‘The truth content of artworks is their social truth; by crystallizing itself according to its own law of form, rather than complying with existing social norms and being ’socially useful’, it criticizes the existing state of things by merely existing.’

The name of this exhibition is also the name of an ongoing series that restages or re-performs talks in the spaces - different art institutional contexts - that philosopher Peter Osborne has previously been invited to give them, with the intention of disseminating an intellectually serious philosophy of art and art criticism, with particular focus on the understanding of ‘truth content’ in art.

It follows the logic of the six stages of learning or skill acquisition as set out by Hubert L. Dreyfus in his book On the Internet (2008 - part of the series ‘Thinking in Action’), and is situated at the third stage (‘Competence’), since developing competence involves imitation of a teacher, which usually mostly occurs unconsciously; like in creative writing courses, one mimics different voices before learning to speak in one’s own.

‘In modernity, we tend to ask how can we ever get out of our inner, private, subjective experience so as to be in the presence of the things and people in the external world?’

Part of the argument of the text by Dreyfus is that, in so far as we wish to gain ‘expertise and mastery in particular domains’, the imitation of an expert is necessary, for ‘learning through apprenticeship requires the bodily presence of masters’. The aim is to begin as a novice, become competent, and gain proficiency and expertise, before becoming a master oneself.

'Only emotional, involved, embodied human beings can become proficient and expert.'

It was at this space that Osborne first gave the lecture ‘An interminable avalanche of categories': conceptual issues in the work of Robert Smithson (or, once more, against ‘sculpture’) on Thursday June 5th, 2008, at 7pm.

The original talk with accompanying slide projector re-present it in all its details, including expressive nuances, for example the generous sprinkling of bon mots.

Included as part of the exhibition is material concerning Theodor W. Adorno’s final lecture* (part of a course on Aesthetics) before he retired from public life, to continue work on Aesthetic Theory.**

Also included is artist Hito Steyerl’s single channel video work Adorno’s Grey (2012), which shows two conservators scraping the walls of his lecture hall, looking for a legendary grey that Adorno had painted in order to promote concentration.

*'The Classicism of Goethe's Iphigenie’ (1967). As Polity Press continues to publish translations of Adorno’s lecture courses, this will soon be available.

**After resorting to calling the police to have an activist group removed from campus, a lecture he was giving on Goethe was interrupted by a form of Aktionismus (Actionism), what has come to be known as Busenaktion (Breast Action): three female students bared their breasts and then proceeded to shower him with flower petals.