffed.And tshigh axidermistsHilton ramerndhismagazine,heNewCriterion,hoidentifyodernismithapitalismndbourgeoisociety.n a recentour efarce,"Modernismnd tsEnemies," ramer ets heglowofhigh ulturenthe ixties"whichwitnessednextraordinaryxpansionn ulturalife.... he ra hat awthebuildingf greatmany ewmuseumsnd he xpansionf greatmanyxistingmuseums,"he pread f a public hatwas arge ndgrowing." s the apstone,TheNewYork imes ppointed im s its culturalritic ecause, As thethenexecutiveditorfTheTimes,urneratledge,xplainedome withomethingfa sigh),Ourreadersrenow lot marterbout llthis hanweare.'Tokeep hesereadersndwin till thershemanagersf he aper elttnecessaryoredresshebalance,nd hismeant-in ome ieldst east-joininghemodernistidensteadofopposingt."6There re wo trikingointsn his xposition:ne,modernisms tobeexplainedby ts udience,ndby he xistence fmuseums. istorically,thasalways eenthe rtist ho stablishesndwriteshe ulture.he rtist ay avebeen dversaryor ntwined ithourt r hurch,ut ulture asdefinedy he rtist.hemuseum

was the place the artist voided. f one turns o thebombastic utridersfmodernism,herepeated ry ntheFuturist anifestosfMarinettis that hemuseums re "cemeteries f empty xertion,alvariesof crucified reams,registriesfaborted eginnings,"ndMarinettirges he gay ncendiariesithcharredingersto] etfireo the ibraryhelves," ndflood hemuseums.7Second, therhanhe enuflectionso heAbstractxpressionistsf he ostwarperiodnowthirtyears nthepast), here refewreferenceso contemporaryartistsrwriters ho xemplifyhe reativityndvitalityfhigh ultureoday.nfact, hismodernistulture,heonly rue high ulture," ust uard heportalsagainsthenewradicals-e.g., Beuys-whobeat tthegates,while efendinghucksterikeJulianchnabel. ultureshigh ulturenlywhent scalcifiedn hemuseumsfModernArt.8Whoarethe nemies f modernism?ccording o Mr.Kramer,here re theradicalswho eel etrayedecausemodernism,nsteadf emainingevolutionary,has turnedut obea coefficientfbourgeoisapitalistulture." nd herere hephilistinesMr.Kramer's, otArnold's, esignation),uchas thiswriter, ho


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Modernismummified 127identifyodernisms the egetterf he ounterculturef he ixties. r.Kramer,as a veteranolemicist,kews is argetsndmisstatesositions.heMarxists hohave ttackedmodernismavenot houghtf t s revolutionaryut s a derivativeofbourgeoisife.nmywritings,callthe ounterculture"conceit"n ts laims obe modernist,ut ay hat he iberal ulture as unable odraw he inebetweenmodernismandfantasiesfmurderndbestiality)ived ut n he magination,ndthe laim o ustifyhe rasuref ny istinctionetweenrt nd ife nd o ctout(albeitnstreetheater)he ifestylesfoutrage.There re lsotwo trikingmissionsbout he riticsfmodernism:r.Kramercompletelygnores he argegroupof conservativentellectuals,ollowersfRussellKirk,whohavedescribed odernisms thenventionf heDevil, nd hesource f llpolitical eresyn he ontemporaryorld. et, s "oldbelievers,"heyare s ferventsMr.Kramerntheir efensef apitalismndhave ven ttackedthe neo-conservatives"ortill lingingo hemodernisteresy,omethinghichis not rue fthat roup-except orMr.Kramer.The second missions Mr.Kramer'smnesia bouthisownpast. Writingn1959, nthe hresholdf hehallowed ixties, r.Kramer emarkedn he ocialistmagazine issent

Everythingnour conomynd n the ocialorganizationfthe rts onspiresgainst heprivacynd ndependencehichwould e ndispensablef he piritf he vant-gardeereto urvive.ncewefind urselvesn situation,swedotoday,nwhichocietyas ssignedvast ureaucraciesothe ask f eeking ut nd xploitinghe astwordn llthe rts, ndwhen the artists hemselves ave oined as eager accomplicesn thisorgyof self-exploitation-inhis ituationthinkt s mere ietyodenyhathe vant-gardes dead.Thefactofthematters that ince 945bourgeoisocietyastightenedts rip nall the rts yallowinghemfreerein.9Oldpolemicalpparatchiksever ie, hey nly hange heirargets.

