Kitsch is characterized by its excessive decoration, sentimentality, and commercial appeal. It’s a form of pseudo-art that’s easy to understand, digest, and, therefore, easy to sell, often borrowing from commodity culture. Kitsch often refers to vulgar, or shallow, mass-produced art or culture. Kitsch is characterized by its garish, and often low-brow aesthetics. It lacks the intellectual depth and critical engagement associated with high art. While “tacky”, “tchotchke”, and “kitsch” are terms describing things that are generally considered to be lacking in good taste, “kitsch” tends to have a broader, more encompassing meaning than “tacky” or “tchotchke”, While some appreciate kitsch’s playful and nostalgic qualities, others view it as tasteless and a debasement of artistic integrity.
Kitsch’s mass appeal and ease of consumption make it a prime candidate for commercialization. It’s often seen as a product of consumer culture, created with monetary gain in mind. Commercialism can sometimes lead to the exploitation of artistic concepts and the commodification of cultural artifacts.
Yet, Americans are enamored by kitsch. Why?
— Dr. Barry Ferst
Kitsch is a result of the Industrial Revolution (Greenberg, 1939). As consumer goods became cheaper and easier to produce, a culture of consumption emerged. Art that is easily consumed and deemed profitable is known as “commercial art.” Commercialism led to “kitsch art” by exploiting artistic ideas and turning universally recognized icons into commodities. Though the artist may not have intended to create commercial art, its lack of challenging themes and signaling to other familiar works of art can conjure feelings of nostalgia and sentimentality within the viewer, often bringing a sense of comfort. This is what makes art kitsch.
This exhibition is meant to be a fun, tongue-in-cheek exploration of the kitschy art in our permanent collection. The pieces in the collection were not seen as kitsch when they were acquired initially, but as time moves forward, tastes change. When art is removed from its initial time and place, it allows for a wider lens of interpretation. “Time liberates the work of art from moral relevance” (Sontag, 1964). While the artists’ intentions behind the works remain the same, the cultural context surrounding the artworks is ever-evolving. What was once mundane, through the passage of time, has had the opportunity to become sensational.
What’s interesting about kitsch is how it impacts people emotionally. It can provoke strong feelings of repulsion or joy in its viewers and consumers. Kitsch is quite polarizing both as a word and a concept, and the tension it creates is what is most interesting about it. You, the viewer, are encouraged to consider the emotions this exhibition evokes and why those feelings even occur in the first place. Maybe you’ll love it, or maybe you’ll hate it; all responses are welcome, but the point, as it always should be with art, is that you felt anything at all.
–Gianna Sherman, Curator
