Artists can no longer justify the accepted forms of art as handed down by the god of nature. These rules and required formulations are defined by capitalism, consumerism, commodification and the "art of the spectacle." These rules lead to a dumbing down of art and its decline into Kitsch.
Modern society has replaced the elites that had refinement with a new type of consumer. "The peasants who settled in the cities as proletariat and petty bourgeois learned to read and write for the sake of efficiency, but they did not win the leisure and comfort necessary for the enjoyment of the city's traditional culture. Losing, nevertheless, their taste for the folk culture whose background was the countryside, and discovering a new capacity for boredom at the same time, the new urban masses set up a pressure on society to provide them with a kind of culture fit for their own consumption. To fill the demand of the new market, a new commodity was devised: ersatz culture, kitsch, destined for those who, insensible to the values of genuine culture, are hungry nevertheless for the diversion that only culture of some sort can provide."
The power of the market drives art into Kitsch but the Avant-garde can provide a mechanism to resist this. At its most basic, Avant-garde is about experimentation and the breaking of traditional forms. But, also its opposed to the mechanical production of art and commodification.
Lynch applies his method of breaking traditional forms like episodic television, film noir, murder mystery by subverting there structures. At the same time, Lynch seeks to resist Kitsch by subverting it as well. Some of the common forms of Kitsch are "Camp" "Sentimentality" and "Melodrama." I believe Lynch introduces those ideas into his work and then attempts to deconstruct them. I don't think he expects that he is going to be able to refine the tastes of today's mass consumer. But, I think he is interested in breaking the inclination of the viewer to want Kitsch. Thoughts?
Hi all, I'm writing a thesis regarding the culture industry in early Maoist China, and discussing the ramifications and ethics of Mao's industrial-political-cultural machine. Some of my main ideas stem from the writings of Adorno and Horkheimer "The Culture Industry" and McDonalds' "A Theory of Mass Culture". However, the ideas created in these writings are incredibly outdated and nearly obsolete in today's world. Can anyone recommend some readings on the relation between the high-brow, the low-brow, and all things mass cult in a more up to date fashion?
Taylor Swift is a fan of - and listens to - the music of avant garde electronic duo Autechre.
It seems like when the designers are asked to think outside the box they all go to the same place. Oversized, “unusual silhouettes” that we’ve all seen before (ie the umbrella dress), and usually something that goes around or obnoxiously rises behind the head. Have we ever seen someone try a more minimalist perspective on avant garde? I can’t think of anyone.
I love avant garde in concept but it seems like they either don’t have enough time to develop individual ideas or they just aren’t good at designing from that point of view. And this isn’t only the current season I’m talking about but it just came to my attention with tonight’s episode.
I’ve spent a good amount of time with the more abrasive side of free jazz but I’m curious if ppl have recs for experimental late 60s/early 70s stuff that’s still out there but a bit more composed and supple like Dolphy and Hill’s records. Thanks!
