Kitsch: what is it, and how do you use it?

You probably know the feeling: you see a disco ball, a porcelain dog with huge eyes or a candlestick shaped like food, and you can't help but smile. It's not because the thing is tasteful in the traditional sense, but because it's so unashamedly itself. This is where the word kitsch comes into the picture, and it's far more nuanced than it sounds.

The short answer: what is kitsch?

Kitsch is a style consisting of mass-produced art or design that uses cultural symbols we recognise instantly. The term is often used disparagingly about an artistic expression of low aesthetic quality, but it doesn't have to be that way. As an artistic expression, kitsch can also be a deliberate and ironic use of an over-the-top visual language, and then it suddenly becomes a style you can choose with pride rather than a verdict someone passes on your taste.

The word and the history behind kitsch

The word kitsch is a loanword from German or Yiddish, kitschen, meaning to scrape together rubbish. As a term, kitsch arose in the art markets of Munich in the 1860s and 1870s, where it was used for cheap, popular and sellable pictures and sketches. In the 1936 book Das Buch vom Kitsch, Hans Reimann called it a trade term born in a painter's workshop.

Kitsch is seen as a modern phenomenon linked to the industrial revolution, urbanisation, mass production and new materials and media such as plastic, radio and television. In the first half of the 20th century, the word was used for mass-produced pop-culture products lacking the depth of art, and the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno of the Frankfurt School regarded mass culture as dangerous and dumbing-down.

Since pop art emerged in the 1950s, kitsch has gained a new status. Today the word is often used deliberately ironically, humorously or completely sincerely, and calling something kitsch is still often disparaging, but far from always. Just think of the popular paintings of dogs playing poker: they're quirky and offbeat without seeming offensive.

What makes something kitsch?

The Czech philosopher Tomáš Kulka sets out three conditions in his book Kitsch and Art that something must meet to be kitsch. The subject must be beautiful or strongly emotionally charged, it must be recognisable instantly and without effort, and it must not significantly enrich our associations with the subject. In other words: you don't need to think to understand what you're looking at, and it hits you straight in the heart without any detours.

Typical examples are garden gnomes, illustrations on pizza boxes and souvenirs like a model of The Little Mermaid. Most souvenirs are precisely mass-produced decorative items sold to tourists, and they're often kitsch because they reuse a well-known symbol in a cheap and instantly recognisable version.

The Danish cultural journalist Asger Liebst distinguishes between kitsch and neo-kitsch. Kitsch is classic bad taste, like garden gnomes and pizza-box illustrations, while neo-kitsch is culture that was once innovative and radical but has now gone drastically out of fashion, like functionalist housing blocks in places such as Høje Gladsaxe. This shows that kitsch isn't only something that has always been unserious. Sometimes it's something that time itself has turned into kitsch.

Kitsch or camp: what's the difference?

Kitsch and camp resemble each other because both contain irony and excess, but they have different roots and a crucial difference in self-awareness. Here are the key differences, summed up:

The American writer Susan Sontag described camp in the essay Notes on Camp in 1964, and ever since, the concept has existed side by side with kitsch. When you decorate, you can easily mix the two, but it's nice to know which one you're going for: the sincere joy of kitsch or the deliberate play of camp.

Kitsch in Danish: "fiduskunst" and "trommesalsbilleder"

Here at home, we have our very own word for kitsch: fiduskunst. It covers something that presents itself as art but is produced in an easy way and usually sold fairly cheaply in large quantities. Fiduskunst is also called trommesalsbilleder, after the street Trommesalen in Copenhagen, where poor-quality art was sold around 1900.

The souvenir is another classic Danish route into kitsch. A souvenir is an object that commemorates a place, an event or an experience, and most souvenirs are mass-produced decorative items sold to tourists. A typical Danish souvenir might be a small model of The Little Mermaid, and it's a great example of how kitsch can seem a bit silly while still capturing something genuine in our relationship with a place or an experience.

Kitsch in your home décor

As a style in home decor, kitsch is about the furnishings and other objects in the home not necessarily having to harmonise with each other or with their surroundings. Instead of the home appearing as a unified, streamlined whole, you focus on the value or qualities of each individual object. The things are allowed to take up space and speak for themselves, even if they don't speak the same language as their neighbour on the shelf.

This means you're welcome to place a porcelain figurine next to something completely different, without it needing to make sense as part of a bigger plan. A disco ball in the window can easily stand alone and cast light around the living room, even if the rest of the space is calm and simple. And a candlestick shaped like food, for example a ceramic sardine candlestick, can be just the thing that makes people stop and smile when they sit down at the table.

It's precisely the sincere joy in each individual thing that makes kitsch a style in its own right, rather than just messy decor. You choose the things because they speak to you, not because they fit into a scheme.

How to use kitsch on purpose

• Choose things you genuinely love and that make you happy to look at, rather than thinking in terms of trends.
• Group the things together instead of spreading them thinly throughout the whole home. A shelf or a corner with several pieces of kitsch gathered together has more impact than scattered individual items.
• Give the things a calm background. The wilder the object, the better it can handle standing somewhere where the wall or shelf behind it is simple.
• Let the humour be obvious. Kitsch works best when it's clear that you're in on the joke yourself.

If you want to go even further and fill your whole home with colours, patterns and objects, you can read more in the article about maximalism and dopamine decor, where more really is more.

Frequently asked questions

What is kitsch?

Kitsch is a style consisting of mass-produced art or design that uses cultural symbols we recognise instantly.

What does 'kitschy' mean?

Kitschy is the adjective used to describe something with this style: lavish, easily recognisable and often a bit sentimental or funny in its expression.

Is kitsch the same as bad taste?

Not necessarily. The word is often used disparagingly about low aesthetic quality, but kitsch can also be a deliberate and ironic use of a lavish visual language that you choose with delight.

What's the difference between kitsch and camp?

Camp is aware of its own artificiality and has its roots in a queer sensibility, while kitsch is usually sincere and has its roots in mass-produced art and popular culture.

What are examples of kitsch?

Classic examples are garden gnomes, illustrations on pizza boxes and souvenirs like a model of The Little Mermaid.

How do you use kitsch in interior design?

Put the focus on the individual object rather than the overall look, gather things in groups, give them a calm background and let the humour shine through.

Summary

Kitsch is mass-produced art or design featuring recognisable cultural symbols, and the word can be used both disparagingly and with great affection. The difference between kitsch and camp lies in the awareness of one's own artificiality, while Danish "fiduskunst" and souvenirs show that kitsch has always had a place in our culture. In interior design, kitsch is about letting the individual object shine, whether it's a porcelain figurine, a disco ball or a candlestick shaped like food.

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