No More Learning

And how does improbability--the fact that certain phrases are uttered nevertheless, that certain goods are bought, and certain forms are created and admired as art--eventually become so plau- sible that one can almost count on it? How can society establish its own improbabilities (which require that something specific must be selected from coundess other possibilities) in such a way that they stabilize one an- other, and the sudden failure of crucial accomplishments (for example, the loss of the monetary economy or the police force) would result in a catastrophe whose consequences would be impossible to contain? How, in other words, is it possible that the improbability of emergence continually
7
transforms itself into the probability of preservation?
The theory of evolution is concerned with unfolding a paradox, namely,
the paradoxical probability of the improbable. However, we cannot help formulating this paradox in a manner that statisticians will not accept. In statistics, it is trivial that reality, in each of its expressions, is extremely un- likely and at the same time entirely normal. It is therefore not surprising that the statistician fails to register this paradox, precisely because he pre- supposes its unfolding. The same holds for the theory of evolution. The
Evolution 215
comparison illustrates, however, that recourse to paradox--no matter how insignificant its methodological benefits might be, and inasmuch as it must be prohibited methodologically--allows one to raise the theoretical question of what kinds of identification facilitate, in one way or another, the unfolding (= rendering invisible) of the paradox. This paradox is ulti- mately a paradox of self-implication, which resides in presupposing a dis- tinction (here, probable/improbable) whose unity can be indicated only paradoxically. Logicians might object that theory creates this puzzle only to solve it on its own. This is certainly true. The question is: What kinds of comparative possibilities become visible in this manner?
II
One can present the history of society as the history of a general socio-
8
cultural evolution.
system of society at large. Changes in the realm of art would appear only as instances in the evolution of society. As early as 1800, this problem was discussed--albeit without sufficient theoretical preparation--with refer- ence to Kant's legal-political concept of society and in view of the rising
9 expectations being placed upon art and aesthetic experience. If one as-
sumes an elaborated theory of evolution instead of a theory of conscious- ness, then the question becomes whether independent (albeit condi- tioned) subsystems can exist within evolving systems. In order to prove this assumption, one would have to show how, and under what condi- tions, autopoietic subsystems close themselves off and, by differentiating operational modes of their own, become capable of treating environmen- tal perturbations as chance events that stimulate the variation and selec- tion of system-internal structures.
We have addressed this issue in conjunction with the historical condi-
10
tions of the art system's differentiation.
to furnish evidence for special environmental conditions that favored dif- ferentiation. In the following, we seek to identify the evolutionary mech- anisms whose separation facilitates this process.
Let us begin by recapitulating our analyses of the artworks form. Already in the individual artwork, we can see how the improbability of emergence is transformed into the probability of preservation. The first distinction, the one from which the artist starts out, cannot be programmed by the work of art. It can only occur spontaneously--even though it implies a decision
But the system reference of such a history remains the
In that context, our concern was
2 l 6 Evolution
concerning the work's type (whether it is to be a poem, a fugue, or a glass window) and perhaps an idea in the artist's mind. Any further decision tightens the work, orienting itself toward what is already there, specifying the unoccupied sides of already established forms and restricting the free- dom of further decisions. Once the distinctions begin to stabilize and relate to one another recursively, what occurs is precisely what we expect from evolution: the artwork finds stability within itself; it can be recognized and observed repeatedly. The work might still suffer destruction, but any fur- ther modification becomes increasingly difficult. Some insoluble problems or imperfections might remain, which must be accepted as a matter of fact. Even in art, evolution does not bring about perfect conditions.
A work might also be conceived more or less according to plan. As in politics or in the economy, the plan becomes a part of evolution. If the artist adheres rigidly to a preconceived program, then he will either pro- duce works devoid of qualitative differences (even if he applies different programs), or he will have to decide between simple acceptance or rejec- tion of the work as a whole. Typically, however, the artist allows himself to be irritated and informed by the emerging work, whatever the program might entail. The typical case is evolution.
It is perhaps a unique feature of the art system that the "intertextual" network connecting works produced within the system is not very tight, and that, to use a strong formulation, chance events are already trans- formed into necessities at this level. When searching for a theory of how the art system evolves, we must keep this small-scale revolution of the in- dividual work in mind. But the evolutionary mechanisms of variety, se- lection, and restabilization differentiate themselves only at the level of the system. Only at this level do social conditions emerge that facilitate the production of artworks. If art is not sufficiendy differentiated as a phe- nomenon, then there can be no freedom of beginning, no conception of what is involved in producing or encountering a work of art.
The theory of form combination, which we take as our starting point,
suggests that art originates in the ornament, under conditions that imply
no awareness of a corresponding concept, let alone of an autonomous art
11
system.
nament is to the evolving art system what the evolution of language is to the evolution of society; in both cases, there is an extended preparatory stage that yields eruptive consequences once communication has been sta- bilized to the point where its boundaries become visible. What is empha-
One might propose a bold comparison: the evolution of the or-
Evolution 2 1 7
sized at first, however, is not the difference between object and adorn- ment, but rather the unity of this difference, its meaning. "Cosmos" in the Greek sense means both order and ornament.
In prehistoric times, ornaments emerged independently everywhere in the world (even though the question of whether some patterns emerged independently or by diffusion is a matter of dispute). In premodern soci- eties, the relationship between surface and depth was experienced differ- ently from how it is today. This is evident in the widely used techniques of divination. These techniques are concerned with displaying signs on a vis- ible surface, signs that betray depth. Perhaps ornaments were understood in the same way.
The ornament provided an opportunity to train oneself artistically without depending on demanding social presuppositions. The basis for this trend was a well-developed competence in technique and skill that might have produced ornamental order as a side effect, as a playful addi- tion superimposed on something useful and necessary--as adornment. One could follow the inspiration of existing models or use as guidance the limitations of cult objects or other objects of utility. In this way, one could profit from the integration of such objects in nonartistic contexts and from their evolutionary differentiation. The ornament provided an op- portunity to practice observation and to train one's eyes and hands for a type of social communication that could later exploit such skills to create a self-differentiating system.
