The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Propaganda Poster
By Stefan R. Landsberger. Excerpt from the book 'Chinese Propaganda Posters'
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The image that used to prevail in the People's Republic of China was defined by the political images that were provided by propaganda art. Through all of its long history, the Chinese political system used the arts to propagate correct behavior and thought. Literature, poetry, painting, stage plays, songs and other artistic expressions were produced to entertain, but they also were given an important didactic function: they had to educate the people in what was considered right and wrong at any one time. As long as the State provided examples of correct behavior, this automatically would make the people believe what was considered proper to believe.
Once the People's Republic was established in 1949, propaganda art continued to be one of the major means to provide examples of correct behavior. But it also gave a concrete expression to many different policies, and to the many different visions of the future the Chinese Communist Party had over the years. In a country with as many illiterates as China had in the 1940s and 1950s, this method of visualizing abstract ideas and in this way educating the people worked especially well. Propaganda posters, which were cheaply and easily produced, became one of the most favored vehicles for this type of communication. Because they were widely available, they could be seen everywhere. And they were an excellent way to brighten up the otherwise drab places where people lived. In this way they could penetrate every level of social organization and cohabitation, even the lowliest ones: the multicolored posters could be seen adorning walls not only in offices and factories, but in houses and dormitories as well. Most people liked the posters for their composition and visual content, and did not pay too much attention to the slogans printed underneath. This allowed the political message of the posters to be passed on in an almost subconscious manner.
The most talented artists were employed to visualize the political trends of the moment in quite detailed fashion. Many of them had worked on the commercial calendars that had been so popular before the People's Republic was founded. These artists were quickly co-opted and incorporated in the various governmental and party organizations that were set up to produce propaganda posters. They were, after all, well versed in design techniques and able to visualize a product in a commercially attractive way.
The images they made were often figurative and realistic, almost as if photographs had been directly copied. Their aim was to portray the future in the present, not only showing "life as it really is," but also "life as it ought to be". They were painted in a naïve style, with all forms outlined in black, filled in with bright pinks, reds, yellows, greens, and blues. These works created a kind of 'faction,' a hybrid of 'fact' and 'fiction,' stressing the positive and papering over anything negative.
Seite 1 2 3 4 5 6
Seite 1 2 3 4 5 6
The image that used to prevail in the People's Republic of China was defined by the political images that were provided by propaganda art. Through all of its long history, the Chinese political system used the arts to propagate correct behavior and thought. Literature, poetry, painting, stage plays, songs and other artistic expressions were produced to entertain, but they also were given an important didactic function: they had to educate the people in what was considered right and wrong at any one time. As long as the State provided examples of correct behavior, this automatically would make the people believe what was considered proper to believe.
Once the People's Republic was established in 1949, propaganda art continued to be one of the major means to provide examples of correct behavior. But it also gave a concrete expression to many different policies, and to the many different visions of the future the Chinese Communist Party had over the years. In a country with as many illiterates as China had in the 1940s and 1950s, this method of visualizing abstract ideas and in this way educating the people worked especially well. Propaganda posters, which were cheaply and easily produced, became one of the most favored vehicles for this type of communication. Because they were widely available, they could be seen everywhere. And they were an excellent way to brighten up the otherwise drab places where people lived. In this way they could penetrate every level of social organization and cohabitation, even the lowliest ones: the multicolored posters could be seen adorning walls not only in offices and factories, but in houses and dormitories as well. Most people liked the posters for their composition and visual content, and did not pay too much attention to the slogans printed underneath. This allowed the political message of the posters to be passed on in an almost subconscious manner.
The most talented artists were employed to visualize the political trends of the moment in quite detailed fashion. Many of them had worked on the commercial calendars that had been so popular before the People's Republic was founded. These artists were quickly co-opted and incorporated in the various governmental and party organizations that were set up to produce propaganda posters. They were, after all, well versed in design techniques and able to visualize a product in a commercially attractive way.
The images they made were often figurative and realistic, almost as if photographs had been directly copied. Their aim was to portray the future in the present, not only showing "life as it really is," but also "life as it ought to be". They were painted in a naïve style, with all forms outlined in black, filled in with bright pinks, reds, yellows, greens, and blues. These works created a kind of 'faction,' a hybrid of 'fact' and 'fiction,' stressing the positive and papering over anything negative.
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