A blatantly sentimental and slick artistic presentation. Kitsch is often used derogatorily to suggest low quality, mass production and poor taste. To describe it in present day terms it is all things tacky, cheesy or lowbrow.
The origin of the term can be traced back to the art markets of Munich in the 1860s and the 1870s. In those days the word ‘Kitsch’ was used to describing cheap and marketable pictures and sketches.
Many artists ave made a real virtue out of recycling or rather upcycling kitsch. One such artist is Jeff Koons, though the term doesn’t sit comfortably with him. Pop surrealists or lowbrow artists also apply some of the same visual vocabulary in their art.
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