Thursday, December 16, 2010

santa baby

A few days ago I showed you my workspace and Teri asked about the cut up coke can on my desk:

What do you plan on doing with the cut-up soda can? Will we see a photo of that soon?? Hope so!


So I transformed that kitschy can into kitschy art.

my soapbox speech:
Sometimes I think christmas (commercial and what I consider lower case christmas) is just so "in your face" with hideous color combinations, shiny plastic, unnatural sparkle and glitter ..... blah blah blah .... it only feels good for about 5 minutes.


What is kitsch?


Urban Dictionary says it this way:
kitsch - As an art movement, lifestyle, or literature and film genre, kitsch is pleasingly distasteful. It's melodramatic, overdone, gaudy and tacky or sentimental and folksy. It's so bad that it's cool. Your cat might attack it, but it's hot. 

Sentimentally charming, tacky and fun all rolled up in one. One catch with kitsch is that you're never quite sure if it's supposed to be serious or not. It's that uncertainty that is amusing.

Kitsch is a type of art based on love for the human expression and must have some form of talent and technical skill. It’s critics often use it as a scapegoat calling it "bad art."












Maybe kitsch is a little more naughty than nice

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's so cute...or should I say "nice!" :)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I adore the kitsch. Always have. And it's great art, especially this functional piece you made for your desk. And I totally agree about the c-season.

Teri said...

Thanks Kimmie for answering my question and for posting a link to my blog. I think this piece that you came up with is really great. I don't know how big it actually is but wouldn't it make a great name care holder for a party? It looks substantial enough to hold up a nice piece of paper. What talent you have! I agree about all the decorations at this season. Sometimes a bit much. And EARLY!

sukipoet said...

what an inventive mind you have. I love Kitsch. Years ago my ex-husband and I roamed the Missouri back roads. One item we found, purchased and kept for many years was a kitsch bowl he used for an ashtrap made out of--you would love it---bottle caps.

*jean* said...

do you every remember seeing any "tramp art"? my mom used to show me examples of it when we would go to junk stores (her term for what we now call antique stores) when i was young...they were usually boxes and frames made during the depression of matchsticks, or bottle caps...free art supplies...i love that you are always on the look out for re-usables...i think this is very clever and that you should send it to greencraft magazine...you rock at this, kimmie

*jean* said...

i wish i had a good photo of the fish sculpture that hangs in our MN science museum...it is made entirely of things pulled from the mississippi river...and it hangs in a giant window overlooking the river...

Terri Kahrs said...

LOVE it and its humble beginnings!!! Hugs, Terri xoxo

~*~Patty S said...

now there is a word I've heard and thought I knew what it meant and I guess I sorta of did ... heehee

whatever it's called I Love what you created...you are the master of taking bits of this and that and turning them into something wonderful...kitschy or not ;)

who can resist a sparkly pipe cleaner in any season

oxo

margie said...

art in a red can!! kitsch lives.

Halle said...

I love kitsch...I can never spell it..but I love it. Anything mid-century modern, retro kitsch just makes me a little giddy. Too bad my hubby doesn't share my exuberance. :)