There might be enough material stashed away somewhere in libraries to write a history of the ornament that could tell what kinds of figurative patterns were used to decorate objects: some ornaments are geometrical, whereas others move in waving lines; some patterns display protruding, recognizable leaves, fruits, heads, and so on; some ornaments are stacked atop each other; whereas others support the formal play of the objects they decorate--a vase, an oven grid, a door, a building--whether for em- phasis or to cover up imperfections, whether to make believe or to join
12
figures. Perhaps there are such compilations,
ory of art, they would serve at best as illustrative materials that one might also find elsewhere.
Distinguishing between a historical account and a theory of evolution is imperative. The prime concern of a theory of evolution is to account for discontinuities and structural changes that suddenly erupt after extended periods of stagnation or incremental growth. Such a theory focuses on the
but for an evolutionary the-
2 l 8 Evolution
prolonged irritation to which forms are exposed and, above all, on the abrupt occurrence of operative closure, with its chances for autopoietic autonomy.
From this viewpoint, the practice of decoration (in the widest sense) appears to be a preadaptive advance, a development that initially served other functions and to which one can return in the course of the art sys- tem's differentiation as if art had existed at all times. Once a system of art begins to differentiate itself, it becomes possible to construct a past; one can redirect a treasure house of forms and continue to use skills one al- ready has. In this way, a structural break in the social domain is at first ex- perienced only as an artistic innovation, as an improvement in skill. Un- der radically new social conditions, art initially sought less radical forms of expression--one returned to antiquity, began to valorize the artists so- cial prestige, and sought independence from the directives of patrons-- and only gradually were novelty and originality demanded from the indi- vidual artwork.
The differentiation of the art system must have altered the meaning of ornamentation, in particular by adding a dimension of "depth," so that today only the combination of forms as such is important. In gothic ar- chitecture, the ornament was already taken in tow by inventions in struc- tural form, within which it had to prove itself. Subsequent reflections on the limitations of ornamentation and on the primacy of balanced pro- portion could draw on a history that rendered such developments plausi- ble. The distinction between form and supporting decoration could thus be generalized and adopted later as a theory of the self-differentiating art system. With the emergence of self-conscious artworks that insist on be- ing recognized as such, the traditional domain of artistic skill was divided into two separate realms: one in which decorating objects of utility pre- vails and where one later turned to certain "crafts" to compete against in- dustrial production; and a realm of art in which works must decide for themselves whether they need or can tolerate ornamentation, and if so, to what extent and in what form. At first, divisions of this kind were neces-
13 sary. Following Alberti--who introduced the notion of composition --
the standard Renaissance literature distinguishes between drawing, com-
14
position, and coloration as necessary components of painting. concept of the drawing, of contour or design, continues the tradition of
15
the ornament in a form reduced to one of its components.
cento in Italy, especially in Florence, developed a theory of disegno that
The cinque-
The
Evolution 2 1 9
covers the entire problematic, stretching the concept to the point where
16
it loses its precision.
conception (and in this respect, it resembles God's creation of the world, that is, nature in its entirety), while on the other hand it also indicates the artful execution of the work by skilled eyes and hands. Disegno involves invention, ingenuity, and intellect (in the traditional sense), while being concerned with a technique of signs, with skills taught in academies, and with the form and contours of the work itself. Since this contradiction could not be resolved, the seventeenth-century discussion of the concept ran out of steam, leaving behind a theory of drawing skills that could be taught.
Poetry follows similar distinctions. Torquato Tasso, for example, divides
17
his Discorsi dell'artepoetica e in particolare sopra ilpoema eroico into ma-
teria, forma, and ornamenti, only to focus entirely on materia (choice of
18
topic) and forma. In his treatment of ornamenti Tasso changes his tone, speaking of elocuzione and remaining entirely within the framework of rhetorical distinctions of style, which might equally well be treated as dis- tinctions of form.
Parallel to this discussion, one finds--now under the heading of the or- nament--a degradation of the ornamental to mere decoration or adorn- ment. The low esteem in which the ornament was held raises the issue of whether works of art require ornamentation, and if so, why. The solution was to relegate the ornament to a subordinate, merely decorative function in every realm, including the arts, and to distinguish its supplementary
19
function from a more important type of beauty in both nature and art. In this way, one could playfully adjust, at the level of ornamentation, to social changes and develop or adopt forms that did not interfere with the work's thematic focus. One could turn away from a merely religious sym- bolism and influence the development of styles by drawing on natural
20
forms, interpersonal relationships, heraldry, or models from antiquity. But the distinction between art and ornament (whether in the work of art itself or in other objects) undermines the possibility for indicating the unity of art; if beauty--understood as perfection--requires a supplement,
21
it is not clear what is meant by unity.
master/slave metaphor loses plausibility; besides, the focus shifts toward what holds the work of art together from within. Only linguistic usage stands in the way of responding spontaneously: the ornament.
The distinction, introduced by Hutcheson, between original (or abso-
On the one hand, disegno stands for the creative
In the eighteenth century, this
2 2 0 Evolution
22
lute) and comparative (or relative) beauty should not be underestimated. It is a decisive step toward rehabilitating the ornament and toward push-
23
ing back the semantics of imitation.
Original or absolute beauty is noth-
ing other than (the subjective idea of) the ornamental. Hutcheson defines
this type of beauty ("to speak in the mathematical style") in terms of a
"uniformity amidst variety" or as a "compound ratio of uniformity and va-
24
riety. " Since this formula--reminiscent of Leibniz--embraces too much
(according to Leibniz, it comprehends the entire world), one introduces a principle of intensification that renders a given variety more uniform or adds variety to uniformity. According to the associational psychology popular at the time, even failure and ugliness can be calculated in the
25 form of a disruption brought about by associations that do not fit.
The framing of this concept in epistemology and moral theory (psy- chology) is limited historically, and a philosophical aesthetics will pursue different goals. But the effects of ornamentation and continued references to the ornament are noticeable, especially in William Hogarth. In his es- say The Analysis of Beauty, Hogarth still mentions the ornament, but goes on to describe the movement of line as a principle of enhancement, which culminates in "serpentine lines" that present the "inner surface" of the ob- ject and its potential movement in its most favorable proportions. This in- sight into the function of drawing can be translated into technical in- structions for producing beauty that are intelligible to anyone (not only to "connoisseurs," who operate according to obscure principles), thus ac-
26
complishing a comprehensive inclusion of observers into the work of art. By and large, the long tradition of statements on the line in drawing re- mains ambivalent. On the one hand, such statements remain subordinate to an interest in beauty, harmony, and balanced proportion; on the other hand, they gain significance to the extent that the vacuity and redundancy of such a notion of beauty becomes apparent. This is evident not only in
27
Hogarth but also in Moritz and Herder.
