1

Wllllam uonovan
osLPabermaslan AesLheLlcs ur Lduardo MendleLa
resenLaLlon on MarLln Seel 1hlrLeen SLaLemenLs on Lhe lcLure" ln 1be Aestbetlcs of
Appeotloq Lrans !ohn larrell (SLanford SLanford unlverslLy ress 2003) 138 183
ln ChapLer lv 1hlrLeen SLaLemenLs on Lhe lcLure" MarLln Seel worklng from hls ldea
of appearlng has wrlLLen ouL LhlrLeen noLes Pe ls endeavorlng Lo skeLch sLep by sLep how Lhe
appearance of plcLures dlffers from Lhe oLher appearances of Lhe vlslble world" (161)
l Lhlnk lL's worLh a few paragraphs Lo clarlfy Lhe dlsLlncLlons LhaL Seel makes beLween
Lypes of appearlng and whaL he means by ottlstlc appearlng because plcLures are speclflc
subseL of ottlstlc appearlng Seel refers Lo mete otmospbetlc and ottlstlc appearlng ln Lhe flrsL
half of Lhe Aestbetlcs of Appeotloq
now does See| def|ne appear|ng? Pe does noL glve a slmple deflnlLlon 1he closesL he
geLs ls whlle wrlLlng under Lhe headlng A Mlolmol coocept and afLer explalnlng Lhe need for
openness ln Lhe concepL of appearlng Lo make lL Lenable Seel wrlLes whaL ls declslve ls
wheLher lLs elaboraLlon ls open Lo furLher essenLlal feaLures of Lhe aesLheLlc slLuaLlon 1hus our
vlew ls open Lo Lhe facL LhaL ln percelvlng a slmple ball one can make a loL more presenL Lhan
[usL Lhe appearlng of Lhls sensuous ob[ecL" (33)
Seel dlvldes appearlng lnLo Lhree caLegorles
, appear|ng Seel deflnes as a Lype of appearlng whlch lnvolves leLLlng a Lhlng be lL
lnvolves a sensual percepLlon of someLhlng he uses a red ball on green grass as a frequenL
example lL ls hard Lo Lell lf mete appearlng ever acLually happens or lf lL ls [usL a LheoreLlcal
bulldlng block ln Seel's argumenL
nappear|ng ls based ln a sensuous experlence and ln LhaL regard ls llke
mete appearlng buL otmospbetlc appearlng also lnvolves lmaglnaLlon An example whlle
sLarLlng wlLh a sensually glven ob[ecL llke Lhe red ball lL could appear sensuously buL also
lnvolve LhoughLs abouL how you mlss you chlldren who have gone off Lo college and who have
lefL Lhe ball ln Lhe backyard 1hls could be exLrapolaLed endlessly wlLh oLher ob[ecLs LhaL
appear sensuously
nappear|ng ls based on and conLalns Lhe oLher Lwo Lypes of appearlng lL has a
speclal quallLy LhaL Lhe oLher Lwo Lypes of appearlng do noL have Seel wrlLes ArLworks dlffer
ln prlnclple from oLher ob[ecLs of appearlng by vlrLue of Lhelr belng pteseototloos" (93)
2

