• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.45-60
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• 2016

As a method to satisfy needs and emotions of consumers who pursue diversity, the use of Kitsch in the fashion industry has been increased. Previous studies on Kitsch fashion have focused on qualitative research on the characteristics of Kitsch product, and little empirical researches have been conducted on consumer attitude such as consumer response to Kitsch products and brand equity. Therefore, the purpose of this study are 1) to investigate comparisons of experiential values (i.e., Aesthetic, Amusing, Cultural) with Kitsch product moderated by consumers' characteristics (i.e., consumer uniqueness, fashion involvement), and 2) to explore the relationship between experiential values and brand equity. Factor analysis, reliability analysis, ANOVA, and structural equation model using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 were used for the data analysis. 210 questionnaires were analyzed for this study. The results of this study were as follows. First, significant difference in aesthetic values of Kitsch products were shown. Kitsch Product with nostalgic characteristics has higher aesthetic values than others. Specifically differences in experiential values with Kitsch product were partially moderated by consumers' characteristics (i.e., consumer uniqueness, fashion involvement), Second, cultural value had a positive influence on brand awareness, while amusing and cultural values had a positive influence on brand image. Also aesthetic and amusing values had a positive influence on brand loyalty. Academic and business implications were discussed from this study.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.5
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• pp.25-41
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• 2007

Despite continuous efforts to redraw the boundaries between art and culture, the conventional concept of originality has persisted in approaches to the practice of contemporary art. In the discourse of originality, various forms of lesser arts that employ the method of replication have been referred to as kitsch, or "rear-guard," the opposite of avant-garde. This categorization points to the contested issue regarding the oppositional relation between modernism and mass culture. With its easily accessible content and financial affordability, mass culture has become both an irresistible attraction and a most powerful threat to modernism. This threat has instigated a discursive system that has situated mass culture as a cultural other of modernism. Taking the marginalized category of kitsch as the area of contention, this paper examines a discursive repression of kitsch. It analyzes the conceptual framework that defends originality and autonomy in art and, conversely, degrades kitsch as an inferior and dangerous cultural category. Greenberg'S concept of kitsch as a by-product of industrialization evolved into the criticism that advocates the autonomy of art. The Frankfurt School scholars, particularly Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, practiced comparable cultural critiques. Focusing on mass culture such as film, radio, and television, instead of art works, they critically analyzed the system of mass culture and theorized the negative implications of the ubiquitous presence of kitsch. Some critics, on the other hand, perceived the growth of mass culture as opening possibilities in cultural development. Walter Benjamin and Harold Rosenberg asserted the socio-cultural dynamics of mass culture underlining the potential for continual transformation in reality and in the subject. They acknowledged that technological advances changed the condition of creation and enabled unmediated interactions between media. By scrutinizing conflicting views on kitsch, this paper intends to reassess arts that draw "the forces of the outside."

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.11-25
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• 2015

This study analyzed features in contemporary men's collection to provide data for characteristics of kitsch in men's collection. The research method was to see background of the concept of kitsch through the domestic and international publications, the Internet, paper. Five designers' collections that have characteristics of kitsch were selected. The range of collection is from the 2000 S/S to 2011 F/W in Men's collection. The results are as follows: kitsch characteristics could be classified by amusements, inappropriateness, satire. First, exaggerative amusements in men's collection appeared exaggerated form, large size, which is ridiculous at the same time. Infantile amusements represents the image of a pure concentric matching accessories such as toys to the children express. sensual amusements reveals the sexual instincts and desires and people can feel satisfaction through sensual amusements. Second, inappropriateness is characteristic of kitsch to escape from normal life. Clothing does not fit the body and destroyed the design or design of this feature appears. It looks clumsy and strange. Inappropriateness characteristic in men's collection can be divided into inadequate performance and sexual inappropriateness. Third, satire can be divided into resistant satire, imitative satire, and popular satire. Resistance satire with anti-social tendencies through their clothing is achieved by expressing their needs. It was affected by sub-culture like Hippie or Punk. Imitative satire is to imitate other culture, customs and race. It is to resolve complaints through the consumption of things in disparities of wealth and materialism in the society. Popular satire is to express emotions that are free using materials that can recycling like can, bottle or paper.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.96-103
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• 2006

'Kitsch', having emerged after the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, has been playing a role of interconnecting pop culture with high level culture, now claiming new aesthetic values in a variety of pop cultures of our industrialized modern society and holding its position as a cultural phenomenon. In the realm of fashion which is very much attached to everyday life, kitsch has also been expressing new forms of beauty through the liberation from and destruction of the fixed ideas. This study addresses the issues as to how we obtain the basic understanding of kitsch and shows how it was expressed in the fashion of the actors starring in the recently released Korean comedy movies.

• Archives of design research
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• v.18 no.3 s.61
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• pp.199-208
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• 2005

