Kitsch

Kitsch: a German word meaning tasteless or tacky in regards to art. It is applied to things that are considered “curtsy” or don’t have any value in themselves, such as mass produced objects. Examples of these are lawn decorations like gnomes and pink flamingos, or velvet Elvises from the 1970s. Regardless of the negative connotation or derogator nature, and possibly because of it, some Artists strive to explore this genre of Art. Two of these Artists are, Jeff Koons and Odd Nerdrum.

Jeff Koons has made a living making kitsch. Unfortunately there is little available explaining why he has chosen to do so. If one were to peruse his website his biography would only herald his accomplishments and inform of his showings, but not enlighten one on his motivations and purpose.  In interviews he seems to play coy, only saying that his art is either without intended meaning, or that it is meant to challenge the viewer in their understanding of art-which sounds much like Duchamp when he argued for found objects being artistic.

           

Alternatively, Odd Nerdrum has been abundantly clear on his motivations for being a Kitsch painter, making the distinction that he is not an Artist. From the few articles that I read on this Norwegian painter, he chose to label his works as kitsch because they were of a style that was considered outdated and overplayed by the critics and academic artists at the time of his self discovery and exploration, a style of representationalism that allowed him to express himself in a way that other suggest styles wouldn’t.