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 accoutrements of the revolutionary past were traded in for running shoes, leather jackets, and designersuits for men, while hot pants, spiked heels and more feminine dresses, including the Shanghai dress, with its high slits - became de rigueur for women. Gone were the chopped hairdos and ponytails of bygone posters, making way for fancifully permed, or styled hairdos.
More and careful attention was paid to the details of the new affluence that manifested itself in Chinese society, in particular in the urban areas. The increased openness, the greater personal freedom that was allowed, was translated into such visual icons as the jumbo jet, representing the new opportunities for travel, both within the country and abroad. The television set was seen as an embodiment of personal success in the new era. Owned by ever-growing numbers of people, it became a regular presence in many posters.
But most importantly, people were shown enjoying themselves, and actually having fun. An example of this complete turnaround can be found in the genre of the starlet poster. They could be seen everywhere once the publication of cheap, single-sheet calendars featuring photographs of actresses commenced in the 1980s. Most of them initially were devoted to film and entertainment celebrities exclusively from Hong Kong. Later, stars and starlets from Taiwan also came to be included. But a real increase in these posters occurred as the Chinese entertainment industry started generating its own celebrities. Movie actors and actresses and female television personalities no longer strictly appeared on calendars: they now joined forces with advertising agencies to endorse the numerous products on sale in China's contemporary consumer society.
During the Cultural Revolution, some 2.2 billion of these official Mao portraits were printed.
Despite these attempts to modernize, propaganda art has lost all contact with the population. The images, slogans, and messages that the Party continues to produce are seen as increasingly irrelevant and fall on unseeing eyes and deaf ears. With popular interest in politics at an all-time low, people no longer care about being ideologically or politically pure. They are more interested in having fun, and therefore in the size of their paychecks and whether they'll still be employed tomorrow. Posters have lost their credibility and appeal, and their production numbers have declined dramatically. The people consider them to be old-fashioned, even though propaganda posters are now printed on thick, high-quality glossy paper, or even on plastic sheeting. The emergence of artists who no longer needed to work within the arts bureaucracy ushered in the gradual development of an increasingly unregulated art market that was no longer hampered by government control.
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Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The accoutrements of the revolutionary past were traded in for running shoes, leather jackets, and designersuits for men, while hot pants, spiked heels and more feminine dresses, including the Shanghai dress, with its high slits - became de rigueur for women. Gone were the chopped hairdos and ponytails of bygone posters, making way for fancifully permed, or styled hairdos.
More and careful attention was paid to the details of the new affluence that manifested itself in Chinese society, in particular in the urban areas. The increased openness, the greater personal freedom that was allowed, was translated into such visual icons as the jumbo jet, representing the new opportunities for travel, both within the country and abroad. The television set was seen as an embodiment of personal success in the new era. Owned by ever-growing numbers of people, it became a regular presence in many posters.
But most importantly, people were shown enjoying themselves, and actually having fun. An example of this complete turnaround can be found in the genre of the starlet poster. They could be seen everywhere once the publication of cheap, single-sheet calendars featuring photographs of actresses commenced in the 1980s. Most of them initially were devoted to film and entertainment celebrities exclusively from Hong Kong. Later, stars and starlets from Taiwan also came to be included. But a real increase in these posters occurred as the Chinese entertainment industry started generating its own celebrities. Movie actors and actresses and female television personalities no longer strictly appeared on calendars: they now joined forces with advertising agencies to endorse the numerous products on sale in China's contemporary consumer society.
During the Cultural Revolution, some 2.2 billion of these official Mao portraits were printed.
Despite these attempts to modernize, propaganda art has lost all contact with the population. The images, slogans, and messages that the Party continues to produce are seen as increasingly irrelevant and fall on unseeing eyes and deaf ears. With popular interest in politics at an all-time low, people no longer care about being ideologically or politically pure. They are more interested in having fun, and therefore in the size of their paychecks and whether they'll still be employed tomorrow. Posters have lost their credibility and appeal, and their production numbers have declined dramatically. The people consider them to be old-fashioned, even though propaganda posters are now printed on thick, high-quality glossy paper, or even on plastic sheeting. The emergence of artists who no longer needed to work within the arts bureaucracy ushered in the gradual development of an increasingly unregulated art market that was no longer hampered by government control.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Long live our great leader Chairman Mao. We cheer the successful opening of the 4th National People's Congress. Banner, left: Long live the Chinese Communist Party. Banner, right: Long live the People's Republic of China