Kitsch on the scene?
category: general [glöplog]
Do you think that the concept of kitsch can be reasonably applied to demoscene products?
The definition of kitsch can be discussed but Tomáš Kulka's criteria may be a starting point:
-Kitsch often exploits immediate emotional responses and the sense of beauty
-Work's subject matter is easy to identify and presented in a simple manner, the focus is on surface appearance and immediate visual impact
-Kitsch relies on established conventions, does not essentially add to our previous associations concerning the subject
The definition of kitsch can be discussed but Tomáš Kulka's criteria may be a starting point:
-Kitsch often exploits immediate emotional responses and the sense of beauty
-Work's subject matter is easy to identify and presented in a simple manner, the focus is on surface appearance and immediate visual impact
-Kitsch relies on established conventions, does not essentially add to our previous associations concerning the subject
Rob is jarig!
Faux oldschool stuff.
Mad respect for this demo, which I really enjoy, admire and watched many times, but :)
but are demos as superfluous as those 'live love laugh'-signs that people with zero taste buy for their apartments?
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kitsch can be reasonably applied
It has been applied numerous times. Sometimes intentionally, many times utterly convinced of totally not being kitschy.
What’s kitsch in the demoscene? Nearly all of it?
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Faux oldschool stuff.
^
Rob is Jarig is clearly outsider art, just like farjan.
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Faux oldschool stuff.
This is the correct answer.
A friend would say Bouncing Amiga balls but that's close to faux oldschool
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Do you think that the concept of kitsch can be reasonably applied to demoscene products?
The definition of kitsch can be discussed but Tomáš Kulka's criteria may be a starting point:
-Kitsch often exploits immediate emotional responses and the sense of beauty
-Work's subject matter is easy to identify and presented in a simple manner, the focus is on surface appearance and immediate visual impact
-Kitsch relies on established conventions, does not essentially add to our previous associations concerning the subject
Interesting—never gave the definition of Kitsch a thought. Thank you for this! I guess it's been explored over and over again for decades. Just as much as the opposite.
I wonder: What's the intention behind your question?
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I wonder: What's the intention behind your question?
To spark some discussion about the philosophy of art and the relationship between scholastic art and the demoscene.
Faux oldschool stuff definitely tries to be kitch and it's intentional, but take a random demo and it likely doesn't try to offer any emotional response outside easy to consume audiovisual experience.
Context is also everything. Those first 3D flyby demos with dnb inspired soundtrack were not kitch, but when someone does the exact same thing nth time nowadays it is.
Färjan is actually interesting case of subculture inside subculture kitch - it's not _universally appealing_, unless you are preseting a Färjan at Jumalauta party, where it definitely is kitch.
Context is also everything. Those first 3D flyby demos with dnb inspired soundtrack were not kitch, but when someone does the exact same thing nth time nowadays it is.
Färjan is actually interesting case of subculture inside subculture kitch - it's not _universally appealing_, unless you are preseting a Färjan at Jumalauta party, where it definitely is kitch.
Then again one could argue such thing as subculture kitch is an oxymoron anyway.
When i tried to explain the demoscene to my sisters they said it looked like kitsch to them 😅
I think the definition would apply to most subcultures.
And i think the demoscene tends to add another layer of complexity with the technical context, which makes it less kitsch in my opinion.
I think the definition would apply to most subcultures.
And i think the demoscene tends to add another layer of complexity with the technical context, which makes it less kitsch in my opinion.
I really question the quality of the "Nostalgia" text's 'chrome mountains' background. WTF there are cuts in the texture there! I think I'm fainting hereeee
Take it up with textpro.me, I'm just using it to produce kitsch on my coffee break
Jobe: of course it wasnt against you :) I'm just fainting here with how unprofessionally the chrome mountains are made! :D
ps. I love chrome mountains done properly
ps. I love chrome mountains done properly
Heaven Seven has always seemed very kitsch to me (I guess scenepoetry in general is kind of kitschy)
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Those first 3D flyby demos with dnb inspired soundtrack were not kitch
Why not?
Because the first of anything cannot rely purely on established conventions?
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To spark some discussion about the philosophy of art and the relationship between scholastic art and the demoscene.
Super interesting topic and intention. And the given definition of kitsch is someting I can work with, but maybe some modifications are needed in a demoscene context.
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And i think the demoscene tends to add another layer of complexity with the technical context, which makes it less kitsch in my opinion.
I agree with that, and kitsch can even be a vehicle for other intents, including technological, ironical, shiftfaced-nonsensical, and ugly-is-beautiful, etc.
But we had a lot of that already, and it saddens me that demoscene rarely reaches out to non-demoscene people interested in art^H^H^Hcool stuff.
I'd rather not show demos to non-demosceners - except for a few carefully selected. For example by Da Jormas, which is as remotely detached from kitsch as it can possibly get, in my opinion.
Most of the time it looks to me like demos are simply playing it too safe, appealing to decades old tropes that are known to be favoured by always the same old buddies.
But there is so much more potential if you can break free from that. It doesn't really take much. For example, I'd suggest to have no voting in competitions. This is really some atavistic oldschool remnant and IMO part of the problem. Hard to believe, but some people still cater to rankings. Applause and acclamation would be totally enough.
