Transcript The art of power - History Network

The art of power
What was the impact of Socialist
Realism in the arts and what was the
impact of the cult of personality
Starter Activity
• You have a collection of Russian art work. You
need to sort out the art into two groups. The two
groups must show the two different genres of art
that the collection shows.
• Once you think you have distinguished the two
different genres, make up a title that you think
best describes that genre.
• Then in a simple table, put your genre headings
at the top of your table and then write some
observations about the art.
Genre 1 - Vague
• There is no clear
structure
Genre 2 – Bold
• The figures are strong
Your 2 genres should have identified the
abstract/revolutionary period of the 1920’s, in
which artists such as Kasimir Malevich;
Wassily Kandinsky and Vladimir Tatlin
experimented with different forms of art. The
other genre should have identified the period
in the 1930’s which has been termed as
‘Socialist Realism’. This was art which could be
easily understood by the masses and which
told a story.
Revolutionary 1920’s
• In the early days of Communist rule, the Soviet authorities were
prepared to tolerate a great deal of diversity in revolutionary art and
culture. Art during the 1920’s was revolutionary in a number of
senses. First, it was revolutionary in that it was deliberately
experimental and different from traditional art forms. Leading artist
Kasimir Malevich produced abstract paintings such as the ‘Black
Square’. In music, Leon Theremin invented the worlds first electronic
musical instrument – the Theremin. Soviet cinema was decidedly
experimental. Dziga Vertov, who was in charge of the Russian
newsreel, Kino Pravada, used techniques such as slow-motion, freeze
frames and running films backwards – in films that had no characters,
no sets, no actors and no plot.
• Secondly, Russian art was revolutionary in the sense that it
celebrated modern industrial technology. Pictures were made up of
abstract geometric shapes that recalled factory buildings. In music,
Alexander Mosolov wrote pieces such as ‘The Iron Foundry’.
• Finally, Russian art in the 1920’s was revolutionary because it
promoted the revolutionary government. Sergei Eisenstein , for
example, made a trilogy of films celebrating the struggle of the
workers against the Tsar.
Impact of the Cultural Revolution on
the arts
• With the intensification of the class war associated
with the Cultural Revolution, some old master
paintings were vandalised as products of bourgeois
culture, and some galleries began to label exhibits
according to the class origins of the artists. The major
artist association changed its name to Association of
Artists of the Revolution in 1928 and then to the
Russian Association of Proletarian Artists in 1931. The
emphasis was on the proletarian background of artists;
more traditional artists like Aleksandr Gerasimov and
Isaak Brodsky, two of the leading realist painters, were
attacked. Realist painters left the organisation, unable
to adapt to the new demands.
Socialist Realism
• In the middle of 1931, Stalin proclaimed the Cultural
Revolution at an end. A decree of April 1932 abolished
all proletarian artistic and literary organisations and
ordered all artists to come together in a single union.
There was a dramatic reversal of the official attitude of
the intelligentsia. Avant-garde artists were excluded
from the mainstream of artistic life. The leading realist
artists and sculptors became very successful, guided
down the path of Socialist Realism. In 1934 the newly
founded Union of Writers proclaimed ‘Socialist Realism
to be the definitive Soviet artistic method’.
Socialist Realism: What’s that then?
Socialist Realism: Some easy definitions
1. A form of art that is directly accessible to
the people who can recognise it and
relate it to their own lives.
2. Mixing art that aims to provide ‘a true
reflection of reality’ with art that ‘tries to
participate in the building of socialism’.
3. Art with ‘both feet on the solid ground of
life.’
The term appeared for the first time in 1932, although its origins lay
with Lenin’s view that art and literature must educate the workers in
the spirit of communism. It was art that could be easily understood
by the masses and which told a story. It meant seeing life as it was
becoming and ought to be, rather than as it was. Artists were not to
think of themselves as individuals concerned with self expression,
but as contributors to the great collective effort of re-shaping the
thinking and behaviour of the Soviet people. Artists were to be
treated as if they were part of the industrial system; their task was to
create a useful product. Self expression had to be subordinated to
the political and social needs of the new nation. The artists first task
was to make his work appropriate and relevant to the society he was
serving. If he failed to do this he was engaging in bourgeois self
indulgence. Stalin felt much Soviet art meant nothing to the average
peasant or worker. Abstract shapes, films with no plot, and music
with no melody, were simply incomprehensible to the Soviet masses.
