Regional Kitsch

Max Ryynänen

Abstract


I hereby raise a new subdivision of kitsch to become an object of philosophical reflection. While a broad variety of objects is mentioned in studies on everyday kitsch – i.e. knickknacks, to here mark a difference towards bad ‘art’ called kitsch – there are no notes on regional kitsch per se. There is a difference between regional kitsch, anchored to regions and broader geographical wholes, and the type of ‘urban’ kitsch, which scholars have been discussing more, i.e. kitsch that presents kitschified versions of famous statues and architecture, objects that represent their cities (e.g. Michelangelo’s David represents Florence). While miniature David statues and Eiffel Towers are for tourists only, regional kitsch seems to have a more positive meaning for local inhabitants. Regional kitsch also focuses more on local culture through its everyday objects and atmosphere. Could it have a bigger role in building identity than what we have so far realized? The main aim of this article is to describe and present the phenomenon in the framework of kitsch research, and to provide a basis for further study of regional kitsch.


Keywords


kitsch, aesthetics, popular culture, mass culture, mass art, knickknacks

Full Text:

PDF (English)

References


Anderson, Erik (2010) “Sailing the Seas of Cheese.” Contemporary Aesthetics, Vol 8. Link: http: / / www.contempaesthetics.org / new volume / pages / article.php?articleID=583.

Barragán, Paco and Max Ryynänen (2023), “Kitsch: From Rejection to Acceptance – On The Changing Meaning of Kitsch in Cultural Production (Introduction),” in The Changing Meaning of Kitsch: From Rejection to Acceptance, 1-62. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Calinescu, Matei (1986) Five Faces of Modernity: Modernism, Avant-Garde, Decadence, Kitsch, and Postmodernism. Durham: Duke University Press.

David, Robert and Gary Marvin (2004), Venice, the Tourist Maze. A Cultural Critique of the World’s Most Touristed City. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Eco, Umberto (1964). Apocalittici e integrati: Comunicazioni di massa e teorie della cultura di massa. Milano: Bompiani.

Emmer, C.E. (1998) “Kitsch Against Modernity.” Art Criticism 13 (1). 53-80.

Gans, Herbert (1974) Popular Culture and High Culture. New York: Basic Books.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang (1976) Italianische Reise. Frankfurt am Main: Insel.

Greenberg, Clement (1986) “Avant-Garde and Kitsch.” In Collected Essays and Criticism Vol 1: Perceptions and Judgement 1939-1944, edited by John O’Brian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Griffero, Tonino (2006) “Quasi-cose che spariscono e ritornano, senza però che si possa domandare dove siano state nel frattempo. Appunti per un’estetica-ontologia delle atmosfere." Rivista di estetica n. 33, 3.

Huyssen, Andreas (1989) After the Great Divide: Modernism, Mass Culture, Postmodernism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Kulka, Tomas 1988 “Kitsch.” British Journal of Aesthetics. Vol 28. No 1. 18-27.

Olalquiaga, Celeste 2002 The Artificial Kingdom: A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Pemble, John (1995) Venice Rediscovered. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Ryynänen, Max (2019) “Kitsch Happens: On the Kitsch Experience of Nature.” ESPES 2019: 2. 10-16.

Ryynänen, Max and Anna-Sofia Sysser (2021) ”Making Sense of ‘Tropical’ Kitsch. Contemporary Aesthetics Vol 19. 2021. Link: contempaesthetics.org/2021/01/08/making-sense-of-tropical-kitsch/.

Ryynänen, Max and Paco Barragán. 2023. Eds. The Changing Meaning of Kitsch: From Rejection to Acceptance. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Saito, Yuriko (2007) Everyday Aesthetics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Solomon, Robert C. (2004) In Defense of Sentimentality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Somhegyi, Zoltán (2020) Reviewing the Past: The Presence of Ruins. London – New York: Rowman and Littlefield International.

Tuan, Yi-fu (1975) “Place: An Experiental Perspective.” Geographical Review. Vol. 65. No. 2. April 1975. 151-165.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14770314

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

           

 

ESPES. The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics (ISSN 1339-1119) is published biannually by University of Presov, Slovakia and the Society for Aesthetics in Slovakia. Registration number of the journal in the Register of Periodical Publications of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic: EV173/23/EPP.

   This journal is open access and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.