Kitsch and art / Tomas Kulka.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kulka, Tomáš, author.

Standardized Title:

Umění a kýč. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arts, Modern--20th century.

Arts, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (148 pages)

Place of Publication:

University Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Introduction

1. What Is Kitsch

2. Why Is Kitsch Worthless

3. Varieties of Kitsch

Appendix: On the Alleged Impossibility of Defining Aesthetic Concepts

Select Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [129]-133) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780271074184

0271074183

OCLC:

1347260421