High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture

Popular culture has progressively changed and has become part of the world. Popular culture has a long history from its imagery and colorful scenes of art, culture which depicts the early form of
advertising and public relations, through extensive use of graphics, color and abstract imagery. Popular culture has influenced art, music’s and other society creating different such cultures
like African, popular culture, folk culture, high culture etc. As art, film, and advertising invented pop art which was popularized by fashion shows of the early 70s, invented the consumer culture as a result of advertising. Visual’s popular culture has artistic design used in appealing consumers and brands conveyed using symbols signs, color perception through verbal or nonverbal communications. Symbolic communication also used in communicating as a cultural agent in communication spanned from various traditional and digital media.

One of the main tenets of György Márkus’ meta-theory of philosophy (or of history of philosophy) can be summarized as a strict methodological rule: philosophy should fulfil two tasks which are partly interconnected. as Márkus put it: “Philosophy can contribute to such an endeavour [viz. offering plausible interpretation about the historical present] insofar as it attempts, partly though conceptual analysis, partly through the reconstruction of the decisive constituents of our tradition, to shed light on the normative and factual preconditions of the now dominant set of practices [...].” In this paper I fully adhere to this methodological rule: in order to supplement Márkus’ historical analysis (“reconstruction of the decisive constituents of our tradition”) I will carry out an in-depth conceptual analysis of ‘mass art’. I argue that from the very concept of mass art (defined by Noël Carroll  in  the  late  1990s)  the  claim  that  the  genuine  (metaphysical)  difference  which  does exist between high artworks and mass artworks necessarily creates some difference in their respective aesthetic/artistic value simply does not follow. so the philosophical debate on the aesthetic/artistic nature of high artworks and mass artworks is over—nevertheless the alleged difference in aesthetic/artistic value of these two types of artworks occurs  frequently  in  contemporary  public  discourses  about  art.  This  is  partly  because  this value-based conceptual distinction is functioning as a special device for solving the ‘antinomies’ for the concept of “culture” (as Márkus’ historical analysis has revealed it); and partly because it can be used as a useful conceptual tool for any theory of art in resolving the contradiction between normative implications stemming from the theory and empirical facts.

This article concerns the eight albums currently available in a series of bandes dessinées commissioned by the Louvre from established, well-respected bédéistes and co-published with Futuropolis since 2005. This successful, high-profile series has elicited positive critical response, but that response has also exposed persistent mutual antagonisms between bande dessinée and the establishment art world as represented by the Louvre Museum. These tensions between 'high' and 'low' culture can be read within the narratives of the albums themselves, in which we see reflexivity used to highlight bande dessinée's artistic value, and various types of obstruction and sensory impairments (realist and supernatural) are used to disrupt quotidian relationships to museum space.

Este trabajo se interroga cuáles son las relaciones entre las condiciones de enunciación crítica y lo que se define y/o entiende como cultura de masas y cultura popular, cultura alta y baja, así como las tensiones entre arte y mercado.  Tomando como ejemplo el caso de los graffitis argentinos, el trabajo examina cómo operan estas categorías a la hora de las aproximaciones teóricas. El presente es un borrador y no debe citarse sin permiso de su autora.

This essay explores the terms high and pop culture, their relationship and how it has changed in modern times. It is argued that there is a tendency for the blending of the two in what would be called a ''postmodern time'' which denies clear categorization and definition. This might be a positive or negative trend however it is worth exploring. For this purpose two commercials, the 2014 KIA Super Bowl Commercial featuring Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus from The Matrix and the Dewar’s Live True Commercial, will be used in relation to the work of pop artist Marco Battaglini and especially his paintings "Gentlemen prefer blondes"  and "Unhappy ending" which appear in an Appendix.

A study of early 20th century British art, the key players, controversies and arguments, with chapters focused on one work (or a closely associated group of works) by Walter Sickert, Augustus John, Wyndham Lewis, Vanessa Bell and David Bomberg. Afterword on Modernism and Modernity. Extensive notes.

Cultural producers and consumers are subject to the divide between the pleasures associated with art: contemplation, discrimination and transcendent value, and those of porn: motivation, promiscuity and commodification. The distinction between both rely on the definitions of ‘high’ or ‘low’ culture (Nead 89) and the boundaries between porn, and art within modern culture is very intentionally blurred. Porn is part of the mainstream; it has become part and parcel of popular culture and subsequently attempts to distinguish porn from more elevated cultural forms such as ‘high’ art, even when they feature the same content and viewing relations – a male viewer ‘looking’ at a naked female body, for example – reveal the fact that content and viewing relations are not enough to distinguish porn as high art or something of barbarous taste (Attwood 96). It stands that Art and pornography are ‘caught in a cycle of reciprocal definition, in which each depends on the other for its meaning, significance and status’ (Nead 91). Two artists in particular, Russ Meyer’s a filmmaker and John Currin a painter, embody this complicated relationship. Throughout the course of this paper I will compare Russ Meyer’s sexploitation films to the contemporary provocative paintings of John Currin and argue that while they both deal with pornography and comment on women’s roles and positions within society they both take an ambivalent stance towards feminism, misogyny, class, and legitimate culture.

