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Aest het ics and t he Revolut ionary St ruggle

Pet er Weiss's Novel " The Aest het ics of Resist ance"

Author : Peter Horn

Published : Critical Arts Vol 3 No 4 1985

Cont ent s
Sect ion One
No Need for Heracles - The Faceless Learn t o Cont rol Their Fist s
Sect ion Two
The Tut elage of t he I nt erpret ers
Aest het ic I m aginat ion and t he Product ion of Hist ory
The Text and t he I m ages of t he Subj ect of Hist ory
The I m propriet y of t he Speech of t he Oppressed - " Showing t he Naked Face of Violence"
Sect ion Three
The Abilit y t o I m agine One's Own Dest ruct ion
A Few Built up an Organizat ion
The Tension bet ween t he " I nst abilit y" of Art and t he Needs of t he Class St ruggle
Sect ion Four
The Painful Mem ories of Dirt , Misery, Baseness
The Muses in t he Tort ure Cham ber
Sect ion Five
Cult ure is Not a Replacem ent of a Revolut ionary Movem ent - I t Funct ions only wit hin a
Revolut ionary Movem ent
Art is Like Breat hing Freely

" Their sensualit y was cruel. Their serenit y was bought wit h slave labour. Again, j ust as in all ot her
em pires, which had slaves, an essence was ext ract ed from wearing out people, which offered t he
ult im at e of refinem ent . Art did not ask, which t orm ent s had m ade it possible... The unique grew out of
t he t error of t he people and becam e t he m onum ent of an even deeper hum iliat ion and cont rit ion for t he
people" ( I I I . 108) 1

As long as t he art ist presupposes t he coincidence of his rat ional and free subj ect wit h his own proj ect , he
denies his det erm inat ion by a het erogeneous econom y. This het erogeneit y, however, cut s right t hrough
his int ent ions as an art ist , fragm ent ing his effort s, t wist ing t hem subt ly or not so subt ly. Before long he
finds his hum anism unwit t ingly serving a cruelt y, which in his consciousness he rej ect s. Bot h Marx and
Freud have denied t hat a coincidence of t he subj ect wit h it s own int ent ions is possible under t he condit ions of
an alienat ing societ y. The t ext s of m odern lit erat ure are not hing but t he half- conscious realizat ion of t his
t rut h, when t hey rem ove t he act ing subj ect from t he cent re of t he st age, show t he im possibilit y of t he
'hero', t he individual, who by his deeds at t em pt s t o change his hist orical surroundings, replace him by
t he ant i- hero, buffet ed by forces he is unable t o cont rol. To overcom e t he 'cruelt y' of an aest het ics
which excludes t he great m aj orit y, and which lives direct ly and indirect ly by t he oppression and
exploit at ion of t his m aj orit y, which serves t he enslavem ent of t his m aj orit y by glorifying t he social order
which m akes t his enslavem ent possible, can not be t he work of an individual art ist , est ablishing his own
freedom as an art ist . He will discover t hat his individual freedom can be posit ed only as an im aginary
( fict ional) freedom .

I f he want s t o oppose t he 'cruel' aest het ics of t he oppressor wit h an aest het ics free from oppression, he
will have t o consider an alt ernat ive praxis: one in which art is no longer based on t he privilege of t he
'out st anding' individual, t he 'genius' of Rom ant ic aest het ics, but on t he cooperat ion of collect ives; t he 'I '

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will be replaced by a 'We' of art ist ic pract ice; t he inst it ut ions of radical, anarchic subj ect ivism , which are
t he bourgeois ut opia of art ist ic freedom , replaced by inst it ut ions of part icipat ion and cooperat ion. Many
art ist s, basically in sym pat hy wit h t he m asses and t heir dem ands, have t urned t heir back on t he
m ovem ent s of t he m asses because t hey feel t heir 'art ist ic int egrit y' and t he st andard of t heir work
t hreat ened by such a concept of collect ive art ist ic product ion. On t he ot her hand, m any proponent s of
t he st ruggle of t he oppressed have dem anded an art which de fact o perpet uat es t he division of art for
t he privileged and art for t he oppressed wit h t he good int ent ions of a revolut ionary art for t he
t hought less: Mills and Boon wit h a posit ive socialist hero The dist ance bet ween t he developm ent of t he
aest het ic sensibilit ies of t he m asses, depraved by t he ent ert ainm ent indust ry of t he capit alist st at e and
t he burden of t heir const ant st ruggle t o survive, and t heir fut ure pot ent ialit y can not be overcom e
eit her by t he individualist exert ions of an isolat ed art ist nor by t he sporadic explorat ion of t he art s by a
few workers.