Abstract art came under heavy criticism, and the new paintings were
‘realistic’ in the sense that they looked like photographs. Its subjects
were men and women, inspired by the ideals of socialism, building
the glowing future. As the style developed it became clear that
Socialist Realism was an attempt to use art to sell government
economic and social policy to the Russian people.
Key Events in the arts 1931-38
1929
All Union Co-operative of Workers in Representational Arts founded
1931
Stalin makes a speech emphasising the value of the tsarist educated intelligentsia
1932
A party resolution is passed abolishing agressive and competing proletarian
organisations. RAPP is abolished and the Union of Composers and the Union of
Architects are formed.
1933
Union of Writers formed. Zhdanov outlines the doctrine of ‘Socialist Realism’.
1934
Architectural competition to design the ‘Palace of Soviets’ is won by a plan to build a
300 metre tower (taller than Empire State) topped by a 100 metre statue of Lenin.
(It’s never built.)
1936
Stalin criticises Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The party issues
decrees against ‘formalism’ in architecture and painting. (Formalism is defined as
‘non accessible, non realistic, non socialist’.)
1937-39
Purges hit the arts: around 1500 writers are killed, including the theatre director
Meyerhold and the short story writer babel.
1938
Eisenstein makes a film Alexander Nevsky which is in tune with growing nationalism
and cocern about the impending war.
Activity
• You are going to work in small groups looking
at a particular aspect of social realism.
1. Art and painting
2. Literature and writing
3. Music
4. Cinema/film
5. Architecture
In what ways were the arts directed to serve the
Soviet state in the years 1928-41?
Your Topic :
Point 1
Evidence to support point 1
Analysis of point 1
Point 2
Evidence to support point 2
Analysis of point 2
Example: In what ways were the arts directed to
serve the Soviet state in the years 1928-41?
Your Topic : Theatre
Point 1 - Theatre succumbed to the pressures imposed on the arts by organisations
such as the Union of Writers and productions were made accessible and meaningful
to the public.
Evidence to support point 1 – Between 1936-37 ten out of nineteen plays and ballets
were ordered to be withdrawn in mid production and in the following year sixty
plays were banned from performance and ten theatres were closed in Moscow. In
addition, prominent theatre director Meyerhold was arrested and eventually shot for
trying to promote freedom and artistic liberty in this field. In contrast Alexander
Mosolov wrote a ballet entitled ‘steel’.
Analysis of point 1 – This demonstrates how the medium of theatre was used to
serve the Soviet state through performances that promoted the principles of socialist
realism which met the masses demands of honest shows and represented the
socialist revolution. Thus theatre that displayed artistic freedom was banned and
attempts at artistic liberty were savagely prevented.
Example: In what ways were the arts directed to
serve the Soviet state in the years 1928-41?
Your Topic : Thematic Approach – ‘Greatest Nation’
Point 1 – The arts were used to exaggerate the strength of Russia, so it was
perceived as the ‘greatest nation.
Evidence to support point 1 – Painter, Yuri Pimenov ‘s painting entitled ‘New
Moscow’ created in 1937, shows a glorious and modern city, reminding the rest
of the world and Russians themselves, how modern and brilliant Russia was.
Other patriotic pieces include the film Alexander Nevsky, which has nationalist
sentiment throughout it.
Analysis of point 1 – This demonstrates the ways in which the arts were directed
to serve the Soviet state between 1928-41, in the sense that one of its messages
was the strength and will of the state. Art supported Stalin’s regime by showing
that unity and strength were at the heart of the communist state.
Other themes
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Stalin having strong links with Lenin
Stalin was an omnipotent leader
Stalin was the best leader possible
That Russia was economically strong
Industrialisation
Socialism was the way forward and it was building
a glowing future
The origins of the
cult of the
personality
Not through my choice, the Lenin cult
developed into the 1930’s. In 1930, my
tomb in Moscow was extensively re-built.
Indeed, the streets around my tomb
were widened, with many historic
buildings being torn down in order to
allow massive parades to pass. My cult
was crucial to the totalitarian regime as it
created a powerful new symbol and new
rituals which replaced Christianity and
allowed Russian citizens to form an
emotional bond with the regime.
Officially I remained the most important
figure, with Stalin describing himself as
the pupil and myself as the teacher.
