The American posters that were designed during WWII had many of the same elements that we have seen during these years when modern art influenced design. The posters are rather simplified and straightforward, with pistorial representations and limited color range (black, red, white, yellow, blue) to get direct points across. The war posters are especially dramatic as they hit on social, political and ethical nerves.
American Kitsch, on a completely different note, is the opposite of the simple designs that we have been seeing lately. Kitsch is often described as tacky, trashy, nostalgic or just plain junk. Some people can appreciate kitsch because they can find humor in how terrible looking a piece of art/collectible/carving/etc is. While I think this is funny to a point, I only think it'd be funny if someone else actually thought it was good art and one could laugh at how bad it really is. But who really knows what's good and bad?
In relation to WWII posters, I especially noticed Ben Shahn's poster about Nazi cruelty, which features a stiff man with a bag over his head and text saying that all the men of a Czech village have been killed. Even the brick wall in the background is striking as it brings about the imagery of the concentration camps and brick ovens to mind. It is an eerie and striking poster.
What are some other examples of kitsch? For some reason, I keep recalling to mind old garage sales I went to and all the old ugly figurines that I'd find at them and wonder who'd ever buy them.
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