@at was a sort summary of te tree types of appear|ng but ow does appear|ng
and more spec|f|ca||y art ave anyt|ng to do w|t nabermas and te rest of t|s course?
Seel provldes someLhlng llke a 8oseLLa sLone on pages 112 113 where he creaLes an
equlvalence or maybe a beLLer word ls relaLlonshlp beLween language and appearlng Pe
bases hls argumenL on Adorno's descrlpLlon of Lhe splrlL of arLworks havlng a locus ln a
conflguraLlon 1hen Seel does Lwo Lhlngs whlch llnk hlm Lo Pabermas's descrlpLlon of language
ln regards Lo Lhe four value spheres of modernlLy flrsL he seems Lo conflaLe language wlLh
symbols and Lhen symbols wlLh arL seemlngly llnklng language Lo arL second he uses Lhe
word lnLenLlonallLy Lo descrlbe Lhls language arL connecLlon (l wlll explaln why lnLenLlonallLy
ls lmporLanL ln Lhe nexL paragraph) Pere ls Lhe passage 1he human splrlL has lLs locus ln
dlverse medla ln Lhe sounds and wrlLlngs of language ln gesLures and plcLorlal symbols ln
slgn sysLems of any klnd splrlL" or subsLanLlve lnLenLlonallLy exlsLs ln no way oLher Lhan ln Lhe
use of Lhese varlous medla of arLlculaLlon ArL Adorno argues ls ooe klnd of arLlculaLlon
expresslon or presenLaLlon of splrlL's conLenL Lhe one LhaL ls execuLed ln Lhe medlum of
appearlng and ls Lled here Lo conflguraLlon(s) of whaL appears"" Seel conLlnues noL all
(slgns) presenL whaL Lhey presenL by way of a presenLaLlon of Lhelr medlum 8uL Lhls ls how
Lhlngs are wlLh llLerary senLences muslcal Lones arLlsLlc plcLures 1hey presenL sometbloq by
way of presenLlng tbemselves"
Accordlng Lo my lecLure noLes from november 22
nd
2011 ur MendleLa descrlbed
Pabermas's consLrucLlon of language ln regards Lo Lhe dlfferenLlaLlon of Lhe value spheres ln
modernlLy 1here are four spheres CreaLlve Lxpresslve CognlLlve and racLlcal Moral lor
Lhe purposes of Seel we only need Lo Lalk abouL Lhe llnks beLween language and ottlstlc
appearlng Attlstlc appearlng wlll have Lhe mosL relevance and poLenLlal wlLhln Lhe Lxpresslve
and CreaLlve value spheres 1he Lxpresslve and CreaLlve spheres are Lhe cause of world
dlsclosure 1hey make loteotloool clalms and Lhese are Lled lnLo LruLhfulness and
lndlvlduallsm and lndlvldual soclallzaLlon (Lhey glve personallLy") Seel ln Lhe prevlous
paragraph wroLe LhaL subsLanLlve lnLenLlonallLy exlsLs ln no oLher way Lhan ln Lhe use of Lhese
varlous medla of arLlculaLlon" 1hls sLaLemenL seems Lo Lle LogeLher Lhe Lwo phllosophers
l was looklng for ways Lo conflrm Lhe connecLlon and l found Lhls sLaLemenL by leLer
uuvenage ln hls book nobetmos ooJ Aestbetlcs where uuvenage ls wrlLlng under Lhe headlng
1be kole of Aestbetlcs lo commoolcotlve keosoo desplLe Pabermas's emphasls on
lnLersub[ecLlvlLy he resLrlcLs Lhe valldlLy of arL and aesLheLlc [udgmenLs Lo Lhe sub[ecLlve
sphere of Lhe auLhor or creaLor 1hls sub[ecLlve lmposse lmplles LhaL aesLheLlc [udgmenLs are
noL fully parL of Lhe lnLersub[ecLlve sphere of formal dlscourse" (uuvenage 97) uuvenage Lhen
characLerlzes Seel as belng one among several scholars who by lndlcaLlng LhaL a broader
concepLlon of communlcaLlve acLlon would have Lhe advanLage of belng concepLually open Lo
modes of language use LhaL arLlculaLe and dlsclose raLher Lhan coordlnaLe acLlon 1he ldea
3

