Abstract
This paper aims to clarify the historical relationship between art and technology in Theodor W. Adorno’s aesthetic theory. In the essay “Funktionalismus heute” (“Functionalism Today,” 1965), Adorno criticizes the paradox of functionalism, which is that although functionalism had completely denied ornament, it became the ornamental style of the intellectual upper class. According to Adorno, this paradox is caused by the absolute separation of art and technology. In functionalism, these two notions are strictly distinguished from each other. However, he asserts that since art and technology primarily originate from mimesis, the imitative instinct of humans, they are historically interconnected and can thus never be separated; something that is purely art or purely technology can never exist.