16 June 2018. London Stadium. Beyoncé and Jay-Z revealed the premiere of the music video Apeshit. Filmed inside the Louvre Museum in Paris, Beyoncé's sexual desirability powerfully dialogues with Western canons of high art that have dehumanized or erased the black female body. Dominant tropes have historically associated the black female body with the realm of nature saddled with an animalistic hypersexuality. With this timely release, Apeshit engages with the growing current debate about the ethic of representation of the black subject in European museums. Here, I argue that Beyoncé transcends the tension between nature and culture into a syncretic language to subvert a dominant imperialistic gaze. Drawing on black feminist theories and art history, a formal analysis traces the genealogy and stylistic expression of this vocabulary to understand its political implications. Findings pinpoint how Beyoncé laces past and present, the regal nakedness of her African heritage and Western conventions of the nude to convey the complexity, sensuality, and humanity of black women-thus drawing a critical reimagining of museal practices and enriching the collective imaginary at large.

Paper is published in English with a summary in Slovenian. Here is summary in Croatian.

Interpretacija odnosa karikature i slikarstva Antuna Motike (Pula, 30.12.1902.- Zagreb, 13.2.1992.) temelji se na analizama karikatura koje je Motika izrađivao za vrijeme školovanja u gimnaziji u Pazinu te na karikaturama koje je objavljivao 1929. i 1930. godine u zagrebačkom humorističkom tjedniku "Koprive". Uočene su i protumačene razlike u likovnom izrazu između karikatura iz 1929. koje su po nekim svojstvima bliske karakteristikama izraza Georga Grosza, a karikature iz 1930. može se povezati sa svojstvima Picassovog neoklasicističkog načina izražavanja. Kao što je Picasso prestao izrađivati karikature nakon što se počeo izražavati na kubistički način, tako se i Motika iza 1930. više nije bavio karikaturom nego je elemente grotesknog i karikaturalnog inkorporirao u štafelajno slikarstvo i skulpturu. Istraživanje odnosa karikature i slikarstva omogućilo je interpretaciju složenog odnosa različitih utjecaja i individualnih značajki Motikina likovnog izraza. Kao posebno zanimljivo istaknuto je nekoliko značajnih elemenata Motikinog izraza prisutnih još od vremena djetinjstva, a koji su najbolje vidljivi u bilježnici "Moje karikature" iz 1918. - 1919. godine kada je Motiki bilo 16 odnosno 17 godina. Uočeno je da je već tada intuitivno iskazana Motikina zaokupljenost prikazivanjem prostora i svjetla na taj način što je prostor često promatrao s povišena očišta ili iz ptičje perspektive, a čestu prisutnost sunca kao izvora svjetlosti možemo povezati s temom svjetlosti koja je središnji motiv njegova stvaralaštva, motiv s kojim je radio raznovrsne eksperimente od 1940. godine kada je došao u Zagreb. Tada je započeo upotrebljavati raznovrsne materijale i kombinirati različite tehnike. U to vrijeme nastajale su i njegove apstraktne slike na kojima je prenosio ritam glazbe. Velik dio cjelokupnog stvaralaštva izveden je u tehnikama gvaša i akvarela, a od završetka Drugog svjetskog rata često je radio kolaže, dekalkomanije, svjetlosne projekcije, a također i skulpture u keramici, staklu i bronci. Motiv svemira, odnosno sunčeva sustava također često nalazimo u kasnim godinama njegova stvaralaštva. Prikazivanje prostora gotovo iz ptičje perspektive ili iz izrazito povišena položaja osim na crtežima u gimnazijskoj bilježnici prisutan je i na karikaturama objavljivanim 1929. godine u "Koprivama". Motikin desetomjesečni boravak u Parizu 1930. godine u svakom slučaju bio je značajan za njegovo sazrijevanje, ali prenaglašavanje utjecaja Bonnarda, Utrilla, Dufya ili drugih slikara pogrešno je jer je Motika najraznovrsnije utjecaje upijao i transformirao kroz rad na vlastitom izrazu, neprestano razvijajući ona svojstva koja su njegovom duhovnom ustrojstvu bila najbliža. Upravo ta svojstva lako prepoznajemo već u dobi od 16 odnosno 17 godina, kada još nije mogao poznavati djela slikara tzv. pariške škole. Rasvjetljavanje odnosa karikature i slikarstva Antuna Motike omogućava bolje razumijevanje njegova stvaralačkog procesa i logičnog razvoja bogatog i zanimljivog opusa. Saznanja o formiranju Motikinog likovnog izraza mogu doprinositi novim interpretacijama kao i valorizaciji stvaralaštva kojem treba naći mjesto i u povijesti umjetnosti izvan nacionalnih okvira u kojima je nastalo.

