Camp, campy

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Perry Lassiter
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Camp, campy

Postby Perry Lassiter » Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:46 pm

A friend in a blog today defined "campy" as trendy. Well, sort of, but all the definitions point to a certain type of garish and exaggerated trend. I have no quarrel with the definition, except in my mind it always refers to picking up an old, outdated trend. As an example, would one of the new noir-ish Batman movies be camp or the old, outlandish ones?
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Slava
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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Slava » Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:53 pm

I'd vote for the latter as being camp. And I disagree with the blogger on camp being trendy.

Here's our Good Doctor's take on the matter.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Philip Hudson » Sat Jan 26, 2013 2:22 am

Camp certainly sets off negative vibes in my mind. So kitsch, according to Slava’s reference, is a subset of camp, . Well, I would say the two words are birds of a feather. Neither are in my active vocabulary, although I know the definitions. Neither word will pass my circumspect lips.
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Re: Camp, campy

Postby gailr » Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:07 am

Camp (and the related kitsch) can be fun: consider a lawn festooned in pink flamingos -- or updated versions, such as cowmingos. 8)

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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Perry Lassiter » Mon Jan 28, 2013 12:17 pm

COWmingos???

A ladies' club where I last lived liked to prank others with a collection of pink flamingos. They awoke one morning to discover a dozen or more of the things -plastic, of course- in their front yard. They had some kind of rules about how long one had to leave them before sneaking them to another's house.

I remember some years ago reading ads in the New Yorker for plastic lawn cows, which I guess must have been the rage among Yankees. It was a puzzlement to me why anyone would do that, because down here if you get the craving to look at a cow, unless you're downtown, a short walk will cure that urge. My wife was raised in KY where they had a cow, whose confused identity led it at times to believe it was a dog. Thus, they found it on the front porch! Why in the ever lovin blue-eyed world would anyone ever want to buy a platic cow? I exclude small versions for preschooler's barns.
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gailr
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Re: Camp, campy

Postby gailr » Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:01 pm

One might want a plastic cow to celebrate flights of fancy... Some cities have produced animal mascots to be decorated by artists or businesses for fundraising and attracting publicity. You've probably seen reproductions of some of those cows, horses, lions?

As for cowmingos: standard yard flamingo painted in a black & white holstein pattern for people in dairy states (or just lovers of cow kitsch).

For the record, I am not harboring any of the above in my stash of kitsch. :)

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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Perry Lassiter » Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:11 pm

Talk about CAMP! The above cow gallery practically defines it.
Gross!
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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Philip Hudson » Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:37 pm

I never saw a plastic cow.
I hope I never see one.
But I can tell you this right now,
I'd rather see than be one.

Unlike MTC I do not write poetry. The above is a slight modification of another poem.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

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Re: Camp, campy

Postby gailr » Tue Jan 29, 2013 11:09 pm

Talk about CAMP! The above cow gallery practically defines it.
Gross!
Oh Perry, don't be a camp art hater. :lol:
Personally, I loved "La Catrina" in that set.

Walking through a business district accented with these objets d'art is actually quite a hoot, especially if you have (or can borrow!) a child. Most show real craftsmanship and a wonderful sense of humor. Right now my current favorite of this genre is the Painted Ponies; I don't collect them because I can't pick a favorite. It would be delightful to run across small herds of them, unexpectedly, in some Western towns.

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Re: Camp, campy

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:06 pm

My first exposure to the word was in college drama where we tossed it around like cheerleaders throwing each other. As we used it, it was more like we couldn't define it, but we knew it when we saw it.
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