To the extent that problems of form acquire a dimension of depth and
one began to turn what one had learned from the ornament (for example, under the name of disegno) into a theory of the artwork, there are tenden- cies to rescue the ornament in its exorbitant, if not to say superfluous function, to reinstate it as a kind of supplement, or to use it as a way of transcending the perfection one strives for. This happened in mannerism, which legitimizes capricious and fantastic trends that explode the limits of proportion. Zuccaro presents a theoretical integration of this possibility
that explicitly refers to the ornament.
28
The two forms of disegno, which
Evolution 2 2 1
combine imitation and perfection, are supplemented by a third--the
bizarre, capricious disegnofantastico--which adds variety (diversitO) to the
29
already perfect artwork.
Classicizing theory in the second half of the eighteenth century dealt
extensively with the ornament (adornment, arabesque) in the hope of bal- ancing the sterility of forms, on the one hand, and die lack of discipline, on the other, and in order to test the classicist idea of style in the subordi-
30
nate realm of decoration.
uncontrolled excess of arabesques and grotesques and their proximity to chaos calls attention to itself, as if the problem of disorder that underlies
31
In the transition to romanticism, precisely the
all creative activity could be harnessed in this undomesticated form. internal dynamic involved in the rehabilitation of trie ornament has been
32
investigated especially by Gustav Rene Hocke.
If one searches for an analogue to the intensification of the ornamental
outside of the visual arts, then one is likely to discover that suspense fulfills
33
a similar function of intensifying narrative structure in literature.
thematic level, the demand that the narration be charged with suspense leads to the disengagement of the hero from the effects of an external fate--a fate that, in early modern times, had functioned as a useful device
34
for increasing variety within the framework of typified redundancies. The narrative development of characters interrupts the nexus between past and future. One needs actions in order to establish coherence, and actions require motives; only toward the end of the story does it become apparent why things happened the way they did. Narrative moves its plot as if in serpentine lines; it fills a space of self-generated uncertainty, so that, in the end, the meaning of the plot can enter the plot (the couple gets married, the criminal is recognized and punished). The narrative--or the play, to speak with Dryden--must be constructed like a labyrinth, in which the spectator can see just a few steps ahead and the conclusion is not recog-
35
nized until the end.
draws variety into the work itself, which earlier had to be supplemented from the outside; this means that the author must know what the reader is not yet allowed to know. If suspense secures the work's unity (as an orna- ment does), then the characteristic features of persons can be rendered more individually without any loss of recognizability. The level of the work where forms are combined permits greater variety while preserving the redundancy necessary to generate information.
Suspense, in the sense of self-generated uncertainty,
The
On the
2 2 Z Evolution
What does all this have to do with the ornament? The ornament, too,
36
strives for a complex level of redundancy and variety
37
--in Hogarth's for-
mulation, for "the art of varying well" --as if in "serpentine lines. " Re-
dundancy is secured so long as the narrative contains enough detailed ref-
erences to the familiar world of the reader (short of serving him a story he
38
already knows! ).
ments are left open, but only a few of them concern the future (for the mystery novel, this means several possible ways of discovering the past). What is at stake in narrative, in other words, is the combination of con- nectivity and an open future. The question is which turn the line or the story might take. Prolonging the line under conditions of continued sus- pense amounts to crossing the boundary of the form while covering up
39
Suspense is created when several potential develop-
this crossing. It is therefore not surprising that Moritz,
the "metaphysical line of beauty" in the epic and in drama, emphasizes its strong curvature (in comparison with the line of truth) and what it omits, because it suggests the form of the closed circle. Nor should it strike us as odd that Friedrich Schlegel would call a novel (Diderot's Jacques lefatal- iste) an arabesque and object to the low esteem in which this form was held--according to Schlegel, the arabesque is "a fully determined and es-
40
sential form or mode of poetic expression. "
been suggested by Georg Lukacs, who claims that irony is the successor of
41
the ornament:
and downs of narrative events are played. We might call suspense, or per- haps irony, the inner forms of the novel's unity, forms that are compatible
42
In historical retrospect, an art produced in accordance with these prin-
ciples (and following these injunctions) might strike us as remarkable,
perhaps even as the culmination of European art. The second half of the
nineteenth century is preoccupied with the question of whether a careful
study of decorative style might be able to rejuvenate a style that was ev-
43
idently lacking.
again--one sacrificed the object in the visual arts, tonality in music, and the continuous story line in literature. By now, ornamentation had be- come what it has always been: a self-directing form combination, the tem- porality of observation, which is continually in search of what has yet to be decided.
But we still do not know how evolution managed to bring about this state of affairs.
irony is the persistently maintained key in which the ups
with, indeed demand, a great variety of narrated events.
Around 1900 the repertoire of styles expanded once
when speaking of
An alternative venue has
Evolution 223
III
The distinction with which the theory of evolution dissolves, displaces, represses, and renders invisible the paradoxical probability of the improb- able is the distinction between variation and selection--that is to say, an- otherdistinction. One can start all over again, if one can presuppose (which certainly does not go without saying) that variation and selection are sepa- rable in reality and can subsequently be distinguished by an observer.
In nineteenth-century theories of evolution, the notion of the "individ- ual" played a decisive role in explaining variation (as a precondition for se- lection). Of course, one needs to distinguish between two different ver- sions of the individual. Along with the concept of population, a collective individualism established itself against the traditional typological essen- tialism of the doctrine of species and genres. Populations are capable of evolution because they are made up of individuals. At first, one believes that the diversity of individual forms is the source of the adaptability of populations--that variety is a source of variation. Depending on the course of changing environmental conditions, one or the other character- istic grows stronger and is reproduced in large quantities. Applying this argument to human society, however, transforms it completely. Now, the large number of individuals increases the likelihood that some of them turn out to be creative, innovative, and powerful, and the statistical nor-
mality of such exceptional cases supports the explanation of evolutionary variation. No one would speak of particularly creative flies, birds, or frogs in order to account for changes in the behavior of a specific animal popu- lation. But for society, and especially for the realm of art, such explana- tions do make sense (at least ideologically), though it would be less plau- sible to focus on the diversity that exists in the form of a "population" of individual artists or works of art.
