Socialist Realism 1930-53

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What were Stalin's views on art like?
He had strong views- he was suspicious of the avant-garde and experimental techniques. He believed that art should reflect gov. priorities not individual creativity. Criticised abstract art because ordinary citizens could not understand it
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What new group of artists was established in 1932?
The Union of Soviet Writers
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What did the USW develop and what did they argue?
'Socialist Realism'- they argued it was genuinely revolutionary
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What two qualities did socialist realism have according to Ivan Kulik, President of the USW?
It contained a 'true reflection of society' and it aimed to 'participate in the building of socialism'
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What was socialist realism like in paintings?
That art was realistic, in the sense that pictures looked a lot like photos and socialist in the sense that they were paintings of factory construction or workers producing raw materials
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What were the defining features of socialist realism literature?
Novels with plots that ordinary people could follow and with a focus on a subject relating to building socialism.
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What is an example of a piece of socialist realist literature?
Fyodor Gladkov's 1924 novel 'Cement'- tells the story of a group of workers who, having played a major role in the civil war, reconstruct a cement factory.
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How did ballet change under Stalin and Socialist realism?
In 1920s ballet had been influenced by constructivism and futurism=dance moves angular and music experimental. Under Stalin ballet became more traditional and focused on telling epic stories e.g Romeo and Juliet
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How was art produced under stalin?
In a similar way to other goods- artists were set targets for number of paintings/sculptures, sent to factories and collective farms to paint what they saw. under great terror artists were purged
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How did Socialist Realism celebrate industrialisation?
To celebrate the opening of a ball bearing factory soviet sculptures working in 1932 produced a giant sculpture of a ball bearing 10m in d! Many paintings focused on the FYPs
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What are some examples of paintings of the FYPs?
Gustav Klutis' 'In the storm of the third of the five year plan' portrays heroic workers mining, Alexander Lobanov's painting 'Training Workers for Magnitogorsk' depicts the new soviet steelworks.
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What was art depicting Collectivisation like and why was it used?
They were deeply unrealistic but were designed to show Soviet citizens the future that they were working towards, a utopian future of peace and plenty on efficient farms
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What are some examples of Socialist realist art celebrating collectivisation?
Samuil Adlivankin's painting 'Voting to expel the kulak from the collective farm'- dekulakisation, Fedor Shurpin's 'Morning of our motherland' shows Stalin standing in a landscape transformed by collectivisation- full of tractors, chimneys and pylons
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What did sculpture focus on?
The people building socialism as well as the process of building socialism
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What was the leading Socialist Realist sculptor, Sergey Mekurov famous for creating?
Giant statues of Lenin and Stalin and the three largest sculptures of Stalin in the Soviet Union
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What kind of music did Stalin like?
Traditional, but also rousing and heroic
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Which musician in particular did Stalin praise and for what reasons?
Shostakovich. esp the music for the film 'Maxim's Youth', a revolutionary song with a melody so strong that Stalin sang along at the screening. He liked it because it could be sung by ordinary workers
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What other kind of music did Stalin like and what is an example of this?
Nationalistic music- e.g. Shostakovich's Suite on Finnish themes which celebrated the soviet invasion of Finland in 1939
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How were some artists able to dissent from Stalin's artistic vision in the 1930s?
By celebrating the achievements of Lenin rather than Stalin. Dziga Vertov made 1934 film trilogy 'Three Songs about Lenin' which hardly mentioned Stalin.
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Card 2

Front

What new group of artists was established in 1932?

Back

The Union of Soviet Writers

Card 3

Front

What did the USW develop and what did they argue?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What two qualities did socialist realism have according to Ivan Kulik, President of the USW?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What was socialist realism like in paintings?

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Preview of the front of card 5
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