Celeste Olalquiaga

The graphic design and layout, first of all, is remarkable. Wallpaper pages, tons of black and white photography of unusual Victoriana -- totally justifies the price of admission, so to speak.

Olalquiaga's style will either completely win you over, or you'll find it twee and purple. I like it. (Read the first section on Rodney. If you find yourself rolling your eyes, you probably won't like the book. If you find yourself quite tempted to roll your eyes at times but ultimately find her description of one's ineffable, affective love for unusual objects appealing - then the book will probably resonate with you.) Can the tone itself be considered kitschy? That's up to you.

Hers is a reparative take on kitsch - you'll not find cranky Greenbergian jeremiads here. Kitsch is not "evil," nor is its mass consumerism completely derided in a blindly Marxian way (she does cite and use Marxism well, mostly through Benjamin). Instead, kitsch (at least melancholic kitsch) speaks to our unconscious (nostalgic kitsch, to her, panders to "screen memories" - to the sentiments/modes/versions we want to remember). If that sounds confusing, it is a bit. Perhaps the distinction between the two forms isn't quite convincingly played out, or perhaps her love for the former and slight disdain for the latter seems unfair. But its great affection for Victorian idiosyncrasies - and for the Victorian consumer manias that very much carry into today - makes THE ARTIFICIAL KINGDOM really engaging to me.… (mehr)