Much f hiswould emerelyectarianfnot or he act hatMr.Kramer,lmostalone,remains defender f Modernism-at east n itspetrifiedtate. rvingKristolndPeter erger ave oncededhe ointhatapitalisms oftengrossndunlovelyystem,o be defendedrimarilyn thegroundhat t s an engine orincreasing aterial tandardsf ife nd that t s "a necessaryutnot ufficientconditionfdemocracyndermodernonditions."utneither ristol orBergerhas defended odernismnthe ermsfMr.Kramer.Mr.Kramer efendsModernism ot nly s anaspect fcapitalism,ut lso ofdemocracy,nd writes hat"what s really t stake,then,n this attackonmodernismis] omethingentralo he ital ulturalife f ur emocraticociety.. . ." But this s intellectuallyonfusingndhistoricallynvalid. he avatars fmodernismhemselvesave beenoverwhelminglyntidemocraticandoftensnot, nti-Semitic);nd Mr.Kramer,ike n inverted arxist,onflates isrealms.Democracys notdependentncapitalism,uton a set of traditionsnd egalconcepts,uch s the ommonaw, hat ntedateapitalism,hile apitalismtselfhas beencompatible ith ascismndauthoritarianism,s in taly r Chile.


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128 AmericanQuarterlyMr.Kramer rites:Thetruths, he ulturefmodernismas ervedllalong sthe estheticnd piritualonscience,nd ometimesven hemoralonscience,f

middle-classife, ndit s thiswhichhasmade tpre-eminentlyheculture fdemocraticociety."But hissa slipperylissade.Modernismasbeen savage ndoftenestructiveforcegainstmiddle-classifeneedonerepeathe itanyfBaudelaire, erlaine,Rimbaud, oundetal.), andifmodernismerves s an "aesthetic nd spiritualconscience,"Mr.Kramer learlywears hair hirt obed atnight. o saythatmodernisms preeminentlyheculture f democratic apitalism s to haveembalmingluid atherhan lood none'sveins. nd f o,Mr.Kramer emainshewalkingmummyfmodernism.IV

The "sense f nending,"sFrankKermode asremarked,s a recurrenthemeincultureshatmovetowardn eschatologicallimax r are mirednculturaldespair.fwehaveno fixed ime s to whenmodernismegan-one's startingpoint,s I havenoted,an be based onsensibility,rself, r onthe utonomyfinstitutions,conomic r esthetic-its clear hat cultural odernism"ascometo close. As Octavio az,himself child f hemodern,tatednhisCharles liotNorton ecturestHarvard:

Modern rtsmodern ecause t scritical.... odaywewitnessnother utation:odernrtisbeginningo ose ts owersfnegation.or omeyears ow ts ejectionsavebeenritualrepetitions:ebellion as turnedntoprocedure,riticismnto hetoric,ransgressionntoceremony. egations no ongerreative.amnot ayinghatwe are ivingt the ndof rt:we are living he end of the dea ofmodern n.'0Wasmodernismco-opted" y apitalism,s Herbert arcuse as uggested,rwas t contradictionf apitalism,s I have rgued?Marcuse tatedheproblemfrom he tandpointf ulture, et necanargue hat hepsychologicalorce hatbecamedissipatednthis astcentury as notculture utcapitalism.Marcuseclaimed in hisOne-Dimensionalan, publishedn 1964) that ll aspectsoflife-art, echnology,orking-classebellion,lackresentment,outh turm ndDrang-hadbeenflattenedutbythe echnologicalationalityf ociety,nly ofind imself ailed, fewyears ater,s the iedPiper fRevolutiony he aucousstudentsfBerlinndParis."Capitalism,aidMarcuse, asbasedpsychologically

on"surplusepression,"mposed y he everityf he uperegohroughhe gencyof he amily.IntheUnited tates oday,lmost ne out f verywo hildren illspend omeperiod f heir outhna one-parentra fatherlessamily!) et,f nelooks tcapitalismoday,necanputMarx nhishead. t s culture ithts aryingdemandshathasbecome he ubstructurefWesternapitalistocietynd theproductionystem eorganizedo meet tsvoraciousppetites-material;rotic


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Modernismummified 129andaesthetic;igh,middle nd ow; punk nd rock;Hollywoodquares nd TVbang-bang.

