I have a complicated relationship with kitsch. On one hand, as a general principle, I think a cheap laugh is better than no laugh. But that can leave you with a vague sense of guilt, like it's just so easy to ridicule some things that maybe the most honorable thing is to ignore them, and try not to stare. And then a hot-shot contemporary artist starts making work like chromed inflatable vinyl rabbits, and glossy ceramic Michael Jackson with Bubbles statues and such, and here we go with seeing things anew through the eyes of an artist. It gets into the whole conundrum of taste and tastelessness and - are you still awake? - just leaves me uneasy.
Anyway, I have this sculpture of the two dogs wearing berets, with their super-sized blue eyes and flowers and oh-come-on a THERMOMETER as if that somehow justifies its existence because it's useful. And yes, that's reflective silver OVER a coat of reflective gold and the details are hand-painted. It's probably the worst thing I own. Perverse, really. And I think it's just great.
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