We often repeat words of admiration for things that please us and harmonize with our feelings, and we speak about taste in colors and their harmony. However, people’s response to aesthetic concepts does not form a unified or independent sense of taste, but rather a complete fusion that grows and matures within the social environment we live in.
As for beauty in objects, it must combine both necessity and harmony with individual perception. This must be said before discussing the question of cheapness and its relation to the consumer goods that flood our markets day after day.
A few months ago, a short article was published in one of the newspapers in which the author sharply criticized the poor taste that characterizes the production of local goods — garishly decorated and colored in annoying ways — describing them as harmful and degrading to the aesthetic sensibility enjoyed by many. He wrote that pale wax flowers have taken the place of a real flower garden, and wondered: How can kitsch replace true artistic quality and creativity?
These phenomena did not suddenly appear on the broad stage. By its very nature, this trend is hostile to genuine art and creative work. The artistic imitation we call kitsch emerged alongside the development of industry and the rise of the bourgeoisie in 18th-century Europe. It was given that name because it lacks creativity, imagination, meaning, and aesthetic qualities.
This trend continued to grow because the bourgeoisie prolonged its life — since it served as a means of profit. Technical methods and deceptive aesthetic elements were introduced to confuse and blur good taste, enabling the mass marketing of such products to wide audiences.
This so-called “art” has long been a tool in the hands of those who oppose authentic art movements and who seek to undermine popular art — the art that springs from the people’s traditions and aspirations for a better life, the art that relies on sincere aesthetic expression among the working classes. It is no coincidence that the bourgeois ideology is rooted in excessive profit and exploitation. The principle of “bread and circuses,” or “bread and laughter,” and the cinematic style glorifying the “sweet life,” are not accidental — they serve to distract from labor unrest and social dissatisfaction. What matters most to them is to make everything appear shiny, gilded, and dazzling — to soften public resentment and numb the collective taste.
In our country, kitsch also carries an element of propaganda, especially in the field of manipulative media and the production of decorative souvenirs. The general trend in gift shops is the complete absence of genuine creative work. Kitsch is marked by the appearance of images of leaders and political figures on wooden and copper plates, alongside pictures that align with official policies obstructing peace efforts and inciting hatred and racism.
You find the same in greeting cards for special occasions, as well as in illuminated pictures powered by batteries made in Italy or Japan, or those glowing under colored cellophane paper.
In the homes of the wealthy, however, there is no trace of such decoration — their owners seek “antiques” from the Middle Ages or ancient relics salvaged from forgotten ruins. As for kitsch, it is reserved for the working people… isn’t that so?
source: Al Ittihad newspaper
