Kitsch and Art
eBook - PDF

Kitsch and Art

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Kitsch and Art

About this book

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.

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Yes, you can access Kitsch and Art by Thomas Kulka in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Art Theory & Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. List of Illustrations
  6. Preface
  7. Introduction
  8. 1. What Is Kitsch?
  9. 2. Why Is Kitsch Worthless?
  10. 3. Varieties of Kitsch
  11. Appendix: On the Alleged Impossibility of Defining Aesthetic Concepts
  12. Select Bibliography
  13. Index