Kitsch Origin

Abstract
In this essay, I will be discussing on the birth of Kitsch, whether it is historically dated, having made its appearance hundred and fifty years old, or is it as old as art itself. As we know, there are no definite answer or explanation as to when and how it came about. There are arguments that kitsch has accompanied art throughout its history. For some, it is a distinctly modern phenomenon.

Introduction
What is Kitsch? The origin of the word is largely believed to be a derivation of the German slang “etwas verkitschen” meaning “to make cheap” or according to Ludwig Giesz, the origins of “kitsch” can be traced to the German verb kitschen, meaning den Strassenschlam zusammenscharren, which literally means, “to collect rubbish off the

It’s overdramatic, gaudy and tacky or sentimental and folksy. It’s so bad that it’s cool. It is something that would attract the hipsters in this present age. It can also be found in a form of collectables; vintage products, artworks or people, which at some point were mass-produced and eventually there is a rise in value and sentimentality. Apart from that, kitsch can be in a form of souvenirs, paraphernalia and keepsakes that will be written off as junk by normal people but appreciated as naïve and beautiful by those with perceptive eye and a refined sense of

Some of the contributing factors are the rising of the middle class, urbanization and the arrival of peasant populations to the town, the decline of aristocracy, the disintegration of folk art and folk culture, increased literacy among the commoners, more time for leisure, mass production and technological progress.

In comparison, to recent years dated as far as the nineteenth century, where the industrial revolution has a heavy influence in the development of kitsch, the fact that art back then was connected to religious, ethical or political subject matter, which made it in a way ‘absolute’, unchanging, eternal proves that there classical artist were not concerned about the aesthetic but rather the purpose it has. It is also the time of evolution and experimentation; art was a form of personal