This study analysis if the concepts of kitsch and vernacular remains as cultural elements for product design. Because their function and aesthetic value have vivid possibilities for general product design fields. For the purpose, this study limits its range within post modernism, kitsch, and vernacular, and analyzes their relationships. Against functionalism, post modernism had cultural pluralisms to approach into popular styles, and some of them was amusing design. That post modernism designs stimulated human beings' emotion by decorations or some symbolic forms from specific objects is similar to the symbolism, regionalism, or pluralism of kitsch or vernacular. Kitsch is a free style that is not limited in any specific trends. It is a Meta culture that has influenced into various fields including design, so kitsch does not have a parallel position with a product or design. In product design, kitsch is the behavior and result of imitating existing objects' images. It could have amusement according to which objects are imitated. So if human beings feel amusement by kitsch, it could be same as the direction of post modernism. Kitsch is determined by design atmospheres. They cannot be specified abjectly, and can be different according to people. With symbolism and regionalism, kitsch and vernacular appeared according to people's needs. While kitsch is consumer's tastes-oriented, vernacular is cultural tradition-oriented. Kitsch has symbolism that specifies products' functions or design concepts, and it is a communication method between human being and products. Because vernacular is province-oriented, it has a lot of styles according to regional living environments and cultural differences. So vernacular design reflects continued traditional lifestyles. By restorative memory, regionalism, cultural pluralism, amusement, and symbolism, kitsch and vernacular could be understood the sub or parallel concepts of post modernism. They might be easily miss-understood mixed concepts that have western and national characters. But in kitsch and vernacular concept, modernizing pas by using the pluralism of post modernism should be considered positive. So, the range of the further study is also supposed to be focused on more widened fields to, to establish cultural identification in design.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Design Studies Conference
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• 2002.11b
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• pp.122-123
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.248-251
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• 2005

'Kitsch', having emerged after the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, has been playing a role of interconnecting pop culture with high level culture, now claiming new aesthetic values in a variety of pop cultures of our industrialized modem society and holding its position as a cultural phenomenon. In the realm of fashion which is very much attached to everyday life, kitsch has also been expressing new forms of beauty through the liberation from and destruction of the fixed ideas. This study addresses the issues as to how we obtain the basic understanding of kitsch and shows how it was expressed in the fashion of the actors starring in the recently released Korean comedy films.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.371-382
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• 2000

Fashion, a means of communication, is the symbol conveying the social information and the individual identity. The opulence of material and the development of civilization make the sign of fashion variable and individual; especially, The importance of hair style among the today's sign of fashion, as a determinant element in judging each person's look is emphasized. Kitsch, based on the variety and the individuality is the manner of art in diverse hobbies. In addition, it enlarges the sphere of modern an, creates new open aesthetic world. Therefore, we need to understand the symbol of Kitsch aestetic represented in hair style, which is meaningful. The method of this study is quality analysis by means of semiology, aesthetics, Fashion artical, magazine, atc. To support this statement, we will study the form, a primary symbol, and the ideology, a secondly one in $\ulcorner$Mythologies$\lrcorner$ of Roland Bartes(1972). Then by means of the form and the ideology, we will try to recognize the myth, an essential symbol. The result of this study is following like these three points. First, the Kitsch patterns of representation in hair style use the accumulation by an excessive ornamentation; the inappropriateness by the lack of form, the disagreement, the unbalance, and the nonfunctional form; and finally, the amusement by the reconstruction, the exotic, and the satire. The above three is true to the Barthes's primary symbol-the form. Second, the anti-traditionality(including the lack of form, the disagreement, and the unbalance), the homesickness(including the reconstruction and the exotic), and the eclecticism(including the parody and the mixed imitation) are created as the ideology of the liberal artistic notion, different from the past outlooks on aesthetic. This is true to the Barthes's secondly symbol-the ideology. Third, the form and the ideology enable us to express our own thoughts and to recover the humanity, which is the primary purpose of Kitsch aesthetic. The Kitsch hair style, as we witness, does lead the varied and liberal aesthetic world, create its accessible value, and place the art of hair style in a higher status.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.102-119
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to develop various designs through renewing and changing perception of accessories by examining various and arbitrary Kitsch. For the method of this study, literature review was mainly used for research of formative characteristics in Kitsch fashion. 798 pieces of work from fashion magazines and website with a focus on Milan, Paris, London and New York collections, in the decade of 2000-2010 were collected. The results of this study are as follows. First, the characteristic of exaggeration is classified into two types: the visual exaggeration, which is characterized by psychological expression through excessive images and (2) the collecting exaggeration, which is not simple but a want of large quantities. Second, the characteristic of satire is classified into two types: (1) the imitation-satire, which satirizes messages to societies with creative humor by using easily consumed materials and (2) the resistance-satire, which is destructive and offensive against isolation and desolation of a capitalistic society. Third, the characteristic of amusement is classified into two types: (1) the playful-amusement, which raises a laugh slyly by using clever materials and (2) the childish-amusement, which involves childish imagination and humor-sense because of desire to be a child. Fourth, the characteristic of nostalgia is classified into two types: (1) the romantic character expressing a departure from modern society, which is desolate because of the urbanization process, and (2) the intermediate character recreating an esthetic category by interacting with different and relative elements. Fifth, the characteristic of inappropriateness is expressed through a deliberate mistake, and it denies existing senses of beauty by overturning common sense and creating new senses of beauty, expressions in distortion and modification of stereotype.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.12-20
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• 2007

This study, as discussed herein, tries to understand how modern commercial buildings occur and develop in certain type of social and cultural conditions. There are many words standing for modern society, of which the most remarkable one is 'commercial society'. Commercial society is where goods are manufactured to one's taste and consumption is a way of communication and a way of discriminating one from the others by using different code. Nowadays, architecture gets more and more popular and becomes commercial object which is intended to the sign of the social meaning. So, the sign of commercial buildings varies according to the social and cultural backgrounds and kitsch is applicable to it. The original meaning of kitsch, which usually is considered an inferior copy of an existing style, is examined and applied to architecture in order for comprehension. Throughout this study, the types of commercial buildings are selected and immanent meaning to the psychology of consumers as applicable to commercial buildings is considered. Also, the trend of kitsch in commercial buildings is analyzed by classifying the image and code of a building's shape. In a conclusion of the study, two major points can be found; commercial building has a significant meaning in terms of design, and commercial building is the conceptual result of a continuous change in the relationship between society and art.