"Real art doesn't require explanation," says Russian artist Ananyev. This quote sums up the idea of socialist realism art in the Soviet Union. It was declared that art must be created to look like an idealized version of life in the Soviet Union. The style was specifically realistic and actually served as a sort of propaganda. This false portrayal of life in the Soviet Union made people think that's what life was actually like and helped create a sense of nationalism, similar to what the United States did with their propaganda during the World Wars. I found this to be particularly interesting because these works were typically large scale paintings rather than mass-produced or spread posters. Everyone was creating these false realities in their painting which in turn made it seem like what they were depicting was real. The clearer the art was, the better. Abstract artists were not respected because their art was more difficult to interpret. Part of good propaganda is making people believe what you are telling them and Socialist Realism in the Soviet Union successfully did that.
In modern times, artists like Brian McCarty are creating these more abstract pieces of propaganda that make people stop and think about the state of the world. McCarty uses photography as his means of portraying his ideas and uses small objects as the subjects. Something I've never thought about is someone stealing propaganda and changing it to fit their own agenda. That is exactly what ISIS did with McCarty's photograph which I almost find amusing. With just a little bit of editing, ISIS changed the entire meaning of the piece to support them instead. This is probably one of the things that realism artists such as Ananyev disliked about abstract works. The meaning is not always clear so the viewer may interpret it incorrectly, or the meaning can be manipulated into meaning something else. Realistic propaganda typically paints an idealized picture of what people want to believe is the truth and more abstract propaganda typically brings attention to a fault that is sometimes overlooked or forgotten about.
In modern times, artists like Brian McCarty are creating these more abstract pieces of propaganda that make people stop and think about the state of the world. McCarty uses photography as his means of portraying his ideas and uses small objects as the subjects. Something I've never thought about is someone stealing propaganda and changing it to fit their own agenda. That is exactly what ISIS did with McCarty's photograph which I almost find amusing. With just a little bit of editing, ISIS changed the entire meaning of the piece to support them instead. This is probably one of the things that realism artists such as Ananyev disliked about abstract works. The meaning is not always clear so the viewer may interpret it incorrectly, or the meaning can be manipulated into meaning something else. Realistic propaganda typically paints an idealized picture of what people want to believe is the truth and more abstract propaganda typically brings attention to a fault that is sometimes overlooked or forgotten about.