scholarly journals Grand Exhibitions of the 2010s in Russia: Affirming the National Project Through Realist Art

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Kruglova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Art Exhibitions ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Russian Art ◽  
Museum Visitors ◽  
Ideological Resources ◽  
Conservative Turn

Since the early 2010s, large exhibitions of Russian realist art have enjoyed significant, nationwide success. This article explores the concept of Russian realism, relating it to the concept of culture as heritage, actively exploited in state rhetoric. The popularity of Russian realism is analyzed in the context of the conservative turn in Russian    art. The analysis relies on curators’ texts, press-releases, comments and feedback  of museum visitors, and articles written by art critics. The article sheds light on the ideological resources of art in its traditional formats and compares the three versions of realist discourse: critical realism of the nineteenth century, socialist realism of the mid-twentieth century and contemporary realism. This work demonstrates that the contemporary discourse of realism appropriates the symbolic capital of the Russian classical heritage by emphasizing the continuity of the realist tradition in contemporary art, which unreflectively uses traditional forms. Thus, realist art provides a way to conceal the clashes and ruptures in Russian national history and to maintain and to invigorate the illusion of national unity. Keywords: state cultural policy of the Russian Federation, critical realism, socialist realism, Russian art exhibitions in 2015

Instructive, Dramatic, and Corrective Collectivity: Socialist Realism in the Mirror of Collegial Debates. A Case Study of Documents of the Artists' Union of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1944–55

ARTMargins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-55
Author(s):  
Māra Traumane
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Collective Learning ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Socialist Republic ◽  
Soviet Socialist Republic ◽  
Artistic Production ◽  
Artistic Life ◽  
Three Stages

Based on the study of protocols of the Latvian Artists' Union and the Organizational Committee of the Artists' Union of the USSR, the article surveys three stages of the introduction of Socialist Realism in Latvia and different forms and functions of the enforced collegial collectivity facilitating this process. The article examines the transformation of artistic life in Latvia during the period of Stalinism, which not only meant stylistic transition towards Socialist Realism but also involved the imposition of a range of practices of collective supervision of artistic production and censorship, including collective debates, collective advice, collective learning and collective critique. Ultimately ideological and stylistic demands of the normative collectivity came into conflict with the key presumptions artistic autonomy adhered to by the local artists. Taking into account the center-periphery dynamics of Soviet cultural policy during the Stalinist period the article examines three stages in these discursive practices that are identified as manifestations of instructive, dramatic, and corrective collectivity.

The Exhibition-Organising Activity of the Committee for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries (1950–1956) Based on the Example of Selected Exhibitions at the Zachęta Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions

Ikonotheka ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 63-94
Author(s):  
Karolina Zychowicz
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Folk Art ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Central Bureau ◽  
Local Version ◽  
Art Exhibitions ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
History Of

The documentation of the Committee for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries, which was an offi cial agency active in the years 1950–1956, is currently deposited at the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw and constitutes an invaluable source for any Polish scholar interested in the history of exhibitions. It contains large amounts of interesting data which make it possible to ascertain the character of Polish exhibitionorganising activity in the fi rst half of the 1950s. In the six years of its existence the Committee organised ca. one hundred exhibitions. The essay concerns exhibitions hosted in the main building of the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions, i.e. the Zachęta. Foreign exhibitions prepared by the Committee were intended to justify the state’s cultural strategy based on promoting the aesthetics of Socialist Realism, which programmatically referred to 19th-century Realism and its historical traditions. Exhibitions of art produced in the countries of the Eastern bloc presented the local version of Social Realism plus 19th-century painting that could be described as “Critical Realism”. Bringing to Poland exhibitions of folk art from the “brotherly” countries of the Eastern bloc was an important element of the Committee’s policy, as in the years 1949–1956 attempts were made to use folk art in the process of remodelling the country in the Socialist spirit. The Committee for Cultural Cooperation with Foreign Countries was established in 1950 in order to centralise, expand and politicise artistic exchange. On the whole, however, the idea to centralise all of the cultural exchange with foreign countries turned out to be a utopia. In 1955, just as the so-called thaw was beginning, the Ministry of Culture and Art offered the proposal to decentralise the exchange and to dissolve the Committee.