A long-standing cult of genius paved the way for the explanation of evo-
lution in terms of the individual. In retrospect, one can rephrase Kant's
distinction between genius (variety) and taste (selection) as a theory of
44
Thinking of variation and selection as internal functions of a
evolution.
system's evolution precludes the possibility of attributing the cause of evo-
45
lution or innovation to "great men and women. "
thinking in historical terms faced the problem of explaining why at certain times geniuses appear in large numbers while at other times they are nowhere to be found. Irregularities of this sort might be treated as a pecu-
An age that was already
2 2 4 Evolution
liarity of certain historical periods and charged to the account of the times themselves, which sometimes nourish and sometimes don't. It would be more fruitful, however, to invert the relationship between these variables and think of "genius" as the product rather than the cause of evolution. "Genius" stands for the improbability of emergence, and "taste" for the likelihood that works of art prevail. Genius must be admired; taste must be justified.
At first, this distinction appears as sheer difference, without a concept for the unity of what is distinguished. (This difference is accounted for, so to speak, by the creative power of genius). By means of a special trick, however, the theory of evolution can nonetheless come to terms with the unity of the distinction between variety and selection--namely, by posi- tioning this unity and the distinction side by side. The unity of the dis- tinction then assumes the name of a third, namely, stabilization or resta-
bilization. If there is variation--a positive or negative selection that takes into account or disregards a given variant in the reproduction of sys- tems--then it raises the questions: Under what kinds of structural condi- tions does the reproduction (of autopoietic systems) take place? How can a system continue to reproduce itself, if it accepts variation, or if it rejects
46
a possibility that offered itself (although other systems might use it )?
Problems of stabilization are not solely consequences of evolution; they do not solely occur after the fact. A system must already be stabilized if it is to offer opportunities for variation. Stability is the beginning and the end of evolution, a mode of structural change that simultaneously generates instability. This is why the evolutionary theoretical model, which abstracts from time, describes a circular relationship between variation, selection, and (re)stabilization. This is only an indication that the unfolding of the paradox takes time. It explains why, in superficial descriptions, evolution- ary theory is presented as a theory of processes. The systems-theoretical concept for this phenomenon is dynamic stability.
This abstract theoretical concept can be successfully applied to the em- pirical realm if one can show how in reality variation, selection, and (re)stabilization each depend on different conditions, in other words, if one can show that they occur in isolation. One tends to assume that the theory of evolution presupposes an accidental coordination of its mecha- nisms (rather than an integration that is contingent upon the system). The theory of organic evolution has successfully isolated these phenom- ena with concepts such as mutation, sexual reproduction, "natural selec-
Evolution 2 2 5
tion," or the selection of organisms for the reproduction and the ecologi- cal stabilization of populations. We need not concern ourselves with issues that are still debated within this (more or less "neo-Darwinian") theory, such as the notion of "adaptation" to the environment or "natural selec- tion. " At any rate, this entire apparatus for describing the functions of separation in biology is inapplicable in the domain of sociocultural or so- cial evolution. This is not to say that a theory of evolution cannot be for- mulated for society, but rather that functions of separation in this domain
47 must be described differently.
In systems theory, one can distinguish between operations (elements), structures, and the system, that is, one can discern a difference between sys- tem and environment. This distinction facilitates an appropriate attribu- tion of evolutionary mechanisms. One can speak of variation only where unexpected (new! ) operations occur. In these cases, selection concerns the structural value of an innovation: the innovation is either accepted as something worth repeating, or it is isolated as a singular occurrence and re- jected. Stability might be jeopardized in both cases, because new structures need to be integrated, and discarded innovations must be remembered or
48
perhaps become an object of regret. The sheer quantity of operations al-
lows trivial variations to occur on a gigantic scale, variations that, under
normal circumstances, vanish as soon as they take place. Occasionally their
structural value is recognized. In this case, selection becomes an issue.
When this happens, variation can endanger the system, exposing it to a
persistent pressure of irritation and forcing it to adapt internally to its own
49
problems.
This theoretical schema presupposes a system of sufficient complexity.
Evolutionary mechanisms cannot be thought of in isolation, unless one
can assume a "loose coupling" of multiple simultaneous operations, which
under normal circumstances ensures that variations are immediately elim-
inated; otherwise the pressure variation exerts upon structures would be
50
too high.
and tolerate structural change--in the sense of the older cybernetics, it must be organized in an "ultrastable" manner. Last but not least, evolution is possible only if the system can maintain the stability of prior and sub- sequent states and if it can distinguish between operations and structures, that is, between variations and selections. All of this precludes considering interactive systems among persons as capable of evolution, suggesting in- stead that the social system is the primary bearer of sociocultural evolu-
Apart from that, an evolving system must be able to localize
2 2 6 Evolution
tion. This raises the question--the only one of interest to us here-- whether one can speak of evolution in conjunction with social subsystems --specifically in conjunction with the art system.
Unlike the domain of evolutionary epistemology or the theory of sci- ence, in the domain of art hardly any preparatory work has been done for such analyses. In die past, evolutionary theories of social subdomains have typically been developed where, according to the self-understanding of the domain in question, problems of rationality have come to the fore: in sci- ence, for example, on the occasion of the transcendental-theoretical revo- lution and as a result of the current constructivist revolution; in the econ- omy because of doubts about whether the model of perfect competition can serve as a valid orientation; in law in view of the obsolescence of nat- ural law and the necessity of coming up with other (not just value-related) explanations for the selection of current law. It is evident that theories of evolution are also subject to evolution and that they tend to be advanced when doubts about rationality cannot be overcome in any other way. Art, however, has always thrived on the imagination, so that a typical occasion for evolutionary models of explanation never arose. Social-theoretical mod- els might conceivably be inadequate for applying the theory of evolution in die realm of art. Be this as it may, the nexus between systems theory and the theory of evolution outlined above could be an occasion to attempt an application of this sort with new theoretical tools.
