The changing meaning of kitsch : from rejection to acceptance

This book inaugurates a new phase in kitsch studies. Kitsch, an aesthetic slur of the 19th and the 20th century, is increasingly considered a positive term and at the heart of today’s society. Eleven distinguished authors from philosophy, cultural studies and the arts discuss a wide range of topics including beauty, fashion, kitsch in the context of mourning, bio-art, visual arts, architecture and political kitsch. In addition, the editors provide a concise theoretical introduction to the volume and the subject. The role of kitsch in contemporary culture and society is innovatively explored and the volume aims not to condemn but to accept and understand why kitsch has become acceptable today. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Images Kitsch: From Rejection to Acceptance—On the Changing Meaning of Kitsch in Today’s Cultural Production (Introduction) 1 The History of “Kitsch” and Its Everyday Use 2 The Artworld Has Gone Kitsch 3 The Content of the Book Bibliography Part I: Kitsch and Life Kitsch in the Hypermodern Era 1 The Extension of Kitsch Domains Hyperbolic Kitsch Design, Brand, and Store 2 Kitsch, Seduction Capitalism, and the Individualization of Consumption Second-Level Kitsch The Kitschization of Subjectivity 3 On Kitsch Considered as one of the Fine Arts The Plural Aesthetics of Neo-Kitsch The All-Art The Institutional Acknowledgment of Kitsch Consecration by the Art Market: Kitsch at a High Price Bibliography Sailing the Seas of Cheese 1 Introduction 2 Nearby Concepts Unpleasant Tacky Cheap/Chintzy Tasteless Trite Crass Schlock Corny Cliché Showy 3 Kitsch, Camp, and Cheese Kitsch Camp Cheese 4 Some Theoretical Points About Who Cares Intentionalism and Anti-intentionalism The Naïve Aesthetic Theory of Art The Paradox of Negative Art Postmodernism Bibliography Kitsch in Relation to Loss 1 Characterizing Kitsch 2 Kitsch in Mourning 3 The Inevitability and Aptness of Kitsch 4 What of the Moral Objections? Bibliography Old Tricks for a New Dog: Toilet Humor, Politicized Kitsch, and the Trump Presidency Bibliography Part II: Kitsch and Culture Kitsch and Architecture 1 Toy Style 2 Bauhaus Hawaiian 3 Pizza Tower and/or the Tower of Pizza Bibliography From Fashion as Kitsch to Kitsch in Fashion: Redefining Beauty and Taste Today 1 Introduction 2 Fashion as Kitsch 3 Fashion, Class, Gender, and Kitsch: Redefining Beauty and Taste Today From Shock to Acceptance: Subversive Deconstructions Camp, Kitsch, Queer, and the Vulgar in Fashion Exhibitions 4 When Fashion Meets (Pop) Art: Collaborations, Appropriations, Intersections 5 Conclusion Bibliography Digital Kitsch: Art and Kitsch in the Informational Milieu 1 The Artist Looking at Kitsch 2 Kitsch Is Everything That Men Call Kitsch14 3 Digital Kitsch 4 Art and Kitsch in the Informational Milieu 5 NFTs, “Crypto Art,” and Kitsch Bibliography Kitsch, Beauty and Artistic Practice 1 Avant-Garde and Kitsch 2 Beauty Forgotten or Dethroned? 3 Artistic Practice and Fear of Kitsch 4 Conclusion Bibliography Biokitsch in Art: And the Survival of the Prettiest 1 Introduction 2 Friction in Nature/Culture 3 Between Original and Fake; Flowers 4 Flora and Fauna Becoming Kitsch 5 Biokitsch 6 Conclusion: Survival of the Prettiest Bibliography Online References Epilogue: What Next? Bibliography Index