"The production of souls is more important than the production of tanks.... And therefore I raise my glass to you, writers, the engineers of the human soul."—Joseph Stalin, October 26, 1932
Engineers of the Soul, currently on view at Postmasters, "brings together Communism's past, present, and future and shows artists' ongoing relationships to power and ideology as they negotiate the treacherous zones of propaganda and dissent" (from the show's press release). Organized by Magdalena Sawon and Tamas Banovich, both "children of Communism," the cross-generational exhibit showcases the work of Russian and Chinese artists examining life under Communist regimes.
The artists representing Communism's past are photographers Lu Xiangyou and Yuri Shalamoff. Lu (1928-2007) was a photographer for the People's Daily and Chinese News Service and was the official photographer of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. His images of Deng smoking and chillin', swimming, and vacationing with his family attempted to "humanize" the leader. Shalamoff's photos were published in the Soviet paper Komsomolskaya Pravda and represented the public image of Soviet officials - rubbing shoulders with Fidel Castro and even Sofia Loren.
Communism's present is represented by Yevgeniy Fiks, Wang Jianwei, and the collective Chto Delat? (What is to be Done?). Fiks' lush flower paintings are based on the specially-bred begonia that blooms every year in February during birthday celebrations for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Fiks' Kimjongilia flower series focuses "on the extreme manifestations of the personal cult." Wang's video project Hostage illustrates the story of a "harmonious, isolated community—a perfect mechanism suddenly being shaken and destroyed by progress." Chto Delat?'s video The Tower: a Songspiel features actors battling over plans to build a skyscraper in St.Petersburg's "carefully managed horizontal landscape." Powerful characters such as businessmen, politicians, mobsters, and an artist are shown in heated debate against a group of ordinary citizens.
Representing Communism's future is Rainer Ganahl and her video I Hate You Karl Marx. The film shows the young artist in the year 2045 in Berlin, China angrily screaming in Mandarin at a bust of Karl Marx - blaming him for paving the way for China's financial power and, as her film suggests, the nation's eventual takeover of the West. Ganahl's funny and powerful film addresses xenophobia and the West's "vague fear of China" (from artist's statement).
On November 20th, Yevgeniy Fiks will give a lecture/performance at Postmasters called Communist Tour of MoMA (the off-site lecture) in which the artist will address "the repression of history of the Left" and "the influence of Marixist ideology on progressive artists of the early twentieth century and their communist affiliations." Learn more at postmastersart.com. Engineers of the Soul runs through December 4th.
Yuri Shalamoff, The Motherland Calls!, 1967/2010
Left: Yuri Shalamoff, Beauty and the Beast-Minister of Culture of the USSR Ekaterina Furtseva and Sofia Loren, Moscow, 1965/2010 Right: Yuri Shalamoff, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret in the Red Square, Moscow, 1956/2010
Clockwise from left: Lu Xiangyou, Deng Xiaoping by the seaside of Bangzhui in Dalian, 1983/2006; Deng Xiaoping after swimming in Dalian Bangzhui Island, 1983/2006; Deng Xiaoping having a vacation with his family in Dalian Bangzhui Island, 1983/2006
Yevgeniy Fiks, Kimjongilias a.k.a. "Flower Paintings" no.2, 2008
Rainer Ganahl, I Hate You Karl Marx, 2010
Rainer Ganahl, Disclaimer for I Hate You Karl Marx, 2010
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