Even t hat were of lit t le consequence if art were our only concern: hut when we t alk about art , we t alk
about m ore: we t alk of t hat kind of part icipat ion in an ideological discourse, which t ent at ively exert s t he
neurons t hat will st eer t he cooperat ive bodies in act ion. The 'cruel' aest het ics of past and present
regim es lim it s t he discourse t o elit es and t heir elaborat e sign syst em s: leaving t o t he m asses a
sim plified and dist ort ed discourse which inact ivat es t hem as subj ect s and st eers t hem as aut om at a in
an econom ics of profit and a gam e of power polit ics. They. who are only allowed t o form ulat e t heir
desires along st ereot yped precast pat t erns, are excluded not only from art : t he m eaning of t heir lives
is spelled out t o t hem in t he deep st ruct ures of t elevision series and phot ographic novels: t hey receive
t heir defeat , and t he int erpret at ion of t heir defeat as well as t he configurat ion of t heir cast rat ed desire
in Dallas and Tessa from t he sam e source.

I f an alt ernat ive aest het ics want s t o est ablish it self as 'revolut ion', it can not bypass t he quest ion of
t hat process which is t he com ing int o being of t he revolut ionary subj ect . The necessit y of aest het ics, it s
m uch m ore t han m arginal im port ance in t he st ruggle of t he oppressed, becom es apparent in t he
m om oent when t he cust om ary division bet ween m asses and int ellect uals dissolves: t he subj ect of t he
revolut ionary st ruggle can not but be int ellect ual, and t he process of t hat becom ing is revolut ionary.
That process is t he " fight ing acquisit ion of an int ellect ual and aest het ic cult ure" by t he worker and in
t urn t he " social proj ect of t he liberat ion of labour from t he class oppression and exploit at ion" 2 . One of
t he decisive fact ors in t his process is t hat t he worker at t he end of it has becom e an int ellect ual. Unless
s/ he acquires t he abilit y t o be his own " int erpret er" t o const ruct his/ her own im ages of desire, and t o
engage in a st ruggle t o realise t hem , revolut ion rem ains a phrase which hides t he regim e of t he
apparat shik. Once workers acquire a coherent knowledge. and st art t o int erfere in t he cult ural life and
it s organisat ion, t hey t hem selves becom e coordinat ors, organizers, producers and com sum ers of
knowledge, m ediat ors of knowledge ot hers. I n t he words of Gram sci: t hey becom e organic int ellect uals
of t he working class3 A revolut ionary process which would not enhance t he process of t he oppressed t o
becom e t heir own int erpret ers, would forget t hat t here are t hree not t wo part ies in every power
st ruggle - t hose who exercise power, t hose who would exercise it in t heir place, and t hose on whom it is
exercised by bot h, unless t hey are able t o becom e t heir own rulers in a t ruly part icipat ory dem ocracy4
I nt erpret ing t he needs of ot hers is as surely a weapon in t he st ruggle t o inst all oneself in power as t he
gun and t he explosive at t ached t o t he sym bolic building: in t he end t he m anipulat or of t he
int erpret at ions oft en defeat s t he holder of t he gun, whom he has used in his own ascent . One need not
deny, as Foucault t ends t o do, t hat t he oppressed class is t horoughly im bued wit h t he ideology of t he
ruling class [ t hat ] t hey cannot recognize t heir dest iny, [ t hat ] t hey need a Part y t o t each and guide
t hem " 5 . Yet one can grasp t he danger ( hat such a leadership - largely m ade up of renegade bourgeois
int ellect uals - will use it s posit ion as int erpret er t o perpet uat e it self and t he need for int erpret at ion and
represent at ion.

The t heoret ical disput e bet ween t he various form s of anarchism and various form s of Marxism and
socialism is a sm oke screen, behind which t he power st ruggle of alt ernat e elit es goes on: 9n t he one
hand t he cent ralizing power of a part y, ready t o t ake over t he power of t he st at e, on t he ot her hand t he
diffusion of revolut ionary energy int o isolat ed explosions. Neit her t he one nor t he ot her addresses t he
problem not of replacing but dissolving power it self, by dissolving t he privilege of t he int erpret ers. There

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are, however, guidelines in Gram sci's t heory of t he organic int ellect ual, and t here is t he im age of t he
worker becom ing his own int ellect ual in Pet er Weiss's " Aest het ics of Resist ance"

[ Top ]

