Cold War - The Other Side

 Cold War - The War of Artistic Influence (The Other Side)

    In the last blog, I highlighted the influence of the Cold War on art - specifically the Western perspective in which Western governments, especially the United States, sought to fund artistic movements that represented core beliefs in the freedom of expression and ideology (link to the last blog if anyone is interested - Western Cold War Art Blog). In this blog, I will focus on the opposite end of the spectrum - a war of propaganda and influence entails two sides of the story. The USSR (Soviet Union) sought similar influence and control over the geopolitical landscape that emerged following World War II. The USSR and the United States both sought to gain societal influence, which influenced artistic movements throughout the Cold War. 

    Contrasting the Western-sponsored abstract expressionism movement was an Eastern European/USSR-backed socialist realism movement (UC San Diago). Socialist realism was largely condoned behind the “Iron Curtain” - a term used by Western states to describe the limitation/state intervention into the dissuasion of specific ideological movements, ideas, and identities (Keats). Josef Stalin even went so far as to ban modern abstraction in the 1930s, although abstract styles still found their way into Soviet artistic cultures. 

    Stalin’s support for realist art, which depicts highly optimistic depictions of Soviet life, led to the creation of the subcategory of social realism. Social realism banned any criticism or critical subject matter toward the Soviet Union under the premise that any discontent expressed in art was a means of jeopardizing the central authority of the USSR (Tate, “Socialist Realism”). This rigid structure, subject matter criteria, and purpose led to social realism being inextricably linked to the category of propaganda art. 

Antonina Fyodorova Sofronova - Girl with Apple - Early Social Realism movement 

    Girl with Apple was painted by Antonina Fyodorovna Sofronova in 1949, shortly after World War II. Sofronova was a Russian painter who lived from 1892 to 1966 and primarily focused on landscapes with abstract elements not commonly seen within the Soviet Union (Sofronova, Antonina (1892–1966) - Encyclopedia.com). Antonina Fyodorovna Sofronova gained prominence during the Russian Revolution of 1914 and developed a style of impressionism that separated her from the encouraged works by Soviet institutions (UC San Diago). She was forced into isolation given her divergence from the “official” art meant to counter Western abstract expressionism, although her work still highlights the expressions and elements of realism widely encouraged in Soviet art (UC San Diago). 

Arkadi Aleksandrovich Plastov - Takya 

    Takya was painted by Arkadi Plastov in 1968 during the height of the Cold War. Unlike Antonina Fyodorovna Sofronova, Arkadi Plastov was widely celebrated by the Soviet Union as exemplifying the nature of Soviet art (UC San Diago). Plastov was a Russian painter who lived from 1893 until 1972, and was widely known and recognized throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union's sphere of influence (Soviet Art USSR Culture). Takya was painted in a Soviet realism style which portrays “normal” life (peasant life) with rigid emotional expressions and character through an often minimalistic “upbeat” setting. The Individual brush strokes are often nonuniform and used to convey a sense of realistic texture; Takya reflects this by utilizing different shades of the same color within individual brush strokes to convey textures in both the sweatshirt and hair texture of the girl in the painting (UC San Diago). This painting was meant to convey warmth and character that highlights the wellness of life for the ordinary USSR citizen.

Petr Ossovski - Slovak Girl 

    Slovak Girl was painted by Pavlovich Ossovski in 2004 and was primarily influenced by the mid-to-late Cold War era realist paintings the Soviet Union sought to encourage in society (UC San Diago). Ossovski was a Russian painter who lived from 1925 to 2015 and focused on styles ranging from portraits to landscape art (Integra-Media Ltd.). Interestingly, this late post-Soviet work highlights a step away from the sometimes insincere realism seen in earlier Soviet art in favor of vibrant colors and brighter scenes despite the still cold expressions commonly seen in Soviet works of art. Ossovski utilized a style that exemplifies a step out of the once harsh and rigid soviet era in favor of a more modern and accessible Soviet-rooted artistic style.

Wrapping it up!

    Much like the United States and other Western states, the USSR and Eastern sphere of influence sought to utilize art as a form of propaganda during the Cold War. While the United States sought to express artistic and ideological freedom through abstract expressionism, social realism focused inwardly on conveying positive depictions of Soviet life. Stalin’s ideological stances and the bright inward image of Soviet society were used to create a bright perspective of life within the Iron Curtain. Though expressionist art and critical subject matter were banned, Soviet artists still utilized styles and subjects outside the official government criteria. Artists who participated in this step away from official Soviet realism were often forced into isolation, though their art remains an interesting part of the historical contention within the context of the chaotic geopolitical landscape during the Cold War. 

Work Cited

Integra-Media Ltd. (http://www.integra-media.com/). “ArtFira.” Copyright 2003 РІР€љРІР‚Сњ 2005 ArtFira.com. All Rights Reserved., www.artfira.com/site/en/artist/19081a06d539235d49620236114d8f6c.

Keats, Jonathon. “The U.S. and the USSR Fought the Cold War With Art… but This Invigorating Exhibit Shows That the Artists Were the Winners.” Forbes, 1 Oct. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/jonathonkeats/2021/10/01/the-us-and-the-ussr-fought-the-cold-war-with-art-but-this-invigorating-exhibit-shows-that-the-artists-were-the-winners.

Sofronova, Antonina (1892–1966) | Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sofronova-antonina-1892-1966.

Soviet Art USSR Culture. “Soviet Artist Arkady Plastov.” Soviet Art, 7 Apr. 2020, soviet-art.ru/soviet-artist-arkady-plastov.

Tate. “Socialist Realism | Tate.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/socialist-realism.

UC San Diago. “Art of the Soviet era.” SCHOOL OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES UC San Diego, 2024, artsandhumanities.ucsd.edu/initiatives/art-soviet-era.html.