The Artificial Kingdom: On The Kitsch Experience

by Celeste Olalquiaga

From her pet glass-globed hermit crab Rodney to the Victorian era's Crystal Palace, Celeste Olalquiaga offers a meditative look at the origins of kitsch and what kitsch tells us about the conflicts between the real and the artificial, tradition and modernity, nostalgia and melancholy. Olalquiaga artfully traces this form to the mid-1800s and establishes kitsch as a sensibility of loss-a yearning for objects to help recapture the past-and explains how these artifacts respond to a deep-seated human need for meaning and connection with nature. The Artificial Kingdom beautifully elucidates this aspect of culture as an attempt to recover what industrialization has destroyed.

"Ingenious, fascinating, and melancholic." Peter Woolen, London Review of Books

"Olalquiaga finds an explanation of the modern-age question: why the subject of an artwork can seem more alive in representation than in life." New York Times Book Review

"Stunning. A potent, incantatory exploration into the emotional resonance of kitsch." Art Papers

Celeste Olalquiaga is an independent scholar who has received Rockefeller and Guggenheim awards. She is the author of Megalopolis: Contemporary Cultural Sensibilities (Minnesota, 1992). She lives in Paris.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Material Culture, Cultural Studies, Art History, Philosophy, Pop Culture

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1998

Reviews

[Sarah Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of embarrassing, how much I would have adored this book if I read it during my undergrad theory nerd phase. The bite-sized summary is that kitsch, in its trapped-in-Lucite glory, is an approximation of the natural world which we've destroyed through rapid industrialization, a sentimental distortion of our relationship to nature. That idea is probably worth the price of the ticket. Also, I like the historical picture of kitsch evolving from Victorian aquarium-keeping to present. That said, the introduction is a regrettably over-written fantasia. But there are pictures, so bonus for that.

[Jantine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A baffling book. I expected it to be a history of kitsch through the years; instead, after some truly interesting observations on the phenomenon of kitsch, the book veers off in bewildering tangents on mermaids and gender, Atlantis, and identity politics in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, book-ended by some of the writer's own purple-prosish philosophical thoughts. All of which are very interesting, but seem besides the point, as at the end of these chapters the author struggles to establish a tenuous connection with what was previously said about kitsch: how it exists between past and present.

About a fourth of this book was actually about kitsch; the other three quarters could have been published as a proper history of the commodification and collection of natural wonders throughout the ages, which is interesting in its own right.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decía alguien que tenía miedo constante vital de en qué momento Pantomima Full haría un vídeo sobre algo que le tocaba de lleno. Pues algo así con este libro. Interesante, sorprendente y divertido.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really fascinating, and really dense. Much of it is a critique and addendum to Walter Benjamin's writings, so it can be hard to understand if you're not familiar with his works (especially Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction). Celeste's prose is gorgeous, although sometimes it makes it difficult to parse her meaning. Still, it's hard not to love a book with sections written to the crab in a paperweight. Plus I think her understanding of kitsch as the physical manifestation of the shattered aura is pretty brilliant.

[Miri Villerius]

Excellent book on the topic of kitsch. While much of it did go through certain examples I wasn't particularly interested in. The syntheses of ideas made it much worth the read.

[Chrissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This turned out to not be the book for me. I found myself reading sentences over and over and struggling to dissect the at times heavily poetic/academic mélange. Chapters drifted into one another, interspersed with personal essay. Where I might have expected a strong theme or line, the text instead felt like the embodiment of a cabinet of wonders, stuffed with often unlabeled, at times interesting, bits of argument or fact. Not a bad book, just unsatisfying.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in a philosophy of art class 15 years ago and still think about it all the time.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I still don,t get kitsch. I need to ask a Jewish friend since I think that is where my understanding of the idea stems. Heavy duty reading.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this woman's work. So many analyses of kitsch are themselves kitsch, trite and just a little corny – but this is theoretically rigorous, conceptually demanding, and shows the ongoing usefulness of Walter Benjamin's work. Not only is there a close reading of instances of kitchness, but a finely constructed model the demonstrates the circumstances for the construction and emergence of certain things as kitsch.

[RoseAdagio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a class. Great journey into looking at how pop culture and human obsession/fascination work produces that. It focuses on the Victorian era, but the concepts can be applied and noted even today in how and why the popular things become mainstream, and how that changes the object in question from its original intention/meaning, etc.

Definitely a thought-provoking text that raises many, many questions about many, many things. Plus, I also really enjoyed the lyrical writing style.

[mtthw · Rating 5 out of 5]

best art theory book ever!!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I have more time to peruse this, it'll probably be a 5 star rating.

[Patrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject but too dry I actaully could not finish it. I think I will try it again another time.

[Brenda Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it for a class and it was amazing! For anyone who is interested in art, collecting, the victorian era, and kitsch.
http://www.celesteolalquiaga.com/king...

[Mary Louise Schumacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in the spring while working on a piece about Wisconsin artist Beth Lipman's work. What a delight. A full exploration and celebration of kitsch.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benjamin 2.0.