(by 25 people)
Fab-u-lous or tacky-Tacky-TACKY?
What is kitsch? Kitsch is either cutsey fun or hideous ugliness, depending on the viewer's opinion. The word comes from the German, and sources debate whether it is derived from words meaning "trash" or "to make cheap."
It can be a style of art, a collection of themed items, a funky way of approaching interior design, or whatever you happen to apply the definition to. Either way, there's no middle ground when it comes to kitsch. You either love it or you hate it.
above...velvet Yoda Elvis. Ooh, that hurts, but sorta in a good way...
Peruse the Junk... I mean, KITSCH!
table of contents
- Helpful Guides To Kitsch
- Ladies and Gentlemen... Start Your Kitsch!
- Kitsch Classics - Clocks
- FIND your icon, find YOUR icon, find your ICON
- The King of Kitsch
- John Waters Does The Simpsons
- Black Velvet Paintings
- The Tijuana Black Velvet Painting Galleries of Indignico Inc.
- Kitschy-kitschy Kool!
- KITSCH ME, BABY!
- The Kitsch Experience
- The Leg Lamp from A CHRISTMAS STORY
- Kitsch Art History
Helpful Guides To Kitsch
Art, culture, style and opinion all collide here.
Kitsch Deluxe
It's fun, it's fanciful, it's kitsch! Celebrate the art of cool imitation, fantastic escapism, and nostalgia for late 20th-century populist culture that lies at the heart of this lighthearted and contemporary design style.
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Kitsch in Sync: A Consumer's Guide to Bad Taste
Peter Ward explores the global culture of kitsch and charts a course through the shallowest waters of trivial bad taste that encompasses all aspects of life - from fashion to furnishings, art to artifacts, through movies, TV, pop and personalities.
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Judaikitsch: Tchotchkes, Schmattes and Nosherei
What would happen if Martha Stewart were abducted by a tribe of trailer park rabbis? Judaikitsch! Filled to the brim with crafts, collectibles, and creative cooking, here's the ultimate guide to a funky, festive Jewish lifestyle.
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Ladies and Gentlemen... Start Your Kitsch!
how to get started with collecting kitsch
The trick to most things kitsch, is to have a theme. You can pick one thing and just run with it, let's say cows for instance, or you can choose something broader and do something like retro-fit a room in your house to support your collection (the family room becomes a recreation of a tiki lounge).Yard Art - garden gnomes, pink flamingos, colorful bird feeders or animated-electronic deer. With yard art, there's something for everyone. You can collect one specific type of figure, or go for a whole menagerie. Collections of pinwheel flowers are fun without scaring the neighbors too bad, but if a row of fat people bent over is your thing, well, you just gotta be you!
The Kitsch Car - Is your car your preferred method of expression and/or rebellion? A sibling to the Art Car, your Kitsch Car can express your chosen theme. Seat covers and dashboard populations are good ways to go with this one. You can stay classic car (fake fur and dice) or you can work up something more post-modern (the all pink car with a city of pink things living on the dashboard).
The Chosen Item Collection - pick the item of your choice and just go, Go, GO! Is your thing salt and pepper shakers? Plates from historic sites? Shot glasses? PEZ? Bonus points for if you get traveling relatives bringing stuff back for you from all over. Spoons are an old fashioned collector's item, snow globes are more contemporary.
The Theme Room - some people have the time, budget and living space to devote to their Kitsch. If so, we salute you! A recreation or family room, spare room, kitchen or office cubicle is a great space for a kitsch theme.
Kitsch Classics - Clocks
make a little time for some kitsch in your life
Cat Clock (Battery Operated)
With rolling eyes and a wagging tail, our Cat Clock is battery operated. This bow tied, Cheshire grinner seems alive as eyes and tail keep time. Clock is easy to hang with no unsightly cords to deal with. Manufacturer's warranty. Requires "AA" battery. 9" x 4" body, 7" tall.
Lucy Chocolate Factory Alarm Clock
Lucy and Ethel's chocolate candy caper highlights this retro 50s-inspired Quartz-precision alarm clock. Enameled metal case with curved glass lens. Approx. 6"x6"x1.5". Uses one AA battery, not included.
FIND your icon, find YOUR icon, find your ICON
Leopard and flames and duckies, oh my!
Ok, so now it's down to it: your kitsch icon. There are a variety of themes, but the most important thing is that you really, really, really like what you're collecting. You can't afford to waste time, space and money on things that you just aren't nuts about yourself.
- The Kitsch Thing - The pink flamingo is classic kitsch and so is the tiki. Hot kitsch icons right now include rubber ducks, PEZ, devils, cowboys, and meat.
- Pattern/Texture - Leopard print, flame motifs or velvet are examples of how to explore kitsch using a color, pattern or texture. Other faves include tattoo flash, fruit, polka dots and poker/cards.
