Stefan Morawski’s Concept of Mass Art and Aestheticization of the World – Critical Reflections

The text considers the concept of aestheticization and the influence of mass culture on it in the light of Stefan Morawski’s views. Morawski adopted a value-laden attitude towards mass art. That is why in his reflections on aestheticization processes its role remains unnoticed by him, contrary to his original declarations. This is why I have to ask Morawski questions that he leaves unanswered. Does in fact the spectacularity of contemporary life result in its “art-like” constitution? The author of the essay gives a positive answer here, stressing that mass art becomes the model for shaping life, and tries to answer what this pattern is based on. Thus Morawski’s views appear here as a negative point of reference. The positive part of the considerations, on the other hand, focuses on Walter Benjamin and Jean Baudrillard.

The text considers the concept of aestheticization and the influence of mass culture on it in the light of Stefan Morawski’s views. Morawski adopted a value-laden attitude towards mass art. That is why in his reflections on aestheticization processes its role remains unnoticed by him, contrary to his original declarations. This is why I have to ask Morawski questions that he leaves unanswered. Does in fact the spectacularity of contemporary life result in its “art-like” constitution? The author of the essay gives a positive answer here, stressing that mass art becomes the model for shaping life, and tries to answer what this pattern is based on. Thus Morawski’s views appear here as a negative point of reference. The positive part of the considerations, on the other hand, focuses on Walter Benjamin and Jean Baudrillard.