Du baroque au kitsch, du manierisme a l'obscene, du camp au trash, du grossier au ringard, du populaire au pop, le mauvais gout a connu bien des declinaisons a travers les âges. En depit des anathemes regulierement lances contre lui, le mauvais gout n'a pourtant de cesse de se renouveler et peut parfois meme etre erige au rang de modele esthetique : ainsi, dans le Gai Savoir, Nietzsche reclamait que le « mauvais gout [ait] son droit autant que le bon gout ». Celui-ci se reinvente sous des formes multiples, au point meme d'etre charge d'une valeur positive, a la faveur de renversements de valeurs. Cette journee d'etude, centree sur les XIXe, XXe et XXIe siecles, entend redonner tout son droit au mauvais gout, en deconstruisant les mecanismes qui tendent a le marginaliser et en tentant d'analyser les potentialites creatives, expressives et revendicatives de ce parent pauvre de l'esthetique.

Seit dem 19. Jahrhundert haben sich die wesentlichen Segmente deutscher Kultur umarrangiert, wie bei der Drehung eines Kaleidoskops. Welche Phänomene der Populärkultur waren beteiligt, welche sozialen Wandlungen waren im Spiel, und was folgt daraus für die Wahl der Forschungsgegenstände?
Diesen Fragen gehe ich in drei Schritten nach. Zunächst ist ein Blick zurück ins 19. Jahrhundert erhellend, weil da der Aufstieg moderner Populärkultur begann. Und weil wir dort sehen, dass ein verbreitetes Denkmuster – der guten, anspruchsvollen Hochkultur steht eine zweifelhafte Massenkultur gegenüber – von Anfang an zu schlicht war. Dann skizziere ich den Aufstieg der Popkultur in Deutschland seit den 1950ern und deren Abgrenzung vom Mainstream. Diesem Mainstream und seiner Bedeutung für ästhetische Erfahrung und (Selbst-)Bildung widmet sich der Schlussteil – nicht ganz unparteilich und deswegen mit einer kurzen Selbstbefragung endend.

The Author in Criticism: Italo Calvino’s Authorial Image in Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom explores the cultural and historic patterns and differences in the critical readings of Italian author Italo Calvino’s works in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Italy. It considers the external factors that contribute to create recognizable patterns in the readings of Calvino’s texts in different contexts. This volume therefore covers, most notably, matters of genre (science fiction, postmodernism), cultural perceptions and conventions, the (re)current image of the author in different media, academic schools, -curricula and -canons, biographical information (such as gender and background), and translation and the language in which the author speaks (or fails to speak) to us. It traces the influence of these aspects in the academic discourse on Calvino. The Author in Criticism also analyzes Calvino’s various professional roles as writer, editor, essayist, journalist, private correspondent, and public, cosmopolitan intellectual, reappraising their often little acknowledged importance for academic criticism. An important underlying idea is that the preconceived image that every critic has of Calvino before even opening one of his books is often solidified and repeated even in the most refined and complex critical analyses. This volume purposefully foregrounds the textual and non-textual parts that are usually considered peripheral to the works of an author, such as book covers, blurbs, reviews, talks, interviews, etc. In this way, this book provides insight into the reception of Calvino’s works in different countries. Moreover, it forms a broader reflection of and on important constants in the workings of literary criticism, and on the way academic discourses have developed in various cultural contexts over the last decades.

Mit diesem Kapitel beginnt die Bilanz: Wo zeichnen sich weiter und tiefer reichende kulturelle Veränderungen im Ergebnis der Amerikanisierung von unten ab? Zunächst wird versucht, das quantitativ und anhand von Umfrageergebnissen einzuschätzen; die weisen darauf hin, dass viele Veränderungen, die "1968" kulminierten, in den Umbrüchen der späten 1950er begannen. Norbert Elias' Konzept der Informalisierung erschließt eine Dimension alltagsrelevanter Veränderungen, die Machthierarchien abschwächten und selbstbewusstes Auftreten unterbürgerlicher Gruppen erleichterten. Dazu trug auch bei, dass die Anerkennung und Schätzung (durch und durch kommerzieller) Populärkünste und -künstler aus den USA Aura und Legitimität der etablierten bürgerlichen Hochkultur einschränkte.