LhaL everyday language use refers Lo more Lhan Lhree valldlLy clalms slmply means LhaL
Pabermas's proposal wlll have Lo be undersLood ln a more mulLldlmenslonal way" (uuvenage
99)
uuvenage Lhen summarlzes Pabermas's response Lo Lhls Lype of crlLlque Pabermas
Lhen resLaLes hls sLandpolnL whereby normal language ls preferred by sLresslng lLs co
ordlnaLlng role ln human acLlon lL ls Lhus clear LhaL he does noL wanL Lo glve up hls poslLlon
LhaL Lhe creaLlve power of poeLry flcLlon muslc and palnLlng 'do noL as a rule Lake over
funcLlons of coordlnaLlng acLlon' (uuvenage 99)
lL seems llke Seel ls saylng LhaL an arLwork whlch appears arLlsLlcally and presenLs lLself
ls uslng lnLenLlonal language Can LhaL lnLenLlonallLy make Lhe [ump lnLo belng Lhe lnLenLlonal
speech of Pabermas? 8ased on leLer uuvenage's descrlpLlon of Seel's poslLlon relaLlve Lo
Pabermas lL seems as Lhough Seel wanLs hls work Lo be read as addlng on anoLher form of
speech acL lnLo Pabermas's formal dlscourse and LhaL Pabermas mlghL deny LhaL same
lnLerpreLaLlon
lf we lgnore Pabermas's denlal and we do read Seel as expandlng Lhe aesLheLlc lnLo
formal dlscourse Lhen we could use arLworks as examples of lnLenLlonal speech lor Pabermas
lnLenLlonal speech ls Lhe Lype of speech used for LruLhfulness lnLenLlonal speech acLs leads Lo
lndlvlduaLlon personallLy and lndlvlduallzed soclallzaLlon accordlng Lo my november 22
nd

lecLure noLes
ln answer Lo Lhe quesLlon l posed earller whaL does Seel's Aestbetlcs of Appeotloq have
Lo do wlLh Lhe resL of Lhls course l Lhlnk LhaL as long as an ob[ecL presenLs lLself and appears
arLlsLlcally lL can be seen leglLlmaLely as uslng lnLenLlonal language
Pavlng made Lhe connecLlon beLween language ottlstlc appearlng and presenLaLlon
Seel's cholce Lo arLlculaLe exacLly whaL a plcLure ls makes sense and ls relevanL Lo our sLudy of
Pabermas because Seel ls Lrylng Lo solldlfy one of Lhe mosL expresslve and lnLenLlonal forms of
arL Lhe plcLure
now we can look ChapLer lv 1hlrLeen SLaLemenLs on Lhe lcLure" where Seel ls
concerned wlLh a Lheory of Lhe plcLure Seel Lhlnks LhaL Lhe case for whaL a plcLure ls ls besL
made by sLarLlng from nonflguraLlve lmages because wlLh nonflguraLlve plcLures lL ls more
clear LhaL someLhlng ls presenLlng lLself Seel Lhlnks LhaL represenLaLlon can be bullL onLo a
concepL of presenLaLlon Pere Seel ls endeavorlng Lo skeLch sLep by sLep how Lhe appearance
of plcLures dlffers from Lhe oLher appearances of Lhe vlslble world" (161)
Accordlng Lo Seel Lhe flrsL Lhree of Lhe LhlrLeen sLeps are dellmlLlng" Lhe physlcal
descrlpLlon of a plcLure Pe makes some slmple clalms wrlLlng LhaL a plcLure ls noL a sculpLure


and LhaL lL ls noL a horse shoe prlnL or a flngerprlnL lcLures are more compllcaLed Lhan oLher
some oLher lmages Lhey are more compllcaLed Lhan for lnsLance Lhls wrlLLen senLence and
here Seel says LhaL a plcLure has a denslLy of synLacLlcal arLlculaLlon and semanLlc references
clLlng Lhe saylng A plcLure ls worLh a Lhousand words (163)
1hen Seel becomes concerned wlLh meLhodologlcal prlmacy" and wrlLes abouL Lhe
order of ldeas and how he consLrucLs hls LhoughLs ln Lhe Lhree sLaLemenLs and ln Lhe process
seLs up Lwo hlerarchles of plcLures 1he flrsL ls of arLlsLlc plcLures over nonarLlsLlc ones and Lhe
second ls nonflguraLlve plcLures over flguraLlve ones 1he Lwo hlerarchles prlvllege flrsL ottlstlc
appearlng over oLher forms of appearlng ottlstlc appearlng ls a prerequlslLe for Lhe second
meLhodologlcal hlerarchy of presenLaLlon over represenLaLlon
ln sLaLemenL seven Seel wrlLes LhaL represenLaLlons do have Lo resemble Lhe forms Lhey
deplcL
SLaLemenLs elghL nlne and Len all Lry Lo conflaLe slgns wlLh phenomenologlcal poslLlons
1hls ls a consolldaLlon of Seel's llnklng of language and ottlstlc appearlng
SLaLemenL eleven and Lwelve are abouL Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween plcLures and fllm and
vlrLual reallLy
SLaLemenL LhlrLeen ls LhaL Lhe slgn elemenL of a plcLure and Lhe maLerlal reallLy boLh
exlsL slmulLaneously 1he plcLure has a maLerlal reallLy and Lhls maLerlallLy keeps Lhe slgn as
[usL a slgn and noL reallLy
8elow l have placed Seel's examples ln Lhe order he ralses Lhem and underneaLh Lhe
sLaLemenL where Lhey appear (l could noL flnd an lmage of Ooe ooJ 1btee umbtellos by !oseph
kosuLh buL dld flnd Lwo oLher works LhaL are very slmllar ln formaL and ln Lhe Lype of clalms
Lhey presenL)

