Kitsch and art

What is kitsch? What is behind its appeal? More important, what is wrong with kitsch? Though central to our modern and postmodern culture, kitsch has not been seriously and comprehensively analyzed; its aesthetic worthlessness has been generally assumed but seldom explained. Kitsch and Art seeks to give this phenomenon its due by exploring the basis of artistic evaluation and aesthetic value judgments. Tomas Kulka examines kitsch in the visual arts, literature, music, and architecture. To distinguish kitsch from art, Kulka proposes that kitsch depicts instantly identifiable, emotionally charged objects or themes, but that it does not substantially enrich our associations relating to the depicted objects or themes. He then addresses the deceptive nature of kitsch by examining the makeup of its artistic and aesthetic worthlessness. Ultimately Kulka argues that the mass appeal of kitsch cannot be regarded as aesthetic appeal, but that its analysis can illuminate the nature of art appreciation.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. What Is Kitsch? -- A Note on the Problem of Definition -- Kitsch and Its Object -- Identifiability -- Transformation and Enrichment of Associations -- Concluding Remarks -- 2. Why Is Kitsch Worthless? -- Aesthetic Properties That Make Works of Art Good -- The Dilemma -- The Case of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon -- The Artistic and the Aesthetic Value of Art -- The Artistic Worthlessness of Kitsch -- The Logical Structure of Aesthetic Value Judgments -- The Concept of Unity -- Complexity and Intensity

The Aesthetic Worthlessness of Kitsch -- Concluding Remarks -- 3. Varieties of Kitsch -- A Note on Photography -- A Note on Literature -- Music and Architecture -- Pop Art and Kitsch -- Conclusion -- Appendix: On the Alleged Impossibility of Defining Aesthetic Concepts -- Select Bibliography -- Index