The history of aesthetics portrays the relationship between 'high' and 'low', i.e. between high and popular culture, as being strongly antagonistic. On the other hand crossovers to illegitimate forms of art, the integration of various forms of non-art and a striking appreciation of accessory parts or the supposedly secondary have become a programmatic element in the historic avant-garde. The anthology investigates this conflicting relationship as reflected in various current examples.

Thomas Wegmann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Norbert Christian Wolf, Universität Salzburg, Österreich.