The article deals with the problem of high/low art using the examples of two comic strips artists. Lyonel Feininger established himself in his early career as a cartoonist in Germany and is one of the pioneers of comic strip in the press. Despite the popularity and fame he enjoyed in Chicago, he preferred to come back to Europe. Being among the founders and eminent teachers at Bauhaus, he shaped generations of artists, architects and designers. Until his last day he remained in the field of painting and the "fine", never again talking to comic strip.
Bulgarian painter Christo Kardjilov was in a similar situation. A book illustrator by training, he embarked on an intensive career of a comic strip artist in the 1980s for the Duga magazine, legendary for its large circulation, emancipated spirit and financial generosity to its contributors. In the 1990s, Kardjilov devoted himself to prints alone, then to painting and even writing. Kardjilov's still developing career raises questions about critics' approval, the meaning of recognition and the artist's mission.

According to Shusterman, somaesthetics is as an aesthetic-ethical art of living, a practice devoted to living an attractively good life. So the aesthetic experience is not limited to art, but concerns also everyday life; consequently we can explain cosmetic practices (from make-up and hair-styling to plastic surgery) not only as making beauty, but also as feeling beauty, as a feeling better with oneself and with others. When beyond aesthetics purpose there is a functional purpose, cosmetic practices meet the medical science.
This essay focuses on Somaesthetics in relation to high culture and popular culture. Firstly, some artistic practices are examined, which operate onto or into the body with either prosthesis or medical and surgical techniques (Stelarc, Madam Orlan, Mona Hatoum); then, shifting to the level of popular culture, some cosmetic practices are overviewed on the border between Medicine and Aesthetics. In both cases Somaesthetics can help to rediscover the psycho-corporeal unity, and in the field of cosmetic practices its message can be spread among the mass and, as the historical tradition confirms, it can mend the gap that exists in the medical and aesthetic fields.

Responding to the language differences surrounding exhibitions and scholarship of John Heartfield and George Lois’ similar practices, I argue that the theoretical terminology behind the concepts of  “high art” and “low art” have become irrelevant to the broader study of art and visual culture. Utilizing Sabine Kriebel’s concept of suture, I provide a close reading of the methodologies of visual content creators who worked across the shallow high/low divide — and have identified a common language that links John Heartfield and George Lois in unprecedented ways. In this presentation, I argue that it is only when such outmoded classifications are removed that the deeper context behind their images can be studied. In the case of Heartfield and Lois, once we excise the taxonomy, we can see a shared language of practice and cultural provocation within their work. In addition, we can pinpoint influential connections that can transform contemporary discussions of content creators across the high/low divide.

In the past seven centuries Dante has become world renowned, with his works translated into multiple languages and read by people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. This volume brings together interdisciplinary essays by leading, international scholars to provide a comprehensive account of the historical, cultural and intellectual context in which Dante lived and worked: from the economic, social and political scene to the feel of daily life; from education and religion to the administration of justice; from medicine to philosophy and science; from classical antiquity to popular culture; and from the dramatic transformation of urban spaces to the explosion of visual arts and music. This book, while locating Dante in relation to each of these topics, offers readers a clear and reliable idea of what life was like for Dante as an outstanding poet and intellectual in the Italy of the late Middle Ages.

The enormous hegemon shifts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have led to a state of crisis for Art. This crisis has not been alleviated, nor indeed has it been even diagnosed until quite recently. What is this century? asks Alain Badiou, and rightly so, for if the correct questions are not asked, how can the correct answers even be searched for? So now, in the aftermath of the “liberal century” or the “rump century” which lasted no more than 30 years, an exhibition was held which did not attempt to define the century, but rather the equally heavily entrenched binary of “High and Low.” In 1990, in the aftermath of the hegemon shift of the 1970s, the disenchantment of art, the so-called end of painting, Reaganomics and the commodification of Art, Kirk Varnedoe and Adam Gopnik curated an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art called High and Low: Modern Art and Popular Culture. The exhibition had two purposes: to showcase the MoMA’s masterpieces and to create a discourse surrounding the topic of the high/low binary.  The latter goal was less than successful, and called forth a need for a reexamination of the show in a much more refined and narrowed cultural filter.
High and Low was not entirely successful not because of too many works or because of the subject matter of the show. High and Low ultimately failed to maintain its original goals because there was no attempted question or answer to the binary, a symptom of the larger problem of the commodification of art and globalization. In New York City in 1990, the cultural hub for the world, at a time of great melancholy within art, the Museum of Modern Art gave little solace or reprieve to the century. Thus, it is in the aftermath of this unfinished but important business that I propose a virtual repoussoir exhibition which tackles only one of the four categories of the original show.  It is the hope of this paper that this virtual exhibition will incite further exhibitions dealing with the discourse between high and low, as well as questions regarding art as commodity, self-vandalism and self-reflexivity, globalization, and how, as Thomas Crow points out beautifully, high and low have been intertwined in a crucial relationship since the beginning of the avant-garde.