A societyemonstratestsvitalityhroughealth, ower, ndculture,igh ndlow. ower lonebreeds terility,swe see todayn he oviet nion, orth orea,orAlbania.Wealthlonebreeds ecadence.Andculture? cultureerivedromreligionnd ustainedy ts ommandingaithangiveusthe reat uddhas f heOrient r the Christianrt of the Middle Ages.A period f great xpansion,nineteenth-centuryaris,n eraopen o hange nddiscovery,ogeographicalndsocial mobility,an breakfrommythologyorthevivacity fpleinair,theexcitementfthe pectacle,hepresentationf the elf.Bourgeois ocietynot arly dventureapitalism,he apitalismescribedySombart)forceda cleavage betweenhighand low culture, eploring headventurousnessfthe ne andthevulgarityfthe ther.Modernistulture asextraordinarilyreative ecause t ived, ociologically,n tension ith ourgeoissocietynd, ecause, s Paul Tillich nceobserved,treached own othe aprootsofthedemonicnd transmutedhose urgingmpulsesnto rt.Today, ourgeoissocietyascollapsednd he emonicavortsverywhere,orhererefew aboos.Alfred arryould penhis UbuRoiwith he lownish ing ayingMerdre,"uthowmuchof a shock s that oday gainst he desecrationsf a Genetor aBurroughs?'2Todaywe havea culturehat s eclectic nd syncretisticecausetherationalcosmologyndthemirrorfnature avebeen hattered.hedisjunctionfforms,growingut f he ension ithmimesis,asvanished,ndformalismasbecomelargely elf-referential.he disjoined ndalienated xperiencesarticulatedowlargelyywomenwriters)oo oftenre expressednsociologicalliches,r ack"shape"touse he ermfJean hys),ndfail o ngage ocietyther hanhroughnarcissisticeflection.The new vogue terms "postmodernism."ts meanings as amorphoussmodernismtself,ut he erm lsocontains setofparadoxes s startlings theengagementf modernism nd capitalismn the past two hundred ears.Postmodernism-ife date tfromhe ubterraneanritingsfMichel oucaultand, ntheUnited tates, fNorman . Brownwith smallnod toNormanMailer)-proclaimed otonly he de-constructionfman" andtheendof theEnlightenmentredo of Reason,but also the "epistemologicalreak"withgenitality,nd he issolutionf exualitynto he olymorpherversityf ral ndanalpleasures.I3or them, hiswasthe iberationfthebody,smodernismadbeen he iberationfthe magination.he sexual evolutionhat ollowedrokeinto he ay nd esbianmovementss onecurrent,nd he omewhatverlappingrock-drugultures another.maginationadcome ut f he loset nd ived utits mpulses penly.Foucault nd Brown--ad gone"beyond," a transgressionf the taboos,posthumousendering,o to peak, fmodernism.ut y strangewist ffate,he


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130 American uarterlyterm postmodernism"tself asappropriatedhroughhemediaby successivegeneration f artistswho, oftenconventionally,eacted againstmodernistformalismndexpressionism,nd were mmediatelyailedbythechicculturatiready ofollowhenewwinds ffashion.hepractitionersf postmodernism,"yand large,have substitutedastiche orform nd clevernessorcreativity.narchitecture,ichaelGravesmixesMoorishantasy ith eavy yzantinerches,as nhisPortland,regon uilding,ndhisproposeduperstructureo heWhitneyMuseum.n iterature,heresthe ffectlesslat rose fAnnBeattie.n painting,wesee the eintroductionf hadowy iguration,ikeX-raymages,n he anvasesof heneo-expressionists.ndon the tage, here rethehypnoticreammageryand dissociated low-motionableausby RobertWilson,underscoredy themonotonic inimalismfPhilipGlass.Much f hiswas foreshadowedyPopArt,nartwhichargelyecyclesmagesthroughollageor uxtaposition,n silkscreenrphosphorescentcrylic.omeoriginalrtistsikeJasper ohnsrJim inecan subdue hemage y xpressingtthroughhe tension f techniquend texture,s in their rints. utwithRauschenberg,he echniqueecomes ooobvious;with Warhol,he mage ooblatant.nboth ases the utcomes inallyecome iresome.What assesfor ighultureodayacksboth ontentndform,o that he isualarts re primarilyecorativend literatureelf-indulgentabble or contrivedexperiment.ecorationy tsnature,omatter owbrightndgay, ecomes,n tsfinitendrepetitiveatterns,erewallpaper,receding ackgroundncapable fengagingheviewern therenewable e-visions fperception.elf-referentialliterature,henboththe self and the referenceepeat hesameold refrains,becomes tedious ore, ike Unoshowinghathecan stand n onefingern acircus. culturefrecycledmages nd wice-toldales s a culturehat as ost tsbearings."Whetheritualized rnot, rtcontainsherationalityfnegation," erbertMarcusewrotenOne-Dimensionalan.Paradoxically,he nly ulturalurrentsofnegation,s anirrationalorm,avebeen egmentsfpopularulturehat avebroken ll boundaries,etthemselvesp against he raditionalocial valuesofAmericanociety,nd are marketed ildly ndsuccessfully,s sexand rebellion,bythepurveyorsfcapitalismnd massculture.Today,elevisionoap operas re he treetsfLibido,he oftcoreornographydeliberatelyitillatingheviewerswith fantasyife heyan actout ntheir wnhomes.HeavyMetaland hardcore ockappealtoyouthswhofeelangrynddiscouragedbout hedead-end rospectsfearning living. ex-obsessionsexhibitedya Madonnaor Prince akesan evermore xplicit orm. ne canimaginehegrafittin thewalls:Genetives!Is this o differentrom herock-and-rollnitiated yElvisPresleynthe ate195Os, rthe weet nducementsfLSD sung y heBeatles, rthehard tompfMickJagger's olling tones?none sense, swithny nlargementf culturalphenomenon,here as been "wideningyre"nwhichmore nd more fwhat


