A Kiss Cashes in - Klimt Between Art and Business

In 2012 we celebrate the 150th birthday of Gustav Klimt. The artist seems to be suffering a similar fate as W.A. Mozart did some years ago: being buried under a just about infinite avalanche of exhibitions, merchandising products and tourist deals. Klimt teddy bears, Klimt dog blankets, Klimt china figurines, Klimt chocolates, Klimt Barbie dolls, Klimt umbrellas, Klimt cookbooks: All that counts is that «The Kiss» is reproduced on it; apart from that, marketers' imagination knows no bounds. In contrast to this boom is the fierce criticism Klimt's work attracted in his lifetime. The film's protagonists quote sometimes very coarse newspaper articles from the Vienna Secession era and thus show how quickly a scorne artist can become a superstar.