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New Yorkers Can’t Get Enough Propaganda Art
The Asia Society’s Art and China’s Revolution Exhibit
It’s safe to say that Chinese art is way past communist propaganda. But don’t tell that to America. “Art and China’s Revolution”, the most popular exhibition of Chinese art stateside in some time, recently wrapped up in New York City. While contemporary Chinese artists struggle with themes of soul-destroying consumerism, western attention, at least that of the layman, still centers squarely on Mao, socialist realism, and the cultural revolution.
It’s understandable. Art always gains value from shocking historical context. Picasso’s Guernica wouldn’t draw nearly so much interest were it titled My Bad Absinthe Trip. What sticks in the China-friendly craw is the concept that propaganda art is still highly relevant. “New China is still, in significant ways, Old China,” admonished one reviewer from the New York Times, implying that, now with the Olympics over, China and its people are still most aptly depicted by a totalitarian brush.
Burning traditions in 1966
Still, it’s nice to see work from the 60s and 70s hauled out of the attic and given some limelight. Tragically unhip, rendered with the intent to inspire rather than befuddle, Cultural Revolution-era art nonetheless had its gems in painters too talented to be entirely dulled by political mandate. Anything that brings attention to their work can’t be entirely misguided. Here’s hoping the West stays behind the curve, to rekindle interest in what deserves better than to be relegated to contemporary art’s storage closet.
Chairman Mao Inspects the Guangdong Countryside, 1972
A sketch by Luo Zhongli from the early 70s
Map of the Long March, recreated by Qin Ga
Never Forget, Li Keran. The traditional style was allowed in light of all the red flags.
Standing Guard for Our Great Motherland, Shen Jiawei, 1974
A Sketch made by Xu Bing during his re-education
Zhang Songnan, Youth, 1972
Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan, 1969
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The pictures are really beautiful. The exhibition would be a great success with these pictures. I just loved watching the picture of the mountains.
The poster, in other words, was part of the Big Lie of Maoism, a terrible reality covered up by exciting slogans and arresting images created by brilliant artists. Should we collect them?
Well, of course, no harm is done, and, certainly, the posters have both great visual and historical value. McWethy himself told me that he got interested in Cultural Revolution memorabilia because of the images themselves.
Those are some really good and mind blowing pictures and I am quite sure that if with those and exhibition is done,then it would be a great success,and people would once again come to know why China is such a great and beautiful country.
very interesting indeed, but a bit annoying already (have read a lot on the topic at different blogs I came across by searching the net by http://torrents.rapid4me.com )sick and tired of different propaganda of the kind. like back in USSR. each country has smth of the kind. why not move on? China will do it all right judging from the latest election results. thanks anyway!
Since the propaganda exist, guru, dictator, president, … used art to communicate.
Art is universal and when someone want to do propaganda, he search to touch the most of people.
Now, i like also this système because it permits us to discover country
I forget my question, this exposition is only for NY or it will move in next mounth, i hope in Europe.
Have you some information about this?
It's already over, BH :-[
ha! does that guy actually have a long march tattoo?
It still interests me to see how China Daily uses its foreign writers (I need to avoid the use of the word ‘journalists’ in this case) to tow the party line and to make it seem like there is some kind of strange international consensus that the rest of the world agrees with the CCP. If there’s anything we Chinese have always been big fans of, it’s always been a) denial, b) legend, and c) bandwagon-jumping. Those are not mutually exclusive, either. So if a white guy says it, then he must be right!
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Since the propaganda exist, guru, dictator, president, … used art to communicate. Art is universal and when someone want to do propaganda, he search to touch the most of people.
Since the propaganda exist, guru, dictator, president, … used art to communicate.
Art is universal and when someone want to do propaganda, he search to touch the most of people.
Now, i like also this système because it permits us to discover country
I was lucky to visit an exhibition in Toronto several years ago named “Art Of The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”. It was focused to the same period and demonstrated all the spheres of the life in totalitarian countries. Such kind of shows are precious pieces of the political history our children have to know.
It seems to take a world of crises to inspire great propaganda art, and there are plenty of crises here. By comparison, the talent creating American public-service posters seems to have fallen off since the great upheavals of the mid-twentieth century.
Propaganda is created to influence the minds and actions of people, in order to generate a response that achieves the goal of the propagandist. Politicians and governments often use propaganda to obtain support/compliance for their policies.
Look at these fantastic images!!
I do really love Chinese art.
Someday I will visit China and admire it´s culture in live.
Thanks.
The pictures in this gallery are taken from two North Korean propaganda books purchased in China near the China-North Korean border in the late 1990s.
awsome images, bookmarked
The pictures are really beautiful. The exhibition would be a great success with these pictures. I just loved watching the picture of the mountains.
Simply a great art. Thanks for sharing with us. I really like your view very much
The pictures in this gallery are taken from two North Korean propaganda books purchased in China near the China-North Korean border in the late 1990s.
Chinese art has a history of thousand years. It has taken many turns. But I think Chinese art is very much rich. The exhibition was pretty good. The fact that I can see is the Chinese art is also getting modernized and diversified.
Love the chinse arte would love to visit there myself.
This seems to be an amazing place and some of the art is just spectacular. I was never aware china also had such a high cultural importance for art.
Amazing arte, cant belive it.
Simply a great art collection. Thanks for sharing with us.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I would have appreciated Mao Tse Tung more had I seen these artwork when I was back in high school.