- Celebrity Kitsch - Joke all you want about velvet Elvis paintings, but the King is King when it comes to kitsch. You just know Judy, Barbara and Cher must have countless shrines built in their honor out there somewhere. I once really saw an actual Tina Turner shrine in a living room. Whoever your favorite celebrity, you go for it!
- Singular appeal - Is there just one thing that you're crazy about? Chances are, if there's something that you've been collecting since you were a child, that IS your thing and you should just stick with it.
The King of Kitsch
Celebrating Elvis
Elvis Chess Set
Elvis is literally "the king" in this deluxe fully-licensed chess set! Featuring a retro rock-and-roll theme, the playing pieces include a 3.5" tall king in the image of a young rockin' Elvis Presley, with other pieces representing Graceland, his guitar, and his hit songs, "Hound Dog" and "Blue Suede Shoes!" Folding 14" board makes it easy to store. Cardboard and plastic.
Elvis Pez Set
For over 50 years, PEZ has been the candy treat that's as much fun to play with as it is to eat! This set of 3 collectible Elvis dispensers includes a 1958 G.I. Elvis, 1968 Comeback Special Elvis, and 1973 Aloha From Hawaii Elvis! Includes 3 packs of delicious Pez candy, and a special edition 3-song audio CD of "Hound Dog," "Follow That Dream," and "The Wonder Of You." A unique and fun addition to your collection! In keepsake tin. Limited edition.
Elvis Rotating Lamp
From his first record, "That's All Right (Mama)" in 1954 to the glittering Vegas days, The King never forgot his down home roots. Explore his electrifying career with this rotating collage lamp spanning 3 decades of good rockin'. Silvertone base features faux autograph. On/off switch on cord. 12.25" tall. Includes replaceable 40-watt bulb. ETL® listed.
John Waters Does The Simpsons
A collector's animated version of kitsch heaven
In the Simpsons episode "Homer's Phobia" John Waters did a guest voice for the character John, the owner of Cockamamie's, a kitsch and retro shop in Springfield. The Simpsons go to his store hoping to sell Grandma's "Civil War doll" only to find out it's just one of the Johnny Liquor Lads collectible bottles.Homer asks John if all the stuff in the store is really worth money. John says yes, so Homer mentions that they have tons more "crap" like that at home. He then invites John over to see their house. Coming over for dinner, John finds himself in kitsch heaven.
John: "Oh man, you weren't kidding about this place! Well, I just love it! (snaps pix)
Homer: "Do I know you?"
John: "Oh, the color scheme and the rabbit ears! And the two point three children,... I mean, where's the Hi-C?" (looks from the living room to the tv to the kids)
Lisa: "Hi-C and fluffernutters..." (comes from kitchen to living room carrying a tray)
John: "Oh! And pearls on a little girl! It's like a fairy tale!"
John goes into the kitchen. Looks at corn curtains over sink.
John: "Oh, I've got the exact same curtains, only in my bathroom. Didn't you just die when you found these?"
Marge: "Not really. They just had corn on them. Kitchen... Corn..."
If you look closely, you'll see that the character John is wearing one of the old "Pin Pals" shirts from when Homer was on a bowling team. In fact, he's wearing Homer's old shirt, which Marge donated to get rid of it.
Black Velvet Paintings
This is a kitsch classic. Black velvet paintings run the gamut from "hey, that's really not that bad" to "aaahhhh..., run for your life!" Of course, there are people who find aesthetic pleasure in both and at many points in between.
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Here's my favorite link:
The Tijuana Black Velvet Painting Galleries of Indignico Inc.
Kitschy-kitschy Kool!
Need more kitsch in your life? Sure you do....
Here is a listing of kitschy resources on the net. These sites will help you acquire that which your kitsched-out heart desires.
- Kitsch Shop
- Kitsch, Retro, Gifts, Elvis Presley, Collectables. Here you will find the weirdest and most wonderful gift selection in the world.
- Get Dressed Archie McPhee-Style!
- So, you look in the closet and it's just sooooo not happening, right? Fear not, Archie McPhee's fashion style can get you going again.
- World Of Kitsch - A Tribute To All Things Tack
- Kitsch: Explore the fabulously tacky excesses and desirably hideous objects, music, tv and celebrity in an outlandishly kitsch tribute to all things tack!
- Tacky Living
- Tacky Living is an offshoot of a crafts/home projects book which took on a life of its own during its writing; ideas for projects became twisted out of recognition under our demented touch.
- Cow Parades... and Beyond!
- Welcome to the fund-raising benefit phenomenon known as the Cow Parade. Collectible cows and more!
- Vintage Vending
- Retro Kitsch Nostalgia Memorabilia Gifts Diner Furniture Decor.
- Collecting PEZ Dispensers
- PEZ was originally a German mint made for adults in the 1930s. Reinvented with colorful character heads atop candy dispensers in the 1950s they were re-flavored and marketed to kids, going on to become one of the strangest and most collected pop culture obsessions of the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Sacred or Silly? Religious kitsch
- Looking for a Jewish snow globe or a Christian candy tin? Beliefnet identifies the best of religious kitsch.