3

totemeot Ooe llctotes ote pteseototloos tbot pteseot sometbloq vlslble wltblo tbe spoce of o
sotveyoble sotfoce

|gure 1 8arnett Newman 190S1970 Wo's Afra|d of ked e||ow and 8|ue III 1967 Acry||c on Canvas 8' x 18'
8arneLL newman's large colorfleld absLracLlons are an example LhaL Seel refers Lo LhroughouL
secLlons of hls 1bltteeo totemeots 1hls palnLlng (llg1) ls a large palnLlng 8 x 18' and lL ls clearly a
plcLure LhaL where several Lhlngs are happenlng Lhe meeLlng place beLween Lhe blue and red and red
and yellow and Lhe glanL expanse of red all add up lnLo a sorL of phenomenologlcal experlence a
sensuous experlence lL clearly ls a presenLaLlon

|gure 2 Luc|o ontana Concetto Spaz|a|e
uclo lonLana slashed hls canvases maklng gaps where Lhe vlewer can look Lhrough Lo Lhe wall
and also maklng Lhe palnLlng lnLo a quaslsculpLure
6



|gure 3 Iosep kosut Cne and @ree Ca|rs 196S
!oseph kosuLh makes work where Lhe lmage Lhe ob[ecL and Lhe dlcLlonary deflnlLlon are placed
nexL Lo one anoLher

7

totemeot 1wo llctotlol slqos ote oot (jost) symptoms

|gure 4 norse soe pr|nts |n sand and a f|ngerpr|nt

8

totemeot tbtee llctotes ote mote ot less compoct slqos slqos ote compoct wbeo lt ls esseotlol tbot
tbey be teollzeJ wltb compototlve pteclsloo

|gure S Gerard k|cter Cktober 18 1977 C|| on Canvas 1988 d|mens|ons var|ab|e because t|s |s a ser|es of 1S pa|nt|ngs
w|c are meant to be ung togeter
1he arLlsL Cerhard 8lchLer wrlLlng and respondlng Lo lnLervlew quesLlons ln Lhe 1960s
seems Lo be anLlclpaLlng some of Seel's concerns
ln etbotJ klcbtet 1be uolly ltoctlce of lolotloq wtltloqs 1962199J 8lchLer wrlLes
under Lhe headlng Notes 1964 1965 LhaL When l draw a person an ob[ecL l have Lo
make myself aware of proporLlon accuracy absLracLlon or dlsLorLlon and so forLh When l
palnL from a phoLograph consclous Lhlnklng ls ellmlnaLed l don'L know whaL l am dolng My
work ls far closer Lo Lhe lnformel Lhan Lo any klnd of 'reallsm' 1he phoLograph has an
absLracLlon of lLs own whlch ls noL easy Lo see Lhrough Such a plcLure can really scare you"
(30)
aLer ln Lhe same book Lhere are Lhree quesLlons posed ln an lnLervlew Laklng Lhe
form of a quesLlon and response formaL LhaL are relevanL because Lhey evoke Lhe problems ln
9

