Aesthetical views of Vojislav Vučković in the light of 'Theory of reflection and critical theory'

Abstract

Although Vojislav Vučković (1910-1942) did not leave an elaborate and selfcontained theoretical system behind, his creativity can nevertheless be perceived from a relatively integral perspective, thanks to collections of papers published posthumously. It should be kept in mind that our great composer lost his life at the pinnacle of productivity; hence, we can safely say that his work was interrupted in every sense of the word, and thus left somewhat fragmentary. There is a very significant difference between the views on problem solving he advocated in his early essays and those he promoted before and during the war, given that the timespan involved is just ten years (1932-1942). Based on these theoretical wanderings, one could assume that Vučković was following the intensive changes on the West European theoretical stage of his time, endeavouring to shape his standpoints in a dialogue with the main theoretical currents. In this text, I will try to highlight the possible connections between some of Vuþkoviügs views and the theories which left an important imprint on the cultural life of Europe between the wars, such as the theory of reflection by Todor Pavlov (1890-1977) and critical (aesthetical) theory by Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) and Walter Benjamin (1892-1940). It should be said that Vučković used Pavlov's theory directly, but in a quite distinctive way which, alongside the theoretical trends of the upcoming generation of Marxist thinkers, was close to the critical standpoints of distinguished members of the Frankfurt School, who in those years, like Vučković, were writing new chapters of the history of aesthetics