The cult of the personality
My image dominated the Soviet Union and I
was seen as an omnipotent leader whom
people should love and revere. My cult was
not just about personal adulation but it was
also a response to the rapid period of
change in the Soviet Union when many of
my citizens were confused and bewildered
about what was going on . My cult provided
an image of purpose and solidity, giving
people confidence and faith that I could
lead them out of their troubles.
How did the cult of the personality
develop?
• Look at the images you have been provided with. They each
carry a different message about Stalin. Draw a simple table
like the one below and explain the message each image is
designed to convey to the Russian people.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Ode to Stalin on his 60th by Prokofiev
Never have our fertile fields such a harvest shown,
Never have our villages such contentment known.
Never life has been so fair, spirits been so high,
Never to the present day grew so green the rye.
O’er the earth the rising sun sheds a warmer light,
Since it looked on Stalin’s face it has grown more bright.
I am singing to my baby sleeping in my arms,
Grow like flowers in the meadow free from all alarm.
On your lips the name of Stalin will protect from harm.
You will learn the source of sunshine bathing all the land.
You will copy Stalin’s portrait with your little hand
Focus Route
• Using either pages 230-233 or the handout
you have been given, produce a diagram,
mapping out the development of the cult.
• Bullet point the devices used to establish and
spread the cult.
Rewriting History
• Another significant aspect of the cult of the personality was
the reinterpretation of history in Stalin’s favour. In 1938, the
History of the All Union Communist Party or Short Course as
it was usually called, was published in the Soviet Union. In it,
Stalin was given a much more important role in the October
Revolution as chief companion to Lenin, his closest friend
and disciple. Trotsky on the other hand was demoted to the
role of bourgeois opportunist and given little credit. The
other old Bolsheviks, especially Bukharin and his supporters
were designated ‘enemies of the people’ or were relegated
to minor roles. All were dwarfed by the invincible heroes –
Lenin and Stalin.
• Artists and novelists followed. Maria Krickova’s The Tale of
Lenin tells the story of Lenin’s death. Lenin was described as
the sun, Stalin as the light that overcomes the darkness –
which represents Trotsky. Socialist Realist paintings created
fictional historical situations from the years 1917-24 in
which Stalin was always at Lenin’s side.
Spot the Difference
Brodsky painted the same scene in 1933, on a giant canvas for the Central
Lenin Museum in Moscow. Trotsky and Kamenev were replaced by two
journalists.
Example: In what ways were the arts directed to
serve the Soviet state in the years 1928-41?
Your Topic : Thematic Approach - Stalin was the omnipotent leader
Point 1 – The arts were used to demonstrate the strength of Stalin as the leader
of the Soviet state and his omnipotent presence.
Evidence to support point 1 – For example, posters were produced of him which
showed him elevated, with Soviet citizens looking up to him, demonstrating his
position of superiority. This was done at his 70th birthday celebrations where his
image was projected into the sky, essentially giving him a deific status. This
image was also on the cover of ‘Ogonyok’ magazine to ensure wide circulation of
the image.
Analysis of point 1 -
Example: In what ways were the arts directed to
serve the Soviet state in the years 1928-41?
Your Topic : Thematic Approach – Socialism was the way foward
Point 1 – Another key message of Stalin’s regime that was conveyed through
Soviet art was that socialism was the way forward.
Evidence to support point 1 – A poster produced by Berzovskii, Solov’ev and
Shagin was entitled ‘Under the leadership of the great Stalin, forward to
Communism.’ The root of socialism was demonstrated in many paintings,
whether it be a communist flag, or simply the ideas of communism like equality,
incorporated into the design. Additionally, Maxim Gorky wrote a trilogy of plays
about the decay of the bourgeoisie and the uprising of the Russian workers
which showed the supposed success of communism and also presented class
enemies in an even worse light.
Analysis of point 1 –
Key Points
• Socialist Realism was the guiding principle for all artists from
1932 onwards and art became tightly controlled.
• In the cult of the personality, Stalin was presented as a god
like figure, omniscient and omnipresent.
• The cult was at its height at the end of the 1930’s.
• Stalin had history re-written to reflect the view of him being a
great hero.
• The cult served the purpose of giving the Russian people a
sense of confidence and coherence to society during a period
of rapid change and instability. The leadership cults gave the
impersonal Soviet bureaucracy a human face.
• There were mixed reactions to the cult. Intellectuals for
example were aware of the absurdities of the cult. However,
generally it was accepted by the citizens of the Soviet Union
and penetrated all areas of Soviet society.
• Socialist Realism was as much a form of social control as the
Great Terror