RP234 Art for the Masses

 RP234 Art for the Masses

The word “kitsch” comes from German words for “taking out the trash” or “to make something cheaply.” That's not high praise for an art form! Yet Professor Thomas Kulka says, “If works of art were judged democratically— that is, according to how many people like them— kitsch would easily defeat all its competitors.” How are we going to understand and value kitsch?

The term “kitsch” came to be used in the modern sense in the 1860s in Munich. Munich art dealers called their cheap, marketable artistic goods “kitsch.” These goods were very popular among newly wealthy families seeking art to decorate their homes. Snobs looked down on these newly rich, who could afford real art but couldn't recognize it. Kitsch, then, refers to art appreciated by the uneducated or uncultured. It's art that isn't art.

The definition of kitsch relates to our way of evaluating art. Immanuel Kant, who influenced the Western definition of art, said that appealing directly to the senses was “barbaric.” Real art, high art, must be indirect. It must evoke complex, contradictory emotions. Kitsch is too straightforward. Kitsch takes the easy way out: sad kittens evoke pity, smiling children create happiness. It may be ugly because of poor production, but it's never ugly on purpose. Kitsch aims for cuteness.

Kitsch is also fundamentally democratic. It's mass-produced, widely available, accessible, and understandable. For some lovers of art and culture, some kitsch transcends its poor quality to become “so bad it's good.” Many kitsch objects are collectible and even valuable. They are valued not for their artistic quality but for their lack of it. Ironically, they become expensive, sought after, and appreciated. They are no longer democratic. They are objects for those who understand, who are cultured. They become real art. Perhaps kitsch is more complex than we think?

Tacky, cheap, sentimental, democratic, fair, accessible, cute. Kitsch challenges us to define the limits of art and examine our definitions of beauty, value, and taste.