Kitsch

Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used more loosely in referring to any art that is pretentious or in bad taste, and also commercially produced items that are considered trite or crass.
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 confused with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or melodrama, kitsch is most closely associated with art that is sentimental, mawkish, or maudlin; 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.
媚俗， 在二十世紀初是個令人恐慌的新現象。藝術在當時至高無上的純粹價值，在媚俗的衝擊下，徹底地動搖了。媚俗的強大複製能力，使藝術不再獨一無二；媚俗巧於模 倣，藝術的原創力不再神聖不可侵犯；媚俗製造的是商品，總是在尋求迎合，因此遠比藝術親民。百年之後，在世紀之末，媚俗已經不再是現象而是現實，它模倣和 複製的對象擴及一切人文，就連最學術的文化批評理論之類，都不能倖免。它早根本成為品味的象徵，它就是主流，它，就．是．美。至於藝術，百年前定義美的權 威不但早被剝奪，而且淪落到當年媚俗的地位，成為一個令人吃驚的現象。