What is "Camp"? Five Scholars discuss Sontag, The Met and Camp's Queer Origins

- Since it entered the English language in the late 19th Century, the term has been subject to various interpretations, and there still doesn’t seem be a consensus. - Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on Camp is the inspiration for the 2019 Metropolitan Museum of Art gala and accompanying exhibition. In it, the late writer and filmmaker wrote: “To sn... See more

"Camp is a vision of the world in terms of style - but a particular style. It is the love of the exaggerated." - Susan Sontag A sensibility (as distinct from an idea) one of the hardest things to talk about; but there are special reasons why Camp, in particular, has never been discussed. It is not natural mode of sensibility, if there be any such. ... See more

1. To start generally: Camp is a certain mode of aestheticism. It is one way of seeing the world as an aesthetic phenomenon. That way, the way of Camp, is not in terms of beauty but in terms of the degree of artifice. 2. Emphasize style is to slight content or introduce an attitude which is neutral with respect to content. 3. Not only is there a Ca... See more

- In 1964, Susan Sontag defined camp as an aesthetic “sensibility” that is plain to see but hard for most of us to explain: an intentional over-the-top-ness, a slightly (or extremely) “off” quality, bad taste as a vehicle for good art. - Camp is artificial, passionate, serious, Sontag writes. Camp is Art Noveau objects, Greta Garbo, Warner Brothers... See more