Ayn Rands claims in “Romantic Manifesto” (1975) that a romantic realist is an agent who accept reality – here and now –, and observations made are done within that angel of perception. Reality is : existence exist, and not a trancedental flight and escape in the world of Plato, Kant and Hegel ideas and their demand on mystique, over-natural phenomena and its unique criteria of time and space.

The human created part of reality and society today are not influenced by Rand’s philosophical system: Objectivism and that is also the reason why Rand labeled herself and aesthetics “romantic” since she allows her fictional characters to have an opportunity to “escape” to a better alternative where there are no dominating Plato and Kantian infrastructure.

In her own fiction Rand describes moral conflicts of today and take her heroes and heroines to places – to a world which the characters have longed for – a world without any conflict with State, religion, moral and society.

The characters is here and now in the external objective reality (as a realist) and she lets them have an alternative to escape from it (that’s why she calls herself romantic realist).They escape from the existing moral codex on earth, to a place where the moral codex of Objectivism is accepted, and where individuals can live rationally and peacefully in harmony within and related to rational values of self interest. This is identical with the actions of the kitsch producer (Hermann Broch: 1930).

(As a sociologist I must mention Adam Smith and his beautiful thesis on “the invisible hand” in this context. No academics or politician ever mention that Smith saw human nature as a natural ability in having sympathy with others, and that a civil society is possible in light of that argument –and therefore…without a state.)

Rand describes the world as it should and ought to be, in terms with the opportunity to be in a place that is better than the status – quo. In her bestselling novel Atlas Shrugged, “Galts Gulch” is that kind of place, and you can also find those places in timeless and eternal motives in Kitsch).

If she (or the kitsch producer) hadn’t “stylized” her characters and not given them the opportunity (ps: they are free to choose if they want to leave their current circumstances. They are not forced by any supernatural control as in socialist literature), to leave she wouldn’t have been a romantic realist (Kitsch) but a naturalistic artist.

A person who fights and leaves a world in moral chaos which is in conflict with their integrity and values, is a heroic person. The person who stays and acknowledge this visible chaos of a man – hating Kantian universe, and gets her/his meaning in life sucking on others existents; is a anti – heroic.

Kitsch is a flight from death…not into it ( Skurdal 2002). “An artist doesn’t fake reality, he stylizes it “(Romantic Manifesto 1975).

The novel “Atlas Shrugged” shows us this Kitsch mentality and Kitsch theme in “Galts Gulch”: a great example of Kitsch phenomena. “Art should show and not teach” (Romantic Manifesto 1975).

A hope and longing for a better world or place, and a big wish for something as it could or should be is: Kitsch context.

Aristotle claimed that fiction is of a greater philosophical significance than history, since you con SHOW the world how it should be, and not as it is. When you show the world how it is – under current social circumstances - you find yourself under, as mentioned earlier: the aesthetic term naturalism . Naturalism separates itself from the definition on Romantic Realism (Nerdrums definition on Kitsch) because: the theme in naturalism is of a journalistic character since the stories told “really has happened” historically, political or socio – political. The themes become relatively static, determinate by the society – collective. Political propaganda from Stalin Russia and Hitler Germany and its determining Kantian and Hegelian function, are two great examples of naturalistic Art of the State.

Ayn Rands Romantic Realism takes its distance from God, society, institutional norms and values which she claims are influenced by Immanuel Kant. No official public morality or ideology of the State or infrastructure should be integrated in Romantic Realism.

Kitsch seeks the individual and its timeless, universal, eternal themes– nothing more, but still larger than life.

Ayn Rands focus is that art (Kitsch) primary function is metaphysics and not ethics understood as a function : a borderline of pietism, a salvation. ”Art should show not teach” (Romantic Manifesto 1975). It is important to remember that Rand’s definition on art (Nerdrum Kitsch) is: a selective recreation of the external objective reality, in accordance with the personal metaphysical value evaluations done by the artist (kitsch producer).

When an artist (kitsch producer) chooses to show precise metaphysical value evaluations, is in accordance with reason, and the acknowledgment of the axiom: existence exists. Value – evaluations is based on how and what you choose to visualize. The result is either: kitsch mentality – as it should or could be- or art mentality: a sacrifice of the self and a worship in the irrationality of the world.

“Art is not your only source of morality, but a moral sense of life. A sense of life is a preconceptuell equivalent of metaphysics, an emotional subconsciously integrated appraisal of man and of existence. Morality is an abstract, conceptual code of values and principles” – Ayn Rand, Romantic Manifesto.

Another parallel that can make this easier to understand is: Love is a response to values.

“Observe the smoothness, the pliant resistance of the skin that is conveyed by rigid marble in his statue. Its great day (for statues) was ancient Greece, which philosophically, was a man – centered civilization “– Ayn Rand on Michelangelo’s statue: Pieta.

“His (Vermeer) style projects clarity, discipline, confidence, purpose, and power – a universe open to man. When one feels looking at a Vermeer painting: ‘This is MY view of life’, the feeling involves much more than mere visual perception” – Ayn Rand on Vermeer.

Romanticism is a school of volition, and is therefore a morally centered movement which embraced the individual freedom and rights. Ayn Rand claims that romanticism is a category which is based on the acknowledgement that a human being is a reasonable being. Romanticism acknowledge the human volition, naturalism doesn’t. The human volition is a consciousness and existence that shouldn’t be determined by any external circumstances.

Romantic realism tells the human beings that “it can be done” and the moral sense of life is showing the audience: It’s larger than life.

The Art we observe from the 1850’s and the contemporary Art of today has a “sense of life” who says: “this is life” and “if you want it to be a life, ok it is a life” or “this is life you are forced to choose”. Morally this is the sacrifice of the self and altruism, and not Rand’s notion on volition.

We can all agree on (with exception from the specialized people in the Art – World who has learned the right codes and criteria in contemporary aesthetics) that there is no meaning in contemporary Art, and that most of it consists of pure irrationality (epistemological and ethical).

Rand claims: “Romanticism is a crusade to glorify human existence, and psychologically it is experienced simply as the desire in making life interesting” – Romantic Manifesto. The higher technical insight, the more clarity and thereby higher complexity and style; shows the human existence at its best: A high ranking on her objective standard.

It is hard to acknowledge that life represented in contemporary museums and galleries make the audience interested and fascinated.

I think it is a more lack of interest that is dominating the big Art circus, and which Immanuel Kant and his “Critique of Judgment” 1790 demands from this bubble of Art imaginary.

The hypothesis in this article is from Hanna Cecilie Skurdal’s articles published in the Norwegian Philosophical Review AerA, nr1 and 4 2002.

Skurdal is currently working on a scientific masterpiece with Odd Nerdrum (2005), exploring these thesis in theory and practice.