Kitsch
Art that delivers a pre-packaged emotion with no resistance — instantly readable, sentimentally reliable, and demanding nothing back.
Full definition of Kitsch →:: COMPARE ::
KitschvsCamp
The short answer
Kitsch asks to be felt sincerely; camp knows better and enjoys it anyway. The object can be identical — what differs is the viewer's distance from it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Kitsch | Camp |
|---|---|---|
| Asks for | Sincerity | Complicity |
| Ironic distance | None | All of it |
| In the object | Partly | No — in the viewer |
| Can be the same object | Yes | Yes |
What each one means
Camp
The contrast above sets out how Camp differs from Kitsch on the points that actually matter.