No Need for Heracles

The Faceless Learn t o Cont rol Their Fist s

The novel of Pet er Weiss st art s off wit h an ext ended " descript ion" of t he Pergam on alt ar ( 180- 160 BC) ,
which in it self is a t our de force of a new concept of art , art crit icism , art appreciat ion, and t he
appropriat ion of t he art of t he past by t hree young workers of t he present . Recognizing in t his
m onum ent of t he powerful t o com m em orat e t heir own vict ory t he prehist ory of t heir own st ruggle,
int erpret ing t he bat t le of t he giant s, t he sons of t he eart h ( Ge) , against t he Olym pic Gods as t he
st ruggle of " our kind" against t he godlike appropriat ors of power, t he t hree young workers isolat e t he
figure of Heracles as one of t he cent ral and decisive im ages of t he alt ar, a figure which will reappear in
t heir t heoret ical discussions t hroughout t he book. At first t hey form ulat e t heir consciousness as t he
dem and t hat Heracles ought not t o fight on t he side of t he powerful, but on t he side of t he oppressed,
and t hey follow t he t urns and t wist s of t he Heracles saga, t o unravel t he fat e of t he worker's m ovem ent
in t he t went iet h cent ury. Filled wit h t he experience of t he vict ory of t he Nazis and t he m assacre of t he
workers' organizat ion in t he wake of t hat vict ory, facing t he nearly t ot al defeat of t he workers, t hey
st art t o ret hink t he fut ure. " And wit h every sent ence t here was present t he learning t o t hink, t he
learning t o speak, t he abyss bet ween underst anding and speechlessness which had t o be bridged" ( I ,
37) - t his is how t he narrat or recount s his own experience of t his process, which event ually will see him
as t he worker/ int ellect ual at t em pt ing t o int ervene in hist ory. That labour is t he consequence of t he
advant age of t he ruling classes in relat ion t o t he oppressed classes, which faces t he worker wit h t he
const ant fact t hat what ever he produces is used high above him , and against him . " I f we want t o
concern ourselves wit h art , wit h lit erat ure, t hen we m ust t reat it against t he grain, t hat is, we m ust
exclude all privileges, which are bound up wit h it , and we m ust insert int o it all our own dem ands"
( 1,41) . This " t reat m ent against t he grain" is t he essent ial process of acquisit ion of t he cult ure of past
oppressions by t he oppressed: and it includes t he quest ion of Coppi's m ot her, a worker at t he
Telefunken plant in Berlin, " whet her t he burden of t orm ent s wit h which t he com ing int o being of t he
works of art had been paid, m ust not give t hem som et hing repulsive for all t im es" ( 1,50) . And " t hat
which is cruel, can never cont ain beaut y" ( 1,52) . But t his is not t he last word. ( Heilm ann answers " t hat
works like t hose, which derive from t he Pergam on, m ust be reint erpret ed again and again, unt il a
reversal was won and t hose born from t he Eart h were awakening from darkness and slavery and
showed t hem selves wit h t heir t rue face" ( I , 53) . Because t hose who " t ransm it an im age of t he world,
always st ood on t he side of t hose who det erm ined t he rules of t he world" ( I , 73) , t hese at t em pt s at
reint erpret at ion, t hese at t em pt s t o overcom e t he speechlessness are necessary prerequisit es of a
" reversal" which goes beyond t he replacem ent of one governing elit e by anot her.

I n t his sense t he exert ion t o ret hink t he Pergam on alt ar is indeed an exert ion on which a lot depends: it
negat es t he division int o privileged and underprivileged, which dist ribut es t hinking and doing according
t o class st ruct ures. The alt ar of t he years 180 t o 160 BC becom es t he t est case of a new aest het ics,
which underst ands it self as t he preface of a new art of seeing, feeling and t hinking. Those who m ay
obj ect t hat t his process has not hing t o do wit h t heir own present sit uat ion, m ust be rem inded t hat t his
process t akes place under t he very eye of t he Nazi part y ( t he room is filled wit h various Nazi uniform s)
and t hat in order t o prot ect t he m eet ing wit h his friends act ive in t he underground resist ance, Heilm ann
has t o don t he m ask of t he Hit lerj ugend uniform . The t hree workers do not see t his act ivit y as springing
from t he superfluit y of leisure, on t he cont rary, it is a decisive part of t heir st ruggle. The im age of t he
alt ar becom es m ore t han a ~ sym bol' of cont inued suffering and cont inued revolt : it becom es t he key t o
t heir underst anding of t he present sit uat ion of resist ance, it adds t hat perspect ive t o t heir act ions,
wit hout which t heir act ions m ight easily end in desperat ion, apat hy and resignat ion, when confront ed
wit h t he apparent ly unchangeable.

