I once took a course on aesthetics and kitsch at university with Professor Bauer (he's now retired. Saying goodbye was very difficult for him; at some point he was forced to vacate his office, but he continued to offer consultations in his car in front of the HBK. You could bring your favorite mixtape if you wanted). We were supposed to bring a "piece of candy," something you wouldn't exactly describe as beautiful or kitschy, and talk for two-thirds of a minute about why we found this object beautiful. I brought a small pine cone and a photo. The cone came from our Christmas tree, "Struppi." You may have heard of him; he lives in a pot in my parents' garden and is always brought inside for Christmas. Struppi is quite thin and not very lush; you can hardly hang anything on him. It's also crooked. He's actually the absolute anti-Christmas tree. Even if someone doesn't have a tree on December 24th and it's the last one at the Christmas tree stand, they probably wouldn't buy it. But for me, it's the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world. Simply because it's been celebrating Christmas with me since I was 10. I associate so much with this tree that, for me, it embodies the very essence of aesthetics that someone else wouldn't be able to see without knowing the story behind it.
