KITSCH: a type of low art, often applied as a synonym for worthless art, artistic rubbish, or simply bad art (Kulka as quoted in Auger, p.94). Despite its condemnation by the world of fine art, Kitsch gained popularity as “the official carrier of ideology in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia” (Auger, p.94).
How does one recognize Kitsch? Why, by its subjects and its style, of course! Simply ask yourself the following questions to determine if what you are looking at falls into this category:
Is the subject considered beautiful or highly emotionally charged?
Is the subject instantly and effortlessly identifiable?
Are your associations with the subject not substantially enriched when looking at the work in question?
If you’ve answered these questions with “YES”, then congratulations! You’re probably more than likely looking at a fine example of Kitsch. If the envelope was really pushed and the piece before you “demonstrates an excess of aestheticism, an excess of style at the expense of content” (Sontag as quoted in Auger, p. 95), then your Kitsch is now ‘CAMP’!
I’ll let you make your own judgements here.
Let me tell you, friends, Kitsch sure is alive and well and thriving just 70 km SE of Moscow. This weekend I was lucky enough to take a tour of the Гжел Porcelain Factory and Museum. (Imagine, I was on my own. Mr. Unmentionable had to conduct an in-depth study of the interior of his eyelids on Saturday so I was left to my own devices. Don’t worry, I raided his wallet before I left for the day.) After a brief stop at Starbucks for a 7$ latté, we (a few girlfriends and I) scooted to the rendez-vous point to meet up with the others on the tour for 9:45AM.
Our coach had uber-comfortable, roomy seats, large windows and a coffeemaker and toilet in the middle of the bus (neither of which were operational but it was comforting to know they were there). Our driver “was uncomfortable” when we would stand so our guide made a PA announcement to ask those who were standing to kindly sit down so as not to “disrupt the driver’s concentration”. Thankfully we settled in quickly and we were on our way. We quickly learned why it was going to take us about 2 hours to drive the 70 km out of Moscow to get to the town of Гжел (Gzel). Apparently ridiculous traffic is the one thing that you can count on 24/7 in this fair city of ours. It took the better part of 90 minutes to reach the city limits and then it was smooth sailing from then on. The return trip took just over two and a half hours so the way out wasn’t really all that bad (it was then that I really wished the toilet was in working order).
Driving to the porcelain factory we passed through a number of little towns and our tour guide explained interesting facts about each one. Many of the houses are full-time dwellings and the residents of the towns share communal water wells and have no
electricity. The wealthier residents have their own well on their property. The ornately carved wooden frames around the windows portrayed monsters (mermaids, dragons) to keep the occupants safe from harm. This is a throwback to “the old ways”. Many development companies have started to purchase land, build red brick houses (as opposed to the more traditional wood houses) and sell them to residents or to Muscovites looking for weekend getaways (дачи). Unlike North America, red bricks are a very inexpensive building material here. There is little thought given to urban planning as every square inch of space is used and land allocations seem random.
Arriving at our destination, we were ushered into a stark and nondescript building with terrazzo floors and the requisite security guard watching our every move. A quick trip to the ‘loo’ and we were upstairs and on our way to the museum. Лена (our tour guide) narrated the visit through 5 rooms containing artifacts and examples of the evolution of blue and white pottery manufacture in Гжел. She led us through each room, recounting history and regaling us with tales about the artists and the artwork on display.
 |
| The mirror and sconces are all handmade pieces typical of the Гжел porcelain factory. The pieces in the display are examples of the red clay 'Majorca' pottery produced in the area as well. The walls are lined with dark blue velvet. |
|
|
A bonus part of our tour was access to the production floor and the
atelier. Since it was Saturday and the artisans mostly work “on
demand”, there were only three women in the atelier. We were shown the
production of the pieces, step by step, from start to finish. Molds are
filled with a porcelain slurry, left to air dry and then trimmed and
smoothed out before the initial bisque firing. The pieces are then
dipped in a pink solution that shows any cracks or imperfections and it
is painted with a solution of cobalt pigment that appears black before
firing at high temperatures. The piece is dipped in a clear glaze and
when fired a second time at higher temperatures, the cobalt becomes a
bright blue -the larger the amount of cobalt, the deeper the hue.
 |
| View of the production floor. |
 |
| Tools of the trade. |
 |
| Preparing the molded porcelain before first firing. |
 |
| Ready for first firing. |
 |
| Bisque figurine awaiting second firing. |
 |
| Figures waiting for cobalt detail. |
 |
| Artisan working on final cobalt decoration. |
Some of us paid a few more рублеи to take a “master class” but that was a
bit of a failed endeavour. There was already a group working on their
painting techniques when we arrived so we got to mold a piece using clay
and traditional forms and we were unceremoniously shuffled off back to
the gift shop. I snapped a few pictures of the studio for good measure
and future reference. You never know when information like that will
come in handy!
 |
| Studio |
 |
| Exemplars |
 |
| Exemplars |
 |
| Design Process |
 |
| Design Process |
 |
| Finished Product |
 |
| Design |
 |
| Design |
 |
| Design template up close. |
In a goodwill effort to boost the local Russian economy, we stopped by the gift shop attached to the museum where we left more than a few рублеи. I bought a fruit bowl and a candy dish and a couple of little presents for the folks back home. Others weren’t quite as frugal and still others weren’t quite as extravagant in their spending. We made two other stops along the way. I didn’t purchase anything else.
 |
| White paint is to discourage bugs from climbing the tree. |
 |
| A slightly dirty car. Pollution is an issue here. |
Driving home we were stuck in traffic and of course, despite the fact that I made a trip to the loo before we left Гжел, I had to pee. Almost three hours later, I was close to tears. Thankfully our offloading location was in front of a subway station with pay toilet facilities. I flew off the bus and ran the 20 m to the building, paid my 30 руб, zipped through the turnstile and thankfully discovered real flush toilets and toilet paper (even though I brought my own stash just in case -this is something I have learned to do since the ‘zoo incident’ back in August) even if it was of sandpaper quality. If ever I’m stuck again, I now know where to go. I can honestly say that was the best bargain of the day.
Auger, E. (2000). Looking at Native art through Western art categories: From the
“highest” to the “lowest” point of view. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34 (2),
89-98.
electricity. The wealthier residents have their own well on their property. The ornately carved wooden frames around the windows portrayed monsters (mermaids, dragons) to keep the occupants safe from harm. This is a throwback to “the old ways”. Many development companies have started to purchase land, build red brick houses (as opposed to the more traditional wood houses) and sell them to residents or to Muscovites looking for weekend getaways (дачи). Unlike North America, red bricks are a very inexpensive building material here. There is little thought given to urban planning as every square inch of space is used and land allocations seem random.
