We make a case that preferences for the one or the other are dynamically related to a set of conflicting needs which constitute the basic dilemma of human attachment behavior: needs for safety and intimacy versus needs for arousal and autonomy. In this article, we argue that kitsch and avant-garde art ideally represent two complementary types of aesthetic experience: a fluent one that allows for immediate emotional gratification (kitsch) and a disfluent one that requires cognitive elaboration (art). At the same time the derogatory term “kitsch” was coined to contrast truly ground-breaking artistic achievements. With the advent of modernity, change and novelty have become the core values of artistic production.
1Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany.Ortlieb 1,2,3* and Claus-Christian Carbon 1,2,3