This study evaluates how the ideology of Socialist Realism, developed by the Soviets in policies and the practices of art, has been influential in the Asia Pacific region from 1917 until today.
Focusing primarily on Russia, then China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia, the book demonstrates how each society adopted and adapted the Soviet example to make some of the most important imagery of recent history. Included is an examination of how the practice of Western art history, the nature of art history in Asia, and the forces of the Cold War have led to this influence being inadequately acknowledged across Asia and more widely.
The book is relevant to those interested in art history, Asian studies, political history, and cultural history.
Introduction;1. Art and Politics: Soviet Socialist Realism and Art History of the Asia-Pacific Region; 2. Policy and Practice: The Significance of the New Policies and Practices Created in the Soviet Union for Art in Asia; 3. The Art, 1917-1970:The Influence of Soviet Socialist Realism on the Art of the Asia-Pacific Region; 4.The Art, the 1970s to Recent Times: The Contemporary Response; 5. The Local: The Adoption and Adaption of Socialist Realism in the Asia Pacific Region; Conclusion
Biography
Alison Carroll has been an academic, critic, writer, curator and administrator of art exhibitions and artist exchanges with Asia for over 35 years. She has been awarded the Australia Council for the Arts Emeritus Medal and made a Member of the Order of Australia for this work. She has a PhD from the University of Melbourne.
