Kitsch and contemporary culture

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of kitsch by interpreting it as "bad" art of a particular kind. It draws mainly, but not exclusively, on Karsten Harries's phenomenological exploration of kitsch to provide a framework from which to approach kitsch in contemporary (postmodern) culture. It is shown that, by uncovering attributes of kitsch such as the self-enjoyment of the spectator and lack of reflective distance, Harries provides valuable pointers for assessing what is ultimately the anaesthetizing political function of kitsch in contemporary culture.