Wit hout t he exert ion t o overcom e t he m yst ifying effect s of t he ruling cult ure, whose subt ext const ant ly

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j ust ifies it s own exist ence - " t hose who conquer, will be like t he gods" ( I , 10) - wit hout t he effort t o see
t he beaut y of t hese godlike creat ures as t he effect of t heir cruelt y and t o see t he subj ect ed as t he
winners of t he fut ure, t he dom inance of t he visual im age over t he m ind cannot be broken. The rule of
t he visual im ages is shown t o be a powerful weapon over t he m inds and t he bodies of t he oppressed:
fearing t heir own bodily dest ruct ion, port rayed in t he giant s of Pergam on, t he pict ures of Angkor Wat
and t he crucifixion of got hic churches, t hey hesit at e t o at t ack t heir t orm ent ors. This is an aest het ics
which is aware all t he t im e of t he cont em porary bat t les of t he oppressed in Spain, in China, in Sout h
East Asia, in Africa, in Sout h Am erica, an aest het ics which depart s from and ret urns t o t he workers'
st ruggle in Germ any during t he Nazi regim e. Right in t he m iddle of t he realit y of t he t ram , t raversing
t he busy Berlin Alexanderplat z, Heilm ann proclaim s t he quint essence of t he experience of Heracles:
" t hat all m agic incant at ions can be resist ed, t hat all fabulous m onst ers can be overcom e, and t hat it
was a m ort al, who was able t o do t his" ( 1,25) . Precisely because Heracles is not om nipot ent , precisely
because he ends in " horrible pain" , ent angled in t he shirt drenched wit h t he poisonous blood of Nessos,
which nobody could st rip from his flesh, precisely because he is suscept ible t o t he incredible suffering,
Heracles becom es t he im age of t he saviour. Not by chance Pet er Weiss parallels t his descript ion wit h
t he descript ion of t he last m ont hs of Lenin, dying wit h t he horrible pain of shingles.

But t he analysis goes one st ep furt her t han t hat : even t he m yt h of Heracles, t he sym bol of t he
rebellious oppressed, is quest ioned by Coppi short ly before his own horrible deat h in t he slaught erhouse
of Pl6t zensee prison, when he ret urns once m ore t o t he t opic of t he Pergam on alt ar: " he is wit hin us,
he, who fell out of t he frieze of t he gods, we need no guiding st ar, we do not need t he m yt hs, which
only at t em pt t o belit t le us, we are sufficient for ourselves" ( I I I , 169) . Cert ainly t here is som e t rut h in
Heilm ann's st at em ent , " t hat we could not live wit hout creat ing an im age of ourselves" ( I I I , 169) , but
t hese im ages m ust const ant ly be revised and overt hrown. The let t er which Heilm ann sends t o t he
narrat or in Spain, t hen at t em pt s such a reint erpret at ion: what if t he deeds of Heracles sprang from
" fear and horror" , from " weakness and isolat ion" ( 1, 314) , what if t hey were not hing but " dream s" :
" Such creat ures, as he m et , and were slain by him , only visit us in our sleep" ( I , 315) . Com m ent ing
from his own isolat ion in t he underground in Nazi Germ any, Reilm ann at t em pt s a new evaluat ion fo t he
figure:

I do not want t o accept him , as t he rulers have port rayed him , dem anding dem agogically his insert ion
int o t heir own class and art , but I also can no longer see in him t he vict orious helper of t he slaves, but
only as one, who at t im es lift ed him self far above him self, at ot her t im es was hopelessly ent angled in
his phant asies. ( I , 317)

Because he hides a " far- reaching dist ort ion of his psyche" underneat h " all his bravado" ( I , 318) ,
because he is not t he fault less hero of arist ocrat ic, bourgeois or socialist art , he can again becom e a
figure, which can sust ain t he hope of t he oppressed.

But t hen t he novel overcom es even t his hope: only relying on it s own power, such is t he last
reint erpret at ion of t he Heracles m ot if, can t he prolet ariat bring about it s liberat ion. This reint erpret at ion
has t o be applied t o t he hero figures of t he revolut ion, t he " cult of t he person" ( as t he euphem ism
describes it ) has t o be overcom e. I f t he parallel bet ween Heracles and Lenin is int ended, t hen t he end
of t he novel has t o be read as a rej ect ion of even t his " hero" : no hero can replace t he effort of t he
prolet ariat , t hey t hem selves " m ust learn t hat single grip" , which can free t hem ( I I I , 267) , no
recognizable one will com e t o fill t he em pt y place. They will have t o t hrow off t he horrible pressure

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exert ed on t hem all by t hem selves.

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[ Sect ion 1] [ Sect ion 2] [ Sect ion 3] [ Sect ion 4] [ Sect ion 5] [ Sect ion 6]

CCMS home Critical Arts

Last updat ed by Eunice I vala on 15 Februar, 2001

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