Kitsch

When art and so-called emotional kitsch are contraposed, reflexivity is usually attributed to just one side: art. The contrast is seemingly clear. But this alleged clarity neglects the multitude of intermediate stages of reflexivity. If we focus on those subtle differences instead, we can see how kitsch employs various forms of reflexivity to evoke emotional experiences in a large audience. Dr Thomas Küpper’s (German Studies/Literature and Media Practice) post-doctoral Habilitation thesis ‘Bewusst im Paradies. Zur Reflexivität von Kitsch’ (‘awareness of Paradise. On the reflexivity of kitsch’) uses examples from literature, visual art, film, television, music and tourism to examine this reflexivity. His objective is not to revaluate kitsch by ascribing to it a form of reflexivity that meets the criteria of high culture. Rather, he explores the programmatic standards that kitsch sets for itself. It is those very standards that are visible in its reflexivity, its self-description (2017–2020).