Karsten Harries Quotes

Germany, Philosopher
January 25, 1937

Karsten Harries is a German philosopher and Emeritus Howard H. Newman Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, where he taught from 1965 until his retirement. Harries is known for his expertise on Heidegger, early modern philosophy, and the philosophy of art and architecture.

Also known as Professor

How easy it is to wax lyrical over despair, to wallow in it, to enjoy it. This too is kitsch

Karsten Harries
- Easy
- Despair
- Lyrical
The work of an artist who attempts lovingly to embrace reality, will ring false, will degenerate into kitsch.

Karsten Harries
- Reality
- Embrace
- Kitsch

To call a work of art Kitsch is to condemn it for being bad art. But there is a great deal of bad art that we do not condemn as Kitsch. To condemn something as Kitsch is to condemn it on moral grounds.

Karsten Harries
- Moral
- Being
- Works
Not all kitsch is sweet.

Karsten Harries
- Sweet
- Kitsch
The Kitsch consumer wants to be enchanted.

Karsten Harries
We meet thus in kitsch with a reappropriation of the results of past struggles.

Karsten Harries
- Past
- Struggle
- Results
Within the category of Kitsch we can thus distinguish between more and less successful paintings. Kitsch, too has its masterpieces.

Karsten Harries
The need for Kitsch arises when genuine emotion has become rare.

Karsten Harries
- Needs
- Emotion
- Genuine