So, What is Kitsch?
Kitsch is misunderstood. Too often it's a term used by some people to describe something they feel is beneath their superior sense of taste and style. I get it. But the mistake these puffers are making is that they are comparing two dissimilar concepts.
Kitsch is not classical art. That's its beauty, its exacting perfection. Kitsch doesn't ask for a Phd or a lifetime of study to "get it." Kitsch doesn't demand for someone to suffer to fully appreciate its purpose and meaning, because often times kitsch has no meaning... on the surface.
Quality kitsch springs from a shared cultural experience. It takes something with great meaning and reverance, a concept that inspires awe in a group of people and gives it a place in everyday life. If an object offends the zealot, it has a good chance of being great kitsch.
Here's an example, one of the best sellers of the Northwest kitsch retailer, Archie McPhee, is the boxing nun hand puppet. The "toy" takes an object that has the potential to inspire great respect and reverance (Say what you will about the Catholic Church or nuns, but a person willing to devote their life in the name of their beliefs deserves a reverant attitude.) and reconstructs it in a humorous, accessible form. There was a time when you couldn't walk through a decent-sized collection of office cubicles and not see a boxing nun puppet. Now that's great kitsch.
Incidentaly, if you're interested, you can visit Archie McPhee's online store here. They didn't have any boxing nun puppets last time I checked, but they have some other fantastic stuff available.
Island kitsch serves a dual purpose. First, it's kitsch, so it is fun, interesting, accessible, and can be proudly displayed for others to share. Second, it's the closest that many people can get to having the islands as part of everyday life.
For many, the islands represent another life. Jobs, families and friends make it difficult for some to uproot and move to an island to experience that other life. For many, island kitsch is a quiet, unobtrusive reminder that there is that potential in the world.
Rather than condemn an object as kitsch, and therefore worthless, it's important to look beyond the object and understand its roots. In doing that, the kitsch can take its rightful place as an icon of something that holds great meaning for a large number of people.
Listed below are a series of blog articles written about the history behind some of the more popular island kitsch pieces. If you they are interesting to you, I encourage you to subscribe to the blog. If there's a favorite piece of island kitsch that you've come across, post it in the comments section. If there's something that you feel should be included, post that too. And if you know someone that is a fan of kitsch, send them the link. It's time that more people become exposed to the importance of kitsch in our world. Mahalo.
Island Kitsch Blog Postings
Steel Guitars, Ukelele and Metal Drums