IV
If one wants to apply the theoretical approach outlined above to art, one must first determine (just as in systems theory) the operation that provides the point of onset for variations. This must be the operation that supports whatever happens in art, which must not be confused with other opera- tions--otherwise one might end up with an evolution that has nothing to do with the system of art. Within the systems-theoretical framework we presented earlier, we can define this operation in only one way, namely, in terms of an observation that is focused on art. This notion covers both the production of art and the encounter with artworks. Formally, it indicates a specific way of choosing distinctions for the purpose of using one (but not the other) side as the starting point for further operations. The art- specific nature of such distinctions is evident in the realization that they are not placed haphazardly, but are positioned in relation to an emerging
Evolution 2 2 7
or existing work of art that demands, rewards, or disapproves of certain in- dications (and distinctions).
The evolution of a separate, art-specific domain within society is occa-
sioned by the fact that the artwork demands decisions concerning what
fits (is beautiful) or does not fit (is ugly), for which there is no external ori-
51
entation. We called the binary form of this unlikely occurrence "coding," and we shall use this concept to indicate the "take off" of a special kind of evolution. We can locate its beginning--which, relatively speaking, is without presuppositions--in an ornamental staggering of distinctions that exploit given conditions (for example, in pottery) in order to unfold a life of its own that is at first harmless, insignificant, indeed playful, and certainly dispensable. But this early stage already displays the features that later characterize art. A habitual pattern cries out, so to speak, for varia- tion. A small alteration yields consequences; it requires further elaboration and supplementation, or else it must be eliminated as inappropriate--and this happens repeatedly in numerous attempts that might succeed or fail, establish a tradition or perish. One form seizes the next, the side produced along with it needs to be filled, distinctions must be established or return back into themselves--and all of this is driven by an internal dynamic that propels the execution of these operations without much considera- tion for the object. Of course, the material must be receptive to such a dy- namic, and it must accommodate the purpose for which one wants to use the material. But the ornament decides for itself what fits and what does not fit. It creates an imaginary space that is stabilized by external factors without being determined by them. All of this can happen as a kind of "preadaptive advance"; there is no need to presuppose a differentiated sys- tem of art or specialized roles for artists and connoisseurs.
We argued earlier that even highly developed art forms can be traced to a kind of "inner ornament," if one pays attention to the connections be-
52
tween its distinctions.
gin with a sense for ornamentation, because ornamentation does not pre- suppose a distinct artistic realm, even though it is possible in such a realm--as if it were a matter of holding in reserve an as yet unknown fu-
53
ture. "Ritual is more than an ornamentation of time," writes Jan Assmann --but it is also just that. Art can start out from its internal ornamental structures and thus get a taste of what lies ahead. The ornament is a pos- session, which art can develop further by ever more bold distinctions and an ever more expanding imagination. From this starting point, self-assured,
The evolution of an imaginary space of art can be-
228 Evolution
art can establish relations to the world and copy familiar or desirable fea-
tures into itself. From within the ornament, which still dominates the
work, human or animal bodies emerge; or poetry creates texts, in which
sound and rhythm function as ornament. Works themselves become free
to refer to all kinds of meanings. Even when this freedom is restricted, de-
cisions remain; even when adhering to classical models, one must pay at-
tention to what is fitting when representing a Dying Gaul. Occasions for
reconstructive invention arise more frequently when die material--the
techniques or frames--is altered, and one must either determine what
kinds of formal combinations are still feasible or else experiment with new
possibilities. Such occasions arise in conjunction with the transformation of
the mural into painting on canvas, or in the relationship between painting,
mosaic, and tapestry; they arise when music that accompanies dance is dis-
engaged from the movement of the body, or when music is played with a
different set of instruments: when one stops using wood to create sculp-
tures, then abandons rock and clay for the sake of granite or marble, then
finally returns to wood; when large sculptures are replicated on a minuscule
scale in ivory; when one considers the relationship between woodblock and
lithograph or between pencil and chalk drawings. Examples could be mul-
54
tiplied,
clear, however, that the struggle with media that impose different kinds of constraints draws attention to the formal correlations that can be realized within these media.
This kind of trial already constitutes an observation specific to art, both with regard to the production of a work and to the appreciation of the work as art. The entire process begins to orient itself recursively, generat- ing a demand for criteria and a need for structure, which stimulate an evo- lution capable of preserving striking occurrences for trie sake of repetition or deviation.
Observation in this sense is the smallest unit in the artistic process. Even when the observational schema is employed repeatedly, the observ- ing operation remains a singularity that vanishes spontaneously and al- ways occurs for the first and last time. This operation focuses on a certain posture in dance (or in sculpture, as in the Laocoon), on a single color that has a certain place and intensity in a painting, on how a certain action in a given narrative moves the plot along or clarifies the motives established by the plot. {Every time a work of art is produced or understood, innu- merable observing operations are necessary. As is typical in evolutionary
but supplying evidence for such innovative thrusts is difficult. It is
Evolution 2 2 9
variations, we are dealing with a massive occurrence of trivial processes that, under normal circumstances, would be of no consequence! At this point, a kind of miniselection already takes place, as well as a test for sta- bility, which resembles the mechanisms at play in the mutations of or- ganic evolution. This raises the question of whether the decisions and opinions that have been established about a given work of art can be sus- tained in the course of further observation, or whether they have to be sacrificed or corrected.
The trivialization of operations that are sensitive to variation shows clearly that this process cannot yet be called evolutionary selection. If structural change is to yield evolutionary consequences, then it must start from a different level. In general, evolutionary selection presupposes that the adaptive relationship between system and environment is preserved in the course of variations by virtue of the system's autopoiesis (this makes selection possible and constrains it at the same time). But it does not tell us anything about the manner in which selection operates. So far as rela- tionships between meanings are concerned, the problem of selection ap- pears to reside in the reusability of the points of view that guide selection, that is, in an identification that simultaneously varies and confirms these points of view. Such identifications require that operations are observed not only as a series of situation-dependent chance events but also as the realization of a program. The differentiation of evolutionary variation and
55
selection rests on the observational level of (self-)programming.
level of observation constitutes itself only when artworks impress the be- holder as successful--whether one prefers the "novelty" of such works or whether they are produced only for the sake of deviation. At first, it might have always been a matter of imitating successful artworks that subse- quently served as models for creating variations on a given theme. There is more than one Pieth, and what is later diagnosed as a change in style might have established itself in this manner. Certain trends emerge and realize themselves in multiple variants--for example, the trend toward re- alism in portraits. One further complicates the construction of ornaments that repeat simple basic patterns and therefore react differently to varia- tions. Another example is increasing freedom in the posture of sculptures, which, when they are skillfully crafted, serve as proof of precisely this skill. So far as music is concerned, one could mention the formal impulses that result from the introduction of new instruments or from the fixation of music in musical notation.
