Kitsch painting is an international movement made up of classical painters, a result of a 24 September 1998 speech and philosophy given by the Norwegian figurative artist, Odd Nerdrum,E.J. Pettinger "The Kitsch Campaign" [Boise Weekly], December 29, 2004. later clarified in his book On KitschDag Solhjell and Odd Nerdrum "On Kitsch" Kagge Publishing, August 2001. with Jan-Ove Tuv and others.Odd Nerdrum, Sindre Mekjan, Jan-Erik Ebbestad Hansen, Jan-Ove Tuv, and Dag Solhjell The movement incorporates the techniques of the Old Masters with narrative, romanticism, and emotionally charged imagery. The movement defines Kitsch as synonymous with the arts of ancient Rome or the techne of ancient Greece. Kitsch painters embrace kitsch as a positive term not in opposition to "art", but as its own independent superstructure. Kitsch painters assert that Kitsch is not an art movement, but a philosophical movement separate from art. The Kitsch movement has been considered an indirect criticism of the contemporary art world, but according to Nerdrum, this is not the expressed intention.Signy Norendal, "Interview with Robert Dale Williams" [Aktuell Kunst] September 5, 2007Richard Scott The Philosophy of Kitsch.
Origins of kitsch painting philosophy The philosophy originated by Nerdrum first manifested into a group among Nerdrum's circle of studentsKristiane Larssen "Skolemesteren" [D2/DagensNaeringsliv] November 18, 2011 Jan-Ove Tuv, Helene Knoop, Hege Elizabeth Haugen, Monika Helgesen, Jeremy Caniglia, Kjetil Jul, Brad Silverstein, Carlos Madrid, Stefan Boulter, Brandon Kralik, Nanne Nyander, and soon expanded. Many kitsch painters were featured in and contributed essays to Nerdrum's book Kitsch: More than ArtOdd Nerdrum Schibsted Forlag, September 30, 2011.
Collaborations The Kitsch Movement has collaborated with The Florence Academy in a 2009 biennale exhibition titled "Immortal Works".Mariachiara Marzari "Le particelle elementari" [Venezia News] #146 giugno 2010.Maria Rita Cerilli [Venezia News],http://ricerca.gelocal.it/nuovavenezia/archivio/nuovavenezia/2010/09/19/VGAPO_VGA02.html?ref=search La Nouva Venezia, September 19, 2010Lidia Panzeri, "Biennale Kitsch e il retorno alla qualita", Il Gazzettino, September 18, 2010"L'arte e un'automobile: Kitsch un Cavallo" Il Giornale Dell'Arte, #300 Luglio, August 2010. a traveling exhibition which includes painters from around the world.
Exhibitions 2002 Kitsch Katakomben, Haugar Vestfold KunstMuseum, Tonsberg, Norway 2002 Raugland Atelier, Stavern, Norway 2002 Larvik Kunstforening, Larvik, Norway 2004 Kitsch, Telemark Museum, Skien, Norway 2005 Kitsch Annuale, Krutthuset, Fredricksvern Verft, Stavern, Norway 2006 Kitsch Annuale, Stavern, Norway 2008 Kitsch Biennale Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany 2009 Kitsch, Krapperup Castle, Sweden 2009 Fall Kitsch, Galleri PAN, Oslo, Norway 2009 Immortal Works, VASA KONSTHALL, Gothenburg, Sweden 2010 Kitsch Biennale, Palazzo Cini, Venice, Italy"Kitsch Biennale: Venice" Kunst magazine, Oslo, Norway, May 2011
See also Aesthetics Classical Realism Empiricism Kitsch Metamodernism New Sincerity Objectivity (philosophy) Positivism Post-postmodernism Reconstructivism Stuckism
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