kitsch
noun
- decorative object of questionable aesthetic value
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /kɪt͡ʃ/
adj
Etymology: From German Kitsch, from dialectal kitschen (“to coat, to smear”); the word and concept were popularized in the 1930s by several critics who contrasted it with avant-garde art.
- Of art and decor: of questionable aesthetic value; excessively sentimental, overdone or vulgar.
“[…] a picture of lemur-eyed children of the sort one sees in the kitscher sort of Italian restaurant […]”
“Abe Lincoln, Paul Bunyan and kitsch souvenir coconut heads come across as icons of masculinity.”
noun
Etymology: From German Kitsch, from dialectal kitschen (“to coat, to smear”); the word and concept were popularized in the 1930s by several critics who contrasted it with avant-garde art.
- Art, decorative objects, and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar.
“Because it can be turned out mechanically, kitsch has become an integral part of our productive system in a way in which true culture could never be, except accidentally.”