This
2 3 0 Evolution
Unlike other, more rigidly programmed functional systems, in the evo- lution of the art system one cannot presuppose the existence of selection criteria in the way one can assume a profit motive in the economy, a crite- rion of methodological correctness in science, or the distinction equality/ inequality in current legal practice. If artworks constitute their own pro- grams, then they can convince only after the fact. Successful art can be ob- served in terms of criteria only in retrospect, and the question is always whether to imitate or to improve the work, or whether the innovation is based on rejecting all previous criteria. In an extreme sense, this is true of "modern" art, especially when it acts capriciously enough to explode the boundaries of the tolerable and pulls the rug out from underneath all pre- viously valid criteria. Doing so requires a memory that allows the art sys- tem to construct and reconstruct its evolution as if it followed an intelligi- ble order. Seen in such a way, it is no accident that the suspension of previous frame conditions and the emergence of an academic art history occur at the same time and that both demarcate an era by virtue of their operations and their observations.
That types are formed in retrospect has been observed in the art system for quite some time, under such catchwords as maniera, make, style. At first, such types were considered as a means of distinguishing and classify- ing styles and of assigning them to appropriate topics; then they served to recognize changes in styles; and finally, since Winckelmann, they have served as a means of art-historical analysis. We can therefore refer to "style" as the formal level where the evolutionary selection of structure takes place. One must keep in mind, however, that the concept of style is by no
56
means unequivocal;
and is a result of evolution (which is precisely what gives us the license for theoretical abstraction). This leads to the hypothesis we suggested earlier, namely, that the transition to modern art motivated the search for, and the discovery of, an alternative to the freedom of stylistic choice, which resides in the expansion or even dissolution of frame conditions (such as tonality in music or object orientation in painting) that, up to this point, facili- tated the emergence of specific styles and their variations. It looks as if evo- lution motivated the system to introduce concepts that call attention to the difference in level between operation and structure (or variation and selection); apparently such concepts established the boundaries that sub- sequently provoked their transgression.
In sum, these developments brought about what Darwin sought to ex-
the concept has been subject to historical change
Evolution 231
plain: a variety of species. Evolution does not guarantee survival; as a mat- ter of fact, most species in life and in art have vanished or are about to vanish. We are not dealing with essences, whether secured by nature or by a cosmos of essences. But evolution remains problematic, and so does the question of how such a proliferation of species is possible to begin with.
In the evolution of artistic genres, the development of types bifurcates in the wake of the differentiation of perceptual media for seeing and hear- ing and along with the differentiation of space and time. Any further de- velopment becomes a matter of additional bifurcations (text-art, painting, sculpture) or of combining seeing and hearing (film, theater). Under these frame conditions, a differentiation of genres occurs, which is culturally and historically important but unstable. Among these genres, the diversity of textual arts is the most impressive--displaying a wide spectrum from the epic to the epigram, from the novel to the short story, from the metric differentiation of the lyric to theme-based narrative genres (such as biog- raphy, the historical novel, science fiction, the mystery novel, and so forth). This differentiation of types is not to be understood as a "fight for life" be- tween the epic and the ode (or as a struggle for attention). The principle of competition is supplemented by the insight into the advantages--sug-
57
gested and facilitated by specific "frames" --of "insulating" innovations,
so that they do not immediately transform the entire art system.
The consequences of the separation of variation and selection and their effects are crucial for the differentiation of an art system and for the sta- bility of such a system. From the perspective of the art system, the inter- nal differentiations that establish themselves in this process no longer cor- respond to those one finds in the social environment of this system: they have nothing to do with the separation between the state apparatus and political parties, let alone with the internal differentiation of the party spectrum itself; nor do they correspond to the differentiation of banking houses and savings banks, grade schools and high schools, or to the inter- nal differentiation of faculties, not to speak of the mega-differentiations of religion, politics, the economy, education, and so on. Any one-to-one cor- respondence between system and environment (of the kind one observes
58
in tribal societies that practice a totem symbolism, for example ) is inter-
rupted. The art system decouples itself from its social environment. To be sure, the social environment does supply certain divisions in the form of neurophysiologically integrated orders that become distinguishable in die form of media of perception. While these "natural" boundaries anticipate
2 3 2 Evolution
the evolution of art, it is easy to see that they present no obstacle to a fur- ther differentiation of types, neither in the realm of seeing nor in the realm of hearing. Perhaps the differences among these media of percep- tion provide an indispensable impulse for such a differentiation.
At any rate, the "mismatch" between the system and its social environ-
ment isolates the art system from the evolution of society in general. This
is not to say that the evolution of society is without significance for the
evolution of art. On the contrary! It certainly is, but only for the internal
evolution of art. For better or for worse, art exploits the evolutionary
transformation that leads from a stratified to a functionally differentiated
59
society. But it meets this transition halfway by virtue of its internal evo-
lution. The noncorrespondence between these two types of differentiation
forces art to develop criteria for its own affairs. In the shadow of the Aris-
totelian tradition, one continued to speak of imitation well into the eigh-
teenth century, and the beginnings of a modern philosophical "aesthetics"
were motivated by the search for a common notion of beauty in nature
60
Within this framework, Hutcheson already suggested a notion
and art.
of absolute beauty, which, he believed, grounds all other types of compar-
61
ative or relative (imitative) beauty.
principle of beauty show that this is not a matter of differentiating be- tween Whigs and Tories; nor does it concern the practices of accounting in firms or of determining a focus for research in the new sciences that were about to develop into disciplines.