Stanislavsky in Poland: Ethics and Politics of the Method

1989 ◽  
Vol 5 (20) ◽  
pp. 361-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliusz Tyszka
Keyword(s):  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Russian Art ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Moscow Art Theatre ◽  
Ethics And Politics

The reception of most manifestations of Russian art and culture in Poland is linked inextricably with the political situation, and official and popular attitudes are often widely divergent. From the first visit of the Moscow Art Theatre to Warsaw in 1908, when most Poles boycotted the performances, through enthusiasm tempered by ignorance in the inter-war period, to the 'Stalinization' of Stanislavsky as official mediator of socialist realism in the late 'forties, Polish attitudes to the 'method' which was Stanislavsky's legacy are here examined by Juliusz Tyszka. Today, he concludes, Poles have largely consigned Stanislavsky to the lumber-room of history – though there are a few cautionary voices who urge his continuing relevance.

scholarly journals Produkowanie estetyk, produkowanie podmiotu. Początki odwilży i wolność twórcza w sztukach wizualnych na przykładzie wystawy w Arsenale

2019 ◽  
pp. 381-408
Author(s):  
Jakub Dąbrowski
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Scattered Power ◽  
New Beginning ◽  
The Press ◽  
Aesthetic Consciousness ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Masses

In Polish art history, there are two approaches to the “Arsenał” exhibition of August 1955. One, rooted in the debates around it, presents the “Arsenał” as the beginning of a political “thaw” – an act of emancipation, a demonstration of young artists who rebelled against the socialist realism. The other approach to the show or, rather, to the “thaw” as a whole, rejects an interpretation of artistic processes and choices as autonomous activities. Instead, with reference to the theory of Michel Foucault, the “Arsenał” is considered as a result of a reconfiguration of scattered power relations, stimulated by the changing strategies of the institutional power system. The present paper follows the latter approach. Foucault claims that power relations are combined with three interconnected types of human relations: defining the hierarchy of tasks and division of labor, compelling obedience, and performing “communicative binding,” i.e. purposeful action that affects the actors’ knowledge of the world and of themselves. After 1954, power relations in Poland were strategically changing: the system of labor division and the distribution of art, including all the related benefits, was still centralized, but the ineffective administrative control relaxed, while the production of meaning changed as well – the communist party modified its rhetoric referring to art and the range of artistic choice grew together with the options of communication. Still, the liberalization of the system and abandoning the Moscow version of the socialist realism in cultural policy did not mean any real increase of the freedom of choice. Using state exhibition institutions and the press, which was the main channel of communication between the authorities and the masses, the communist regime continued to control the aesthetic consciousness of the artists. An analysis of both printed and visual messages found in the press of the period, specialist periodicals and daily newspapers alike, has revealed a surprising similarity of the official discourse and the aesthetic choices made by the participants of the “Arsenał” – in particular those choices which were later interpreted as attempts to reject the socialist realism and launch a new beginning. It seems that the young artists were “positively censored,” i.e. the regime succeeded in creating an aesthetic reality which they accepted. What is more, they considered it subversive as an emanation of liberty. The selection of the aesthetic modes favored by the authorities took place in an unconscious way already at the stage of creation, before particular works of art were accepted by the ”Arsenał” jury and before they were actually controlled by the institutions of censorship.

scholarly journals "RUSHNYK-TOWEL OF NATIONAL UNITY" AS A CULTURAL AND CONSOLIDATING FACTOR OF UKRAINIANS

2018 ◽  
pp. 148-150
Author(s):  
Liudmyla Sorochuk
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Awakening ◽  
Folk Traditions ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Ukrainian Society