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Modernismummified 131has been assaulted ontinueso crumble,ndmore ndmore f whathad beenforbiddenowgoes on publicly. utwhat lso seems obe true s that heyouthculture,ndespeciallyower-class ulture,ow s exploitedmore rassly ythecommercialnterests. ith egardosex andviolence,he ppetitesftheyoungturnedut obevoracious,nd sMartha ayles, criticntheWall treetournal,has written:After ll,rawsexualitynd anti-socialnger rethe wopreferredweapons f he dolescentgainst is lders. ndwhenhe ntertainmentndustrydiscovered ow endlesslymarketablehese istillationsfblack culture ere,tceasedtoseereasons or estraint."'4For the entertainmentndustry-movies,V,rockmusicrecords,ndpub-lishing-all f his s free nterprisendfreepeech,ndthe overnmentust otbe allowedto interfereith he ibertarianism/libertinismfthe market lace.Again culturalontradictionfcapitalism? centurynda quarter go it wasBaudelairend he ourgeoisieondemningesFleurs uMal as anoutragegainstpublic decency.Today is it Foucaultand Hustlermagazineas brothersn"negation"?Cultural ashions,speciallynpopularulture,ome ndgo n pasms.With herising hreat f AIDS, the compaigns gainstdrugs nd tobacco,the sheerexhaustionftheugliness f sexualviolence, s demonstratedn thefilm idandNancy,wemaybeontheverge f "new obriety."hatremains obe seen; ndthats also anothertory.Never allretreat"s a maxim fthe deologue, ot fculture.If his s the ase,when ll s said nddone,we cannow e gratefulormodernismas a culturehattself asonce ommittedo hock. t ssafelyn hemuseums,ndonthecorporate alls, eady or heclosets f History.uch old contradictionsnever ie;theyustfade way.

NOTES'VirginiaWoolf, ollectedssays New York, 967), 1:320-21. Italics dded.)When firstead hisphrase ndquoted t nmy ook, wondered hatmayhavehappened oMrs.Woolf erselfn 1910 ogive ise othis tartlingssertion.n 1910, f nefollowshe etailed ventsnQuentin ell'sbiography,Mrs.Woolf egan o speakup for hefeministause, ignalled he mportancefRogerFry's FirstPost-Impressionistxhibition,"ndbathed akedwith upert rooke ymoonlightn heGranta.WhileBloomsburyad become licentiousn ts peechby1910," s Mr.Bellnotes, s a sociologistwasrelievedo find hat twas primarilynsocial ituationshat hismomentoushange adoccurred.2Lionel rilling,inceritynd AuthenticityCambridge, ass.,1972),19.3Kant'sProlegomena,d.PaulCarusLa Salle, ll., 945), 2. f he eferenceopoliticseems trange,have nmind implyhe iew nefindsnclassicalGreek houghthat henatural rder,hemoral rderandthe ocialorderre all akin nhavingnentelechyefinedy he elos,ndthat he ropernds fnature, oralitynd he ocial regivenn he nityfpurposeshat xistn he onstitutivetructuresfphysisndnomos.Modernity,eginning ithHobbes, iremptshat nity,nd insists hat ndsareindividualndvaried.4Thisheme asfirsttatednmy ssay TheEclipse fDistance,"nEncounter(London)ay 1963.Needless o say, havenot ried o write general theory"fmodernism,ut o ook tthese spectswhich elate o "external"orces,atherhan ts wn mmanentrajectories.