Starting in antiquity, guiding concepts such as harmony, balanced pro- portion, or the notion of a unity that shines through multiplicity served to
62
reconcile a sense of beauty with religion.
concepts guaranteed stability. The cosmos, understood as nature or as cre- ation, gathered a multiplicity (which can be distinguished! ) into a unity:
63
rerum dissimilium convenientia [the agreement of things dissimilar]. artistic achievements of the Renaissance inherited this notion of beauty but put it to the test, both in texts and in view of what could be repre- sented at all. On the one hand, there were no direct links to an envi- ronment ordered along the lines of politics, religion, or households. If art was appreciated, then it was appreciated as art. On the other hand, the trust in one's own critical judgment was strengthened through experiences in the workshop, comparison with other artworks, and texts that addressed issues related to art. After the notion of a general mathematical-musical- architectural world harmony was sacrificed in the sixteenth century (be-
The efforts to determine a universal
In evolutionary terms, such
The
Evolution
233
cause musical proportions could not be rendered in architecture
to create its own concept of nature and aim at "another nature. " conceded that much, then the principle of imitation could survive as a topic for quite some time; but it could no longer guarantee stability in the sense that beautiful forms could be readily repeated and reproduced.
Discussions based on criteria specific to art then began to take place. Art
mobilized, as we have pointed out, a memory of its own to orient itself in
its own history. The initial impulse was to consider everything according
to the schema of rank, as if discussing criteria were a matter of imitating
social hierarchy. One debated the primacy of individual artists and genres
and, above all, the hierarchical relationship between the ancients and the
66
moderns.
network of rules--especially in texts concerning poetics--from which one violently sought to free oneself. In the sixteenth century, the discussion of criteria was still oriented toward educational tasks. In the seventeenth cen- tury, the propagation of "beautiful appearance" in the form of art over- lapped with the science des mceurs, with the theory of political (= public) conduct, and with the doctrine of passionate love, even though there was no exact correspondence between these realms. Hutcheson still sought a unifying principle capable of comprehending the beautiful, the true, and the good, of uniting the beauty of nature and art, and of reconciling sci-
67
entific theorems and moral principles.
in these function-specific realms--such as the increasing orientation of politics toward the state and enhanced intimacy in love relationships-- such notions were dismissed one after the other. What remained was the problem of how to define criteria, a problem framed as an inquiry into the nature of beauty--that is, in a manner that did not yet distinguish be- tween coding and programming. At least officially, reflection on the art system was cast as the problem of defining beauty. But how could one come to terms with this problem, if experience showed that further differ- entiation required the generalization of symbols that nonetheless claimed
68 to represent the unity of the system?
We can assume further that the experience of a criterion-dependent se- lection of art affects the perception of artworks as well. If it is obvious that a work follows injunctions--that is, if rules and works are observed sepa- rately, yet simultaneously--the results no longer satisfy. They appear mo- notonous and uninteresting. Works produced in the classical style are no longer appreciated. Apart from the postulate of originality, the eighteenth
The result, in the seventeenth century, was a tightly woven
Because of internal developments
64
), art had
65
If one
234 Evolution
century demanded that works fulfill die additional requirement of being
"sublime," "interesting," "bizarre," "gothic," "picturesque. " Such formu-
las sought to explode the previous norms of "decorum" or "bienseance" de 69
rigueur. If one could no longer rely on generally accepted and stable cri- teria, one could at least agree on the desire for variation. Then one would be ready to concede that works of art speak to the "lower" senses of the upper classes.
In the second half of the eighteenth century, the concept of style was historicized, along with many other traditional concepts. The emergence of historical thinking uprooted the querelle des anciens et modernes--which still relied on universal comparative criteria--and the issues of that debate were displaced by analyses of historical correlations in the emergence and transformation of styles, especially in art. Styles were now defined both fac- tually and temporally. They displayed style-immanent criteria--one might say, programs for programming art. Such criteria could no longer be canonized. (Instead, one invented "classicism. ") Style provides its own directives for stylistic deviation, which is always justified when the execu- tion of the artwork succeeds. This evolutionary step destabilized the struc- tural factors that secure selection. A selection that concerns a certain style cannot also guarantee the evolutionary restabilization of the structural change it brings about. At that point the evolutionary functions of selec- tion and restabilization separate. As a result evolution gains a momentum that continually surpasses itself. There are parallels in other functional sys- tems: consider die role of profit in the economy, of passion in love, of a context-bound reason of state as a criterion of politics, and of positivity as a criterion of law. From a social-theoretical perspective, such parallels in- dicate a correlation between functional differentiation and an accelerated evolutionary structural change that affects individual functional systems in different ways, depending on their own criteria of selection. Art criti- cism can no longer appeal to individually correct insights; instead, it must be content--following the romantics--to reflect upon given accomplish- ments and merely collaborate in the creation of art. The experience of the system's internal dynamic forces one to base its stability on autonomy and to ensure that art--by means of "ideas" or by deliberate breaks with tra- dition--remains distinguishable and observable.
In such a situation, functional systems explore new semantic stabilities that are capable of oudasting such fluidities while still allowing one to for- mulate the unity and the point of one's endeavor. Typically, one sought so-
Evolution
*35
70
lutions in values. Heydenreich already questioned the value of purposes. Along with the claim of a unique, art-specific value formulated initially in terms of an "idea," art made its entrance into the nineteenth century. It is a peculiarity of values to be capable of retaining their identity even under conditions of change. They present themselves as a plurality, undisturbed by the presence of other values that might be preferable in certain situa- tions. On the contrary, displacing a disadvantaged value preserves its memory as a consolation. The notion of value indicates the manner in which the system secures its own stability while attempting to incorporate innovations. Schopenhauer believed that the object of aesthetic contem- plation was not the mere objecthood of individual artworks but "the idea that strives to reveal itself in them, that is, the adequate objectification of
71
the will at a certain stage. "
declaring: "These lectures are dedicated to Aesthetics; its object is the vast realm of the beautifuland, more specifically, art, in particular the fine arts, constitute its domain. " For Hegel, the "object" indicates the moment in which the self-reproducing consciousness experiences its own determina- tion. We can rephrase this insight as follows: the object is the system's memory.
In this way, the perspective of stability is indicated as a value. But in the context of a theory of observation and description one wants to know what the value distinguishes itself from. It goes without saying that this cannot be the countervalue of ugliness; after all, not everything that is not art (business, for example, or politics) deserves to be called ugly. The de- bate about criteria thus gives rise to problems within the self-description of the art system, and these problems point to the difference between self- reference and hetero-reference. Problems resulting from the system's need to maintain stability in the face of evolutionary change must be dealt with in the realm of the systems self-description, and this description varies de- pending on how art distinguishes itself from nonart. That topic deserves careful attention, and we therefore postpone it to the following chapter.