- Welcome To Kthulhu Kitsch!
- An online store featuring Lovecraft and Cthulhu inspired merchandise, including toys, shirts and art.
- Kitsch City
- Offers products for the bed, bath, bar, living room, and patio.
- Aspen Country - Kitsch Clocks, Tacky Clocks, Tasteless Clocks, Retro Elvis Presley Wall Clocks
- Aspen Country Unique Gifts - Downright unusual gifts. Top 10 unusual gifts, kitsch clocks, musical sculptures, glow-in-the-dark novelties, really different stuff!
KITSCH ME, BABY!
Kitschy bathroom
weird example of german mega-kitsch
Things in my kitchen that make me smile
garden gnomes were introduced to the UK in 1847
Kitsch as Kitsch can
Kitsch Cactus Juicer
The Kitsch Experience
Want a genuine retro kitsch atmosphere?
Want a LIVE kitsch moment instead of just buying one? Load up that car covered in pink fake fur and hit the road!
- Kitschn on Roscoe!
- A one-of-a-kind experience in Chicago.
- Kitsch Tour U.S.A.
- Make up your own kitsch road trips plans based on recommendations from this site.
- Yet another '50s kitsch restaurant called "XXX"
- Adventures for businesses that carry a Triple X, but have nothing to do with adult film. - from BoingBoing
- Welkom bij restaurant Kitsch
- This website is for a restaurant located in Amsterdam.
- Filomena Ristorante Georgetown - Washington DC
- At Filomena you'll feel like you've come home to an Italian Grandma. Join the long list of names from the stage, screen, and even heads of state who routinely journey to Filomena to reminisce in old Italy while they watch the "mamas" make pasta from scratch.
The Leg Lamp from A CHRISTMAS STORY
Fra-gee-lay! That must be Italian...
Here is one of the most sacred relics of kitsch... the leg lamp from the classic holiday movie A CHRISTMAS STORY.
Mr. Parker: Holy smokes. Do... Do you know what this is? This is... A lamp!
Narrator: It was indeed a lamp.
Mr. Parker: Isn't that great? What a great lamp.
Mother: I don't know...
Narrator: The old man's eyes boggled...
Mr. Parker: Oh WOW!
Narrator: ...Overcome by art.
One man became so infatuated with the movie, he's actually bought the house used in Cleveland, OH and made a perfect replica of the movie setting. Visit the A CHRISTMAS STORY HOUSE.
Mr. Parker: Holy smokes. Do... Do you know what this is? This is... A lamp!
Narrator: It was indeed a lamp.
Mr. Parker: Isn't that great? What a great lamp.
Mother: I don't know...
Narrator: The old man's eyes boggled...
Mr. Parker: Oh WOW!
Narrator: ...Overcome by art.
One man became so infatuated with the movie, he's actually bought the house used in Cleveland, OH and made a perfect replica of the movie setting. Visit the A CHRISTMAS STORY HOUSE.
A Christmas Story Movie Official Table Leg Lamp
Amazon Price: $45.99 (as of 10/07/2008)
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A CHRISTMAS STORY Movie OLD MAN Bobber BOBBLE HEAD Figurine
Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 10/07/2008)
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A Christmas Story Monopoly
Release Date: 07/25/2007
Amazon Price: $29.91 (as of 10/07/2008)
List Price: $29.99
Used Price: $28.95
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Christmas Story Leg Lamp String Lights, 10 lights, 10' long, Indoor only
Amazon Price: $22.95 (as of 10/07/2008)
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Kitsch Art History
The serious side of kitsch, if there is such a thing
Taking a look at kitsch from a more critical angle.
- Kitsch and the Modern Predicament by Roger Scruton, City Journal Winter 1999
- In a celebrated 1939 article, 'Avant-Garde and Kitsch,' published in Partisan Review, the New York art critic Clement Greenberg argued that figurative painting was dead. Urbanities - Winter 1999
- kitsch
- The University of Chicago
- Definition: Kitsch
- KITSCH: The reduction of aesthetic objects or ideas into easily marketable
forms. - PopPolitics.com - Orientalist Kitsch
- Abercrombie & Fitch's t-shirts resurrect caricatures and complications
- Star Wars Kitsch
- How Trends of the 70's Influenced Star Wars Merchandising by Pete Vilmur
- Bad Subjects: Empire of Kitsch: Japan as Represented in Western Pop Media
- The images of traditional Japan -- geisha, Mount Fuji, sushi, sumo, samurai, and green tea -- have been brought to the rest of the world for centuries through art work and trade goods. The post-industrial era has brought new cultural products from Japan and thus new associations to Japan, including karaoke, Tamagotchi, Pokemon, Aibo, and Hello Kitty.
- Black Velvet
- Modern artists revitalize the kitsch tradition of black velvet painting.
