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Introduction: Actually existing artworlds of socialism

Fowkes, M; Fowkes, R; (2018) Introduction: Actually existing artworlds of socialism. Third Text , 32 (4) pp. 371-378. 10.1080/09528822.2018.1532719. Green open access

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Abstract

The tensions between actual and ideal versions of socialism elucidated by East German theorist Rudolf Bahro in 1977 are taken as a starting point for reconsidering East European art from the radical effervescence of the 1960s to the post-utopian twilight of the late 1970s. The special issue is premised on the concept that artistic life in Eastern Europe was profoundly shaped by the structures, conventions and workings of the overarching system, with artists and critics compelled to negotiate its productive contradictions. It examines the quotidian functioning of art scenes across the region that entailed the drawing up of tacit compromises and maintenance of calculated ambiguities in relations between party authorities and artists. Ultimately it was the latent and unrealised promise of actually existing socialism as much as its demonstrative failings that marked a crucial difference in the attitude of East European artists to the utopian reverberations of the era.

Type: Article
Title: Introduction: Actually existing artworlds of socialism
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/09528822.2018.1532719
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1080/09528822.2018.1532719
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Maja Fowkes, Reuben Fowkes, Socialism, Eastern Europe, Neo-avant-garde, official art, socialist art, amateur art, socialist internationalism, police informers, art institutions
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > SHS Faculty Office
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > SHS Faculty Office > UCL Institute for Advanced Studies
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10071836
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