V
After all that has been said, the evolution of art is its own accomplish- ment. It cannot be caused by external intervention--neither the sponta- neous creativity of individual artists, nor a kind of "natural selection" by
72
Hegel still began his lectures on aesthetics by
the social environment, as Darwinian theories would have to assume.
236 Evolution
Nor can evolution be explained, as it used to be, by appealing to origins or beginnings. The theory of evolution is designed in a circular rather than a linear manner, because variation presupposes a prior state that, as a result of evolution, is stable enough to absorb variation and perhaps even evaluate it. As our previous analyses have shown, the separation between the levels of variation and selection is a result of evolution. Evolution
73
brings forth its own conditions and hence itself evolves. Recourse to an
origin in order to account for evolutionary trends becomes obsolete, in-
74
deed, becomes suspect.
In the final analysis, a circular conception of the theory of evolution
serves to reformulate the problem of the probability of the improbable or the problem of stability, which is the beginning and end of evolutionary changes in structure. Eventually, one might ask: How can an autopoietic system come into existence, if it must presuppose itself in all of its opera- tions in order to recognize what does and what does not belong to the system?
Gunther Teubner suggests that we give up thinking of autopoiesis in terms of a rigid either/or and adopt a more gradual version of the concept
75
that would solve this problem (or perhaps only make it more gradual? ). This suggestion, however, gives away the decisive advantages of the con- cept of autopoiesis, for no compelling reason. One can solve the same problem via the concept of "preadaptive advances," which has proven use- ful in the theory of evolution.
Of course, evolution is not possible without presuppositions; it is not creatio ex nihilo. Evolution presupposes a sufficiently prepared world, in which autopoietic systems can close themselves off and operate as if they had existed there before. Numerous examples could be cited--such as the
76
emergence of writing,
or the emergence of money in the form of coins
in the trading houses of Sardinia.
77
Innovations of this sort may or may
not initiate the "take off" of a new branch of sociocultural evolution. For
the art system, there are good (and goodly debatable) reasons for believing
that such a take off--which differentiates the art system from religion,
politics, and the economy and initiates an evolution of irresistible struc-
tural changes--happened only once in world history, namely, in early
78
modern Europe.
The preconditions for this evolution can be specified with accuracy
and situated historically. They reside in the already existent, highly de- veloped artistic skill and literary culture of the artes and in a poetics that
Evolution
237
offers models and allows for imitation and critical appreciation. These conditions established themselves in Europe, especially after, in the late Middle Ages, works of antiquity began to be rediscovered and admired. At first, no uniform concept could cover both the visual arts and paint- ing; nor did one have a sense of art as separate from the outside world. But an admiration of perfection oriented to the work made it possible for the "Renaissance" to assume that art already existed and only needed to be reactualized
Under such conditions, art takes off--epigenetically, indeed, counterin- tuitively and against all declared intentions. One could just as well have continued to imitate existing models or experiment with new themes in ap- propriate fashion (maniera). In addition, a second factor has to be taken into account. The development of early modern society toward functional differentiation establishes radically new environmental conditions and cre- ates stability conditions of a different kind for the self-differentiating art system. As we indicated in Chapter 4, supporting contexts for art were ini- tially provided by the courts of the new territorial states and later by the emerging art market, both of which allowed art a certain degree of in- difference and willfulness in relation to the environment. Moreover, the splitting off of Protestantism from the Catholic Church undermined the certainty of the established religious world order. The intensification of religious propaganda led to a powerful critique of the internal dynamic of the art system--from the Protestant as well as from the Catholic side-- which, however, could not prevail and merely ended up radicalizing the problem of art-internal criteria. The development of the modern empirical- mathematical sciences relieved art from competition, especially in the edu- cational sector. Science could no longer interfere with art, nor could art in- terfere witli science. Debates about rank subsided. This development culminated around 1800, when art found itself in a societal system where it had to operate without external support, even if environmental conditions such as economic purchasing power or political nonintervention remained as important as before.
One can discuss this briefly sketched development from a number of different perspectives. For systems theory, it concerns the differentiation of the art system. When treating the self-description of the art system, we shall return to the consequences of differentiation for a reflection on the meaning of art. In the context of a theory of evolution, one can show that changes within socially presupposed stability conditions yield possibilities
238 Evolution
of variation and selection that are left to their own internal dynamic and lead to a rapidly accelerating, self-generated structural change.
When its attention was focused inward, the art system had greater op- portunities for variation, and it could expand its own criteria of selection --indeed, make them more "irrational" (if "rationality" means employing criteria that are equally acceptable in a scientific, religious, or political sense). In this way, art could cultivate intuition, imagination, exaggeration, deception, obscurity, and ambivalence and exploit these means to refer back to itself. Artistic endeavors that supported religion or politics were then criticized as "pompous. " What one later calls "baroque" aimed at op- tical illusion, especially in the construction of churches and castles but also in painting and internal architecture, as if ingeniously to escape the by now discredited representational demands of religious and political do- mains of intelligibility by adhering to these demands without fulfilling them. Another way of eluding such demands was by discovering the every- day life of peasants and burghers. At the same time, allegory provided the means to represent ideas in the form of abstract concepts and to personify such concepts. One cultivated paradox in literature with the intent of en-
79
forcing a creative, paralogical search for escape. A multileveled structure
of deception and self-deception became the object of poetry, of the theater,
and of the novel. In relation to modern science (for example, of the sort
advanced by Galileo), art no longer thought of itself as opting for false-
hood (as it did in the sixteenth-century historialpoesia debate). These issues
no longer mattered. The true/false code was "rejected" as a guiding dis-
80
and science, for its part, was no longer interested in registering
tinction,
the representations of the belles lettres and of the arts as "falsehoods. "
The debate about criteria took on a dynamic of its own, apparently be- cause it was no longer affected by external factors. One understood that autonomy, enforced by nonidentity, is a necessity of self-determination. As early as the seventeenth century, this understanding undermined the orientation toward proven recipes and rules. The emerging reflection on art pursued a separatist course that aims at the inexplicable--no so che, je ne sais quoi.