Kitsch

I realized something very obvious about kitsch. It is not a quality of an object of art per se, but a relation. It is a function of audience expectation, then. If I think about Dante, then I have certain ideas about him, his canonical status, etc... If I think about an adaptation of Dante, then maybe my expectations would have to do with the medium of the adaptation: a graphic novel? a broadway musical? a television series? an art-rock concept album.