These posters
were produced
to be very much of the moment, printed by the government to
convey information to a then widely-illiterate public. Many
were intended to depict an idealized vision of the Communist
state.
They were not
intended to
be durable art. Like advertising, they were colorful,
pleasing, and meant to be replaced by new posters as they
came along. Therefore, many did not survive. It’s possible
this may
be one of the few remaining copies.
Note: Round objects on the four corners of the poster are magnets holding the poster for photography
Shipping: Poster will be rolled in a sturdy cardboard poster tube and sent US Post.
Category: Agriculture, Cultural Revolution
Subject: Farm women dancing to celebrate new rice planter
Size: 30 inches
x 21 inches (76 cm x 50 cm)
Year: Undated, but almost-certainly early-mid 1970s, the height of the Cultural Revolution
Condition: Near-mint; no folds, no stains, no tears, no repairs, practically no age foxing
Comments: Classic propaganda-style poster in exceptional, near new condition after almost 50 years!
From
the 2015 book, Chinese Propaganda Posters by Stefan R.
Landsberger:
(Through)
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 (educational) function:
they had to educate the people in what was considered
right and wrong at any one time.
...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...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.
...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...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."
...The content of the
posters was largely taken up with the topics of politics
and economic reconstruction that dominated China after
1949. Hyper-realistic, ageless, larger-than-life peasants,
soldiers,
workers, and youngsters in dynamic poses peopled the
images. They pledged allegiance to the Communist cause, or
obedience to Chairman
Mao Zedong, or were engaged in the glorious task of
rebuilding the nation.
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