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Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture
Bibliography: p. 247-263.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Michaelis School of Fine Art
2016
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| _version_ | 1867614493819797504 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth |
| author2 | Klopper, Sandra |
| author_browse | Klopper, Sandra Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth |
| author_facet | Klopper, Sandra Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth |
| author_sort | Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: p. 247-263. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/21781 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:52:55.704Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Michaelis School of Fine Art |
| publisherStr | Michaelis School of Fine Art |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/21781 Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth Klopper, Sandra History of Art Bibliography: p. 247-263. In this dissertation I demonstrate that in many Western and Soviet texts the work of so called formalist leftists and figurative artists are viewed as diametrically opposed to one another. I argue against the perpetuation of this polemic and the assumptions that inform this view. These assumptions are that the leftists produced self-referential works indicative of an anti-realist philosophy and that figurative artists produced social commentaries informed by a philosophy of realism which led 'inevitably' to Socialist Realism. Although a few recent texts warn against oversimplifying this debate, none go far enough in deconstructing the view that there were two groupings diametrically opposed to one another. In fact, many simply repeat the argument as it was articulated in the twenties and thirties, which is to ignore the possibility of a critical analysis of the theoretical principles and constraints informing the debates current at that time. Categorising leftists as anti-realist and figurative artists as realist is not satisfactory firstly because neither the leftists nor the figurative artists existed as homogenous groupings and secondly because many figurative artists (the so-called realists) in fact challenged the idea of a coherent world order existing external to the art work. Nevertheless there are artists from both these categories who asserted the importance of an objective world that was external to and a primary determinant of the art work. In this dissertation I demonstrate that these figurative artists often shared the same ideological goals with leftists. Instead of working with the idea of viewing artists of the twenties and thirties as realist or anti-realist, figurative or so-called formalist, I discuss their philosophical and stylistic choices in relation to the political and economic project of the period, namely the empowerment of the proletariat and the attempt to foster a proletarian culture. 2016-09-14T13:02:55Z 2016-09-14T13:02:55Z 1994 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21781 eng application/pdf Michaelis School of Fine Art Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | History of Art Nolte, Jacqueline Elizabeth Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| title_full | Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| title_fullStr | Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| title_short | Figurative art in Soviet Russia circa 1921-1934 : situating the realist-anti-realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| title_sort | figurative art in soviet russia circa 1921 1934 situating the realist anti realist debate in the context of changing definitions of proletarian culture |
| topic | History of Art |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21781 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT noltejacquelineelizabeth figurativeartinsovietrussiacirca19211934situatingtherealistantirealistdebateinthecontextofchangingdefinitionsofproletarianculture |