What are the predominant aesthetics of the twenty-first century? Thorsten Botz-Bornstein argues that deculturation, embodied by the conspicuous vulgarity of kitsch, is the overriding visual language of our times. Drawing on the work of Islam scholar Olivier Roy, who argued that religious fundamentalism arises when religion is separated from the indigenous cultural values, Botz-Bornstein shows that the production of 'absolute' truths through deculturation also exists in contemporary education. The neoliberal environment has separated learning from culture by emphasizing standardization and quantified learning outcomes. In a globalized environment, the idea of culture is no longer available as a referent; instead we are taught to rely on the culturally neutral term 'excellence'. For Botz-Bornstein, this is an absolute value similar to the 'truth' of religious fundamentalists. Similarly, kitsch is what happens when aesthetic values are separated from cultural contexts. Kitsch is aesthetic fundamentalism. Kitsch aesthetics are an aesthetics of excellence. The consumption of kitsch can be understood as an intrinsically narcissistic impulse, reinforced by social media, individuals recycling their own selves without being confronted with the culture of the “other.” The existence of self-centred “alternative truths”, fake news and conspiracy theories and selfies are linked together in the fundamentalism–neoliberalism–kitsch pattern. Including analysis of the intersections of 'cute', 'excellent', 'sublime', and 'interesting' in contemporary aesthetic culture, this is a journey through philosophy, psychology and cultural theory, redefining a new aesthetics of deculturation.

What are the predominant aesthetics of the twenty-first century? Thorsten Botz-Bornstein argues that deculturation, embodied by the conspicuous vulgarity of kitsch, is the overriding visual language of our times. Drawing on the work of Islam scholar Olivier Roy, who argued that religious fundamentalism arises when religion is separated from the indigenous cultural values, Botz-Bornstein shows that the production of 'absolute' truths through deculturation also exists in contemporary education. The neoliberal environment has separated learning from culture by emphasizing standardization and quantified learning outcomes. In a globalized environment, the idea of culture is no longer available as a referent; instead we are taught to rely on the culturally neutral term 'excellence'. For Botz-Bornstein, this is an absolute value similar to the 'truth' of religious fundamentalists. Similarly, kitsch is what happens when aesthetic values are separated from cultural contexts. Kitsch is aesthetic fundamentalism. Kitsch aesthetics are an aesthetics of excellence. The consumption of kitsch can be understood as an intrinsically narcissistic impulse, reinforced by social media, individuals recycling their own selves without being confronted with the culture of the “other.” The existence of self-centred “alternative truths”, fake news and conspiracy theories and selfies are linked together in the fundamentalism–neoliberalism–kitsch pattern. Including analysis of the intersections of 'cute', 'excellent', 'sublime', and 'interesting' in contemporary aesthetic culture, this is a journey through philosophy, psychology and cultural theory, redefining a new aesthetics of deculturation.

What is the role of art in modern society? To what extent are the beautiful and the morally good intertwined? Hegel's Political Aesthetics explores Hegel's take on these ever-relevant philosophical questions and investigates three key themes: art's contribution to modern ethical life, the loss of art's authority in modern ethical life and ways of thinking beyond Hegel's analysis of art's role in society. The aesthetic is explored through the lens of German Idealism from Kant to Hegel, ultimately placing ethics and morality at the forefront of this debate. The authors explore Hegel's take on Kant's conception by historicizing what it means to be responsible to others, which for Hegel means being free within the norms of society, within what he calls ethical life. As a set of concrete social arrangements designed for finite human beings, however, ethical life falls short of actualizing freedom absolutely. The themes in this volume are motivated by a central ambivalence in Hegel's thinking about modernity. The question of freedom sits at the forefront of this text, alongside the relation between art and the spirit. This book will be of particular interest to philosophers of aesthetics, politics and ethics.

This book inaugurates a new phase in kitsch studies. Kitsch, an aesthetic slur of the 19th and the 20th century, is increasingly considered a positive term and at the heart of today’s society. Eleven distinguished authors from philosophy, cultural studies and the arts discuss a wide range of topics including beauty, fashion, kitsch in the context of mourning, bio-art, visual arts, architecture and political kitsch. In addition, the editors provide a concise theoretical introduction to the volume and the subject. The role of kitsch in contemporary culture and society is innovatively explored and the volume aims not to condemn but to accept and understand why kitsch has become acceptable today.

A critical analysis of contemporary art collections and the value form, this book shows why the nonprofit system is unfit to administer our common collections, and offers solutions for diversity reform and redistributive restructuring. In the United States, institutions administered by the nonprofit system have an ambiguous status as they are neither entirely private nor fully public. Among nonprofits, the museum is unique as it is the only institution where trustees tend to collect the same objects they hold in “public trust” on behalf of the nation, if not humanity. The public serves as alibi for establishing the symbolic value of art, which sustains its monetary value and its markets. This structure allows for wealthy individuals at the helm to gain financial benefits from, and ideological control over, what is at its core purpose a public system. The dramatic growth of the art market and the development of financial tools based on art-collateral loans exacerbate the contradiction between the needs of museum leadership versus that of the public. Indeed, a history of private support in the US is a history of racist discrimination, and the common collections reflect this fact. A history of how private collections were turned public gives context. Since the late Renaissance, private collections legitimized the prince's right to rule, and later, with the great revolutions, display consolidated national identity. But the rise of the American museum reversed this and re-privatized the public collection. A materialist description of the museum as a model institution of the liberal nation state reveals constellations of imperialist social relations.

This book seeks to approach arts organizations in India and abroad from a management perspective, against the backdrop of COVID-19 and in the light of the advances made by digital technologies such as blockchains. It follows a case-based approach by taking a closer look at eight arts organizations drawn from USA, Canada, Japan, India, and Russia. A special chapter is devoted to the cultural and arts policies of India, USA, Japan, Canada, and Russia. The chapter on economics seeks to apply the principles of managerial economics to arts organisations. Also discussed is a methodological approach for classifying arts organizations in terms of their organizational processes. The book can be of immense utility to both serving and prospective managers of arts organizations.