connecLlng Seel's Aestbetlcs of Appeotloq and Pabermas's use of speech acLs Lo deflne value
spheres
lsot tbot tbe potoJox of yoot plctotes tbot tbey teptoJoce sometbloq we coo oll see bot ot tbe
some tlme tbey coovey oo lmptessloo of tbe oocettoloty of teollty?
k We can'L rely on Lhe plcLure of reallLy LhaL we see because we see lL medlaLed Lhrough Lhe
lens apparaLus of Lhe eye and correcLed ln accordance wlLh pasL experlence And because LhaL
ls noL enough for us because we wanL Lo know wheLher lL can all be dlfferenL we palnL
oo moveJ ftom ost etmooy to west etmooy lo 1960 slc wby wos ooJ ls oclollst keollsm
totolly oootttoctlve to yoo?
8 8ecause lL subordlnaLed arL Lo ldeology 1hls ls a mlslnLerpreLaLlon of Lhe soclal relevance of
arL ArL can be Lruly relevanL only when lL lsn'L dlrecLly employed Lo do a [ob lf arL represenLs
lLself socleLy can use lL buL noL lf lL adverLlses anyLhlng 1hen lL's adverLlslng deslgn
Ate yoo o teollst? uo yoo feel ooy offlolty wltb tbe New keollsts?
8 no and l ob[ecL Lo Lhe way 'reallsm' ls belng used aL Lhe momenL My ldea of a powerfully
reallsLlc work of arL ls for example a sculpLure by Carl Andre ?ou can'L geL more reallsLlc Lhan
LhaL (8lchLer 68 69)

10



|gure 6 kenee Magr|tte La @ras|on des Images C|| on Canvas 1928 29 217 x 283
8enee MagrlLLe made lmages whlch emphaslze LhaL Lhey are a presenLaLlon ln Lhls famous case Lhe
lrench LexL LranslaLes Lo 1hls ls noL a plpe" whlch forces Lhe vlewer Lo encounLer Lhe lmage of plpe as
an lmage
11

totemeot loot lo compotlsoo to tbe boslc fotm of tbe loJlvlJool ottlstlc plctote oooloJlvlJool bot
compoct lostooces of ooosloqolot bot qeoetol lostooces tepteseot sobslJloty fotms

|gure 7 |et Mondr|an 8roadway 8oog|e Woog|e 194243 C|| on Canvas S0 x S0

12

totemeot llve Att plctotes ote (mostly loJlvlJool) slqos tbot ollow tbe selftefeteotlollty of oll plctotes
to become coosplcooos
totemeot lx All plctotes pteseot most plctotes tepteseot

|gure 8 Gerard k|cter Abstraktes 8||d 1992 C|| on Canvas SS 1]4 x 39 1]2
13


|gure 9 8arnett Newman 190S1970 Wo's Afra|d of ked e||ow and 8|ue IV 1967 Acry||c on Canvas 9' x 19' 10
totemeot eveo llctotlol tepteseototloo opetotes wltb fotms tbot ote slmllot to tbe objects
tepteseoteJ
totemeot lqbt llctotes ote slqo eveots objects oboot tbe wotlJ tbot ote olso petcelveJ os
loJepeoJeot objects lo tbe wotlJ

|gure 10 Iosep kosut Cne and @ree Sove|s var|ab|e d|mens|ons 196S
1

totemeot Nloe 1bete ls oo teol coofllct betweeo tbe pbeoomeooloqlcol ooJ tbe semlotlc tbeoty of tbe
plctote llctotes ote sotveyoble sotfoces tbot moke sometbloq vlslble botb slJes coolJ oqtee oo tbls
boslc fotmolo
totemeot 1eo 1o see sometbloq to see sometbloq os sometbloq ooJ to sometbloq lo sometbloq ote
tbtee boslc lostooces of seeloq tbey come toqetbet lo seeloq plctotes
totemeot leveo cybetspoce ls oot plctotlol spoce bot slmoloteJ spoce
totemeot 1welve lllms vlttool movemeot spoce ls locoteJ betweeo tbe slmoltooeoos oppeotooce of
plctotes ooJ slmoloteJ spoce of cybetspoce
totemeot 1bltteeo llctotes coooot toke tbe ploce of tbe teol