Art Encyclopedia - Kitsch

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Kitsch
Maudlin, overdone work. Over sentimental, designed to appeal to unsophisticated tastes. The word kitsch applies to many mass-produced works. Kitsch is a German term for "vulgar trash" which became fashionable in the early part of the 20th century.

Because the word was brought into use as a response to a large amount of art in the 19th century where the aesthetic of art work was associated with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or melodrama, kitsch is most closely associated with art that is sentimental; however, it can be used to refer to any type of art that is deficient for similar reasons—whether it tries to appear sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or creative, kitsch is said to be a gesture imitative of the superficial appearances of art. It is often said that kitsch relies on merely repeating convention and formula, lacking the sense of creativity and originality displayed in genuine art.