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More thoughts on "Kitsch, The World of Bad Taste", by Gillo Dorfles... Gillo begins, in Chapter One, to define, again, kitsch & kitsch-man. He does most of this by contrasting kitsch to art, & making kitsch-man (the lover of kitsch) by definition a 'man of bad taste.' Well, actually, he credits his definition to Hermann Broch & Ludwig Giesz... But, he finds it correct, or at least loves to use it. And, Gillo goes on to state that much of the love of kitsch is due to a misunderstanding of modern art... Or is it just that too many of us 'simple folk' can buy things? "There are endless instances of simple people - technicians, craftsmen, electrical workers, individuals involved in some of the new technological sciences - who have become fans of electronic music composers, kinetic artists and operators or programmed art just by meeting them; almost any modern artist could quote some such example. This would show how a great deal of the lack of understanding of modern art is undoubtedly due to lack of education and habit." (Gee, who does that leave out?) The next paragrpah gets worse... It begins with "Quite different is the case of kitsch-man and of that sector of the public whose attitude towards works of art is definitely and hopelessly wrong." Apparently, Gillo is the guardian of taste, and as such believes that one must be educated (to his standards) to know what real art is & why... According to him, I am either 'deliberately obtuse' or belong to a group of indivduals who "believe that art should only produce pleasent, sugary feelings; or even that art should form a kind of 'condiment,' a kind of 'background music,' a decoration, a status symbol even, as a way of shining in one's social circle; in no case should it be a serious matter, a tiring exercise, an involved and critical activity..." (Hmmm, I think Gillo just described America as a whole... One would think he was French!) Well, I have plenty of knee-jerk responses to Mr. Dorfles. Most of them will not be sugary. Great news for low-carb dieters as well as Gillo. And lucky you; if you stay tuned, you can read them all.
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