"Today, after Post-Communism has ended in chaos and confusion, we are entitled to ask: was it a condition, or a transition; a rise or a decline; progression, regression or simply a time-lag? Has it ever shaped its own form of social being, a unique mode of economic production, a…
Marxism and art: essays classic and contemporary
The collection, interpretation and display of art from the People’s Republic of China, and particularly the art of the Cultural Revolution, have been problematic for museums. These objects challenge our perception of ‘Chineseness’ and their style, content and the …
Art for the workers explores the mythology and reality of post-revolutionary proletarian art in Russia as well as its expression in the festive decorations of Petrograd between 1917 and 1920. It covers this brief period chronologically, and so permits a close inspection of the d…
Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Roots of Proletarian Culture -- Festivals and Proletarian Art under the Tsars and the Provisional Government -- Narkompros versus Proletkult: Festivals and Proletarian Art after the Bolshevik Revolution -- The Victory of Figuration over Fu…