kitsch

In the arts, anything that claims to have an aesthetic purpose but is tawdry and tasteless. It usually applies to cheap sentimental works produced for the mass market, such as those found in souvenir shops and chain stores, but it is also used for any art that is considered in bad taste.

In the 1960s pop art began to explore the potential of kitsch, and since the 1970s pop culture and various strands of postmodernism have drawn heavily on it. The US artist Jeff Koons (1955– ) employs kitsch extensively.