The question of the functioning of the ethnocultural tradition in the post-colonial period is considered, which is a significant factor in the unification of the Ukrainian nation. The article focuses on the fact that folk art, namely the manufacturing and embroidery of a towel, is an embodiment of the ideals of folk thinking and ideological foundations, where symbols-amulets of our people are coded for many centuries. Attention is drawn to the peculiarity and widespread use of a towel as an amulet to many ritual acts of family and calendar ceremonies. The organizational measures and carrying out of modern cultural projects in independent Ukraine, which prompt the revival of folk traditions in the post-colonial period, are explored. A vivid example was the All-Ukrainian cultural and artistic, sociopolitical project "Towel of national unity" as a consolidating factor for uniting Ukrainian society. The role of the handmade artwork (more than one and a half thousand masters were attached to the manufacturing and embroidery of a towel) was evaluated in the awakening of national consciousness and patriotism. It was noted that the citizens and representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora, people of different nationalities and religious denominations, men and women of all ages, and even children, participated in this cultural and patriotic action. All participants of the cultural activity united one goal - to create a guard for Ukraine "Towel of national unity". This Towel can really be called the symbol of Ukraine's unification, because this is a self-organized cultural event, aimed to unite and indivisible all regions of our state, uniting of Ukrainians both in Ukraine and abroad. It is shown on a concrete example how people can unite around the idea, show their creativity, opportunities and realize it in life. It is proved that the ethno-cultural heritage of Ukrainians undoubtedly influences the development of the national culture and supports the ethno-cultural policy aimed at uniting Ukrainian society.

scholarly journals Paintings of Kazan Artist Grigory Antonovich Medvedev in the Collection of the National Museum Named after Т.Е. Evseev of the Republic of Mari El

2014 ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
Elvira M. Kolcheva ◽  
Sergey K. Svechnikov
Keyword(s):  
Socialist Realism ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Russian Art ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic

Presents results of studies on the contribution of Kazan artist G.A. Medvedev to the emergence of painting in Mari region in the first third of the XX century. He appears as the artist of the art of Nouveau era and an epoch of formation of socialist realism. Two paintings «Rafting of timber along the Kokshaga» (1920s) and «Stepan Razin on the Volga» are of interest from the point of view of the history of development of Russian art in general.

The Politics of Inclusion (1980–1987)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Rich Dorman
Keyword(s):  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Export Markets ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Political Unity ◽  
The Media ◽  
Opposition Parties

This chapter argues that unity, development and nationalism became the dominant and interlocking themes of public discourse in independent Zimbabwe, rather than "liberation." Demands for political unity justified attacks not just on ZAPU but also on the civilians of Matabeleland. In the name of "development" land reform focused more on productivity and export markets than poverty alleviation. We also see how symbolic capital is deployed within a less-than-radical cultural policy. The second half of the chapter moves the focus from discourse to practice. The chapter shows how the regime used state institutions to impose policies which regulated and demobilized NGOs, urban dwellers, academics, unions, churches, the media and opposition parties in ways that were similar and reinforcing across sectors. Taken together, the two halves of the chapter show how ZANU’s strategies were imposed through both violent and rhetorical means, constraining and shaping both the discursive sphere of the polity and the ways in which Zimbabweans organized and engaged with politics.

Who Doesn’t Like Aleksander Kobzdej?

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-223
Author(s):  
Magdalena Moskalewicz
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Art Exhibitions ◽  
Communist State ◽  
Cold War Era ◽  
Socialist Realist ◽  
Insight Into

This article looks into the extraordinary Cold War–era career of the Polish artist Aleksander Kobzdej in order to provide insight into the complexity of the emergence and demise of socialist realism in the People’s Republic of Poland and its repercussions for today’s discourses. The author reconstructs Kobzdej’s smooth shift from a much-awarded socialist realist artist into an internationally recognized modernist abstract painter through the analysis of his artworks, travels, and participation in major art exhibitions, and discusses them in the context of the larger changes that took place in the official state policies and cultural diplomacy as Stalinism was giving way to the cultural Thaw in the mid-1950s. This case study serves to argue that not just socialist realism but also much of the later modernist art produced in Poland should be seen as de facto communist, that is, as art that emerged as a product of the delicate but stable, and mutually beneficial, consensus between artists and the communist state.

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