Kristian Kitsch

Have you ever googled the words religious kitsch? It's amazing the amount of sites and images that you'll find if you do. Some years ago, religious kitsch and particularly Christian kitsch seemed to become fashionable and we could see all sorts of people wearing rosaries all of a sudden. I myself bought a green plastic rosary in Mexico one of the times I was there and had it hanging from a book shelf in my room for years.

Religious kitsch can make funny decorative or accessory items if you can see it through an aesthetic or freaky perspective and try to ignore the whole religious connotations that it might have (if like me, you're an atheist).

I started to become interested in Christian kitsch during my stay as an erasmus student in Utrecht, the Netherlands, cause it was happening a lot there during that time, although I had actually been collecting paper angels for years already.

Here you can see some photos taken by me so you can see what I mean.

cromos gigantescos de angeles

biblical poster inherited from my grandmother which reads: honor to god in the sky and peace on earth

cristian altar in a bar in utrecht where the erasmus students use to go

virgin mary in tabasco, mexico. I like her gothic look

crazy bethlehem stable with disco ball, cocoa beans and plants growing out of recycled tins!

No sé si alguna vez os habéis dado cuenta del auge que tuvo el kitsch religioso hace unos años, auge que no termina de desparecer del todo porque, aunque ya no veamos a los famosos con rosarios al cuello, y las pulseras de santo hayan pasado ya afortunadamente a la historia, siguen apareciendo otros accesorios de moda con tintes religiosos; actualmente están de moda unas pulseras de colores hechas con hilos formando crucifijos.

Yo me empecé a interesar por el tema cuando estuve de erasmus en Utrecht porque ahí en esa época se llevaba bastante y de hecho yo misma acabé comprándome un rosario verde de plástico que decoró mi dormitorio durante años (actualmente lo tengo guardado, no recuerdo dónde). Creo que el kitsch cristiano puede hacer de objeto decorativo o accesorio gracioso si eres capaz de verlo desde una perspectiva freaky o estética obviando su connotación religiosa.

Aquí podeis ver algunas fotos tomadas por mi para que veáis de lo que hablo.