I studied Industrial Design in college and worked in that field for 25 years. I have been collecting and studying Kitsch, Propaganda, and "Bad Graphic Design" for much longer than that. I also play tuba semi-professionally in a variety of bands.
Inspired by the Kool-Kats painting - I will post some of my Tuba Kitsch collection at random intervals. I have been collecting them over the... December 7th, 2009 by Domitype 7 Comments »
Kitsch Domitype has commented on.
These are all of comments I've made about all the beautiful Kitsch in the Kitschenette Wing of the AWMoK:
Here is a video of a typical Tuba Christmas performance this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAL-miOCR4
From Grand Rapids, Michigan - not as big as the one in New York City, where they usually get more than 300 players.
Domitype says:
December 08, 2009 at 11:02pm
The LA Tuba Christmas was on the 6th, but there will be one in Anaheim on the 22nd at Disneyland (can't get much kitschier than that!) or there is one in Riverside on the 19th.
I don't know why the other link does not work for you, but here is the official locator site:
http://www.tubachristmas.com/selectloc.php that has all the details for musicians and some info for the audience.
Domitype says:
December 08, 2009 at 08:33pm
I forgot to mention Santa & Xmas Tuba figurines and ornaments - there are a lot of them! In a "Real Life Kitsch Event" that happens all over the country around Christmastime, there are gatherings of Tubas, Sousaphones, Euphoniums and other related instruments for "Tuba Christmas"
I have about 50 tuba pieces, ceramic and cast metal, not counting "Toy Soldier" figures. I have found another 30 or 40 different ones in other collections or on-line.
They are mostly animals playing horns, but there are also a lot of human figures (adults, children, clowns and cherubs mostly.)
I know 3 or 4 other tuba players who also have tuba kitsch collections of more than 30 different pieces.
There is also a bit of "Tuba Fine Art" around as painting and sculpture, but it is a close line between Art and Kitsch when the subject is a tuba player...
The tuba has been making a big "come back" in modern music, with Tuba Gooding Jr. on TV a lot, and many ".alt rock" and jazz bands using the horn (with or without bass guitar.) It has been a slow process, but I have been hearing a lot of new music with low brass!
A few - none of the really big events that get hundreds of micro cars.
Some specialize by maker, others are open to all sorts of tiny cars.
There are gatherings of Trablants in the former East Germany that are often considered to be the height ( or depth?) of "kar-kitsch"
http://www.automotto.org/entry/the-car-that-brought-down-the-infamously-famous-wall/ is an article about just one that happened this year.
http://www.microcar.org/ covers a lot of the events around the world.
As funny as all these cars might look - they were what could be quickly built soon after WW2 with materials and factories at hand, for a price that people could afford. They were very fuel efficient and gave a bit more weather protection, drivability and capacity than scooters or motorcycles (or bicycles.)
They mostly weren't quite right for US driving conditions, but the VW Beetle and the first Minis were only slightly larger than the micros - they eventually did OK here. Now, cars like the Smart are trying the same thing all over again!
Domitype says:
December 07, 2009 at 07:50pm
There are quite a few of them still on the road - along with a lot of other "micro-cars" from the 1950s and 60s. There is a loose association of Arcane Auto Collectors (mostly in Northern California) that gathers several times each year to play with their "toy cars" - and there are Micro-car gatherings all over the world.
In 1950s shoe stores they had public foot x-ray machines right out in the storefront. I can remember sticking my feet in one at a store in San Francisco and seeing my bones!
I have a book collecting the works of the Keanes - very strange stuff!
There is quite a lot of kitsch involving tubas and Sousaphones - nowhere near as many as frogs (probably the most common kitsch subject around the world) dogs, children, or rabbits - but I have found quite a few. This is one of only a very few Sousaphone-cat pieces!
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Here is a video of a typical Tuba Christmas performance this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAL-miOCR4
From Grand Rapids, Michigan - not as big as the one in New York City, where they usually get more than 300 players.
The LA Tuba Christmas was on the 6th, but there will be one in Anaheim on the 22nd at Disneyland (can't get much kitschier than that!) or there is one in Riverside on the 19th.
I don't know why the other link does not work for you, but here is the official locator site:
http://www.tubachristmas.com/selectloc.php that has all the details for musicians and some info for the audience.
I forgot to mention Santa & Xmas Tuba figurines and ornaments - there are a lot of them! In a "Real Life Kitsch Event" that happens all over the country around Christmastime, there are gatherings of Tubas, Sousaphones, Euphoniums and other related instruments for "Tuba Christmas"
http://www.makingmusicmag.com/features/tubachristmas.html
I have done some of these, but not lately.
I have about 50 tuba pieces, ceramic and cast metal, not counting "Toy Soldier" figures. I have found another 30 or 40 different ones in other collections or on-line.
They are mostly animals playing horns, but there are also a lot of human figures (adults, children, clowns and cherubs mostly.)
I know 3 or 4 other tuba players who also have tuba kitsch collections of more than 30 different pieces.
There is also a bit of "Tuba Fine Art" around as painting and sculpture, but it is a close line between Art and Kitsch when the subject is a tuba player...
The tuba has been making a big "come back" in modern music, with Tuba Gooding Jr. on TV a lot, and many ".alt rock" and jazz bands using the horn (with or without bass guitar.) It has been a slow process, but I have been hearing a lot of new music with low brass!