Thomas Kinkade - king of kitsch
High culture is paranoid about sentiment. But human beings are intensely sentimental.” - Thomas Kinkade. Thomas Kinkade understood that people connect with what is sentimental to them and what brings out a nostalgic feeling. For example, we buy the coffee mug with the Statue of Michelangelo's David on it because we’re reminded of that awe struck moment of gazing on such beauty for the first time. We cherish the Walt Disney figurine of Cinderella which reminds us of our childhood. Similarly, the Thomas Kinkade calendar we buy every year reminds us of family, hope and faith with each month’s peaceful scene. At our core, we are emotional people who want to connect with meaning and sentiment. Why then is kitsch considered cheap or low in art circles ? If all we do is dictated by emotions essentially and if emotion is what art brings out , then I guess kitsch has hit the bulls eye! If works of art were judged democratically--that is, according to how many people like them--kitsch would...