Fascist Kitsch: Reprising the 'Art' of Thomas Kinkade

Robert Niemi, St. Michael’s College

Description

Using a PowerPoint format, I will present and analyze some representative paintings by the late hack evangelical artist Thomas Kinkade, who painted fanciful images of snow-covered cottages and other bucolic scenes that were meant to transport viewers to a kind of Christian Neverland on earth. I'll examine motifs, themes, iconography etc. while arguing that Kinkade's work amounts to escapist wish-fulfillment fantasies of refuge from a heartless modern world.

 
Oct 27th, 3:00 PM Oct 27th, 4:30 PM

Fascist Kitsch: Reprising the 'Art' of Thomas Kinkade

Panel 27: Kearney 308

Using a PowerPoint format, I will present and analyze some representative paintings by the late hack evangelical artist Thomas Kinkade, who painted fanciful images of snow-covered cottages and other bucolic scenes that were meant to transport viewers to a kind of Christian Neverland on earth. I'll examine motifs, themes, iconography etc. while arguing that Kinkade's work amounts to escapist wish-fulfillment fantasies of refuge from a heartless modern world.