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132 American uarterly5I haveno objections,er e, o corporationsr museumsr collectors uyinghe anvases ftheseworthwhilertists or isplayn their alls.How couldone?What ecomes bjectionablesthat hebuyingf modem rt" s bynow bligatorys a means fdemonstratingsupportor he rts," r s a

way f howinghat ne s "witht." t s n hatense hat heMuseum fModemArt ecomes he ealof"Good Housekeeping"or he orporations,nd the rbiterftaste or he ociety. DuncanPhillips,exercisingis own ndependentudgment, as able to build marvelous alleryincludinghefirstpurchasesf Morris ouis) n Washington.ut Joseph irschorn,uying rtby he arload, etshisname mblazonedn themalls fWashingtons a benefactorf ulture. ortunately,he iftingf astewillmake uch ollectionseaner nd, ntheyears o come, ewpeoplewillknow f thevulgarityfHirschorn,s few oday ecognizerick s the uthlessead f heCarnegie teelworks ho rderedheshootingftheworkersntheHomesteadtrikef 1892.6Hiltonramer,Modernismnd ts nemies," heNewCriterionarch 986:5.7"The oundingndManifestofFuturism,"nMarinettielectedWritings,d.R. W.FlintNewYork,1973), 3.8And ot nly hemuseums. ewYork's newestntiquesnddecorative-artsair," eportsheNewYork imesn culturalrontage rticlefNovember1,1986, s"Modernism:Centuryf tylendDesign, 860-1960." It's hemost xcitingantique'how have ver een," urbled hristopherilk,assistanturatorfdecorativerts t he rooklynuseum.hose rtistshownnclude ector uimard,Frank loydWright,usselWright,ndCharles ames. Althoughherere ome electionst$100orless-perfumeottles,arly lasticewelry,eramic lates-" writes itaReif,themajorityf fferingsarefrom500to$10,000,ndmaster orks ommands much s$235,000."High, ighulture,ndeed.9Hiltonramer,ToHellwith ulture,"issentpring 959:166. Emphasisdded.)I Octavio az,Childrenf heMire:Modem oetryrom omanticismo heAvant-GardeCambridge,Mass.,1974),148-49.1 n 1970,Marcuseppearedn he tage f he reeUniversityfBerlinndwashailed apturouslyythe tudentsho hantedhythmically,Her-bert,"Her-bert,"Her-bert."ndwhenheyrokentohesingingfthe nternationale,arcusewhippedff iscoat, aisedhis lbowwith clenched ist,ndjoined nthe ingingf he ast horus.When henoise inallyieddown, esteppedorwardndcried:"Studenten!....Atwhichnangry olleyhoutedack: Studenten?Esheisstenossen!"Oldrofessorsnever ie.ThestorystoldnMelvin .Lasky's ollection,nthe arricadesndOff.12Ubi oiwithets laboratedyBonnard,uillardndToulouse-Lautrec,asthe irstf he ublicutterancesfobscenity.heword,merdre,etoff pandemoniumhat asted hroughouthe vening.Presentedn1896, tcouldnotbestaged gainuntil 908.Yet venJarryadgiven spin o thewordmerdey dding ne etter,o that heword asbeen ranslated,ariously,s shite rpshit. hough sedprivatelys themot e Cambronne,remark f one of Napoleon's eneralstWaterloo,hepublicutterancef hewordn1896, sRogerhattuckasobserved,as unthinkable."omparehis candalewithGenet's raphic epictionfhomosexualape nNotre ame desFleursandthe ilmmade fhisfantasies)rBurroughs'escriptionfthe exual jaculationf manwhile einghanged,n NakedLunch.Merde,fcourse,s nowthe ommonplace ord or ood uckfor studentoing ff oanacademic xaminationra talismanor friendoing n a journey.oeseverything,ntime, ecometamed?For discussionfJarryndUbuRoi, eeRoger hattuck,heBanquetearsLondon, 959) h. , sp.161.Theplayhas beenfullyranslatednderhe trangeitle fKingTurd yBeverley ing nd G.Legman NewYork, 953).13For previousnd more xtensive iscussionfFoucault nd Norman. Brown s going eyondmodernism,ee myCulturalontradictionsfCapitalism,1-52.141take his ommentromheprospectusor bookonpopular ulture hichMs.Bayleswillbewritingor heFreePress. amgratefulor er ermission.

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