Avante-garde - French phrase, meaning advance guard as in "ahead of the pack" - generally means cutting edge, innovative, pushing the envelope, experimental stuff.Yoko Ono is avante-garde. The guy who draws "Garfield" isn't. Free jazz by John Coltrane is avante-garde. John Williams next film score for Steven Spielberg won't be. Williams is admired, respected and enjoyed. But he's not a far-out shocking Voice of Rebellion.
Kitsch - from a German word meaning worthless - usually refers to mass-produced garbage that's sentimental and obvious. But, a lot of people go for it BECAUSE it's easy to understand. Elvis table lamps are kitsch. Heck, a LOT of Elvis stuff is kitsch. Not because it's Elvis but because it's Elvis as a coat rack or a potato peeler. Those dogs playing poker is kitsch. Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" is not kitsch. Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" as a wall clock that plays "The Blue Danube" is.
