September 2015

A New Era of Manipulation

September 20, 2015

“Vodka, the Church, and the Cinema” This writing by Leon Trotsky provides a glimpse into what Trotsky envisioned the new culture as. As one of the leaders of this new soviet endeavor Trotsky looked towards the future but also the past. He saw how the old fit with the new, and how the old would not work with this new nation of workers. Trotsky was an idealist, and a firm believer in this new communist world. However, in this writing we can see just how disconnected he was. Trotsky not only wished to fundamentally change Russia’s political and social structure but also its cultural structure. In doing this he set out to utilize a new player, cinema.

Trotsky first realized that Russia had devolved into an alcoholic state. This state had been produced by the czars and their monopoly on vodka that not only kept the people drunk and preoccupied but also filled their pockets. Trotsky recognized its use and potential but also realized that this would not fit in his new Culture. This pathological drinking would not create an educated and active proletariat. Trotsky however did understand that this would be a difficult change for the people to make so he needed to find a replacement for this entertainment.

Also on Trotsky’s chopping block was religion. He held that religion was a façade, a thing people just go through the motions of. He described that religion was empty and pointless and only served as a means to find some meaning or for entertainment. Trotsky seriously believed that almost all Russian people believed as he did that religion is a farce. He believed that it was only a means of pacifying the masses and in fact that everyone just went through the motions and now faith actually existed.

To replace these two facets of Russian culture cinema was the answer. Trotsky held cinema as the new way forward for Russian culture. It would serve as a venue for education as well as entertainment for the masses. A lever that the government could control and use for its purposes. Cinema would become the new way of controlling the people, a new method of propaganda and manipulation. This idea is genius and mad at the same time though. We can see Trotsky is a man of great resolve for the formation of a new culture however he is clearly out of touch. I believe that in reading this proposed plan we can see just how disconnected the party leaders would become from the people and why in the end the Soviet government would fall.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/women/life/23_07_12.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky

Following in the Footsteps of a Giant

zacsever / Art / 5 Comments

September 7, 2015

In the footsteps of a giant the Russian people follow, the not so silent majority rises. The man who brought this scene to canvas was Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, a man who had grown up poor and fell in with the Soviet ideals. As a young man he worked along other painters, one of which being Repin. Through his career he painted many scenes but Soviet Nationalism and cultural pieces stayed his focus. Pieces like this one “The Bolshevik” (1917) a work of art depicting the rise against tsarism characterized his career. The picture itself is supposedly the view Kustodiev had of the uprising from his studio window on the date that the fate of the monarchy was decided. a decision made not buy the nobility or upper classes but by the Russian people.

Being an early supporter of the revolution it is no surprise that Kustodiev uses this opportunity to glorify the part as well as the Russian people. This piece of art captures not only a snapshot of history but also a feeling. A feeling of hope for the future but also a feeling of pride. In a moment Kustodiev captures the sum of the Russian peoples victory. In his rendering of this he does not only depict what he sees. He depicts the invisible giant that leads this revolution or does he depict the man but represents his importance in his characterization as a giant? But this may not be a man at all, I am of the opinion that this giant is the Bolshevik giant. A giant representing the party that has grown large with the public’s discontent, powerful with the discord, and now it leads the mob. A mob under a red banner, a banner that leads all people from all situations to a new future. A future that will finally be shaped by the people and not the spoiled rulers.

In looking at this piece of art a few items are prevalent. First in the crowd many classes of people are shown. Soldiers, peasants, even upper class people in automobiles. The crowd seems to be marching forward with a jubilant demeanor. Perhaps the artist wanted the audience to see this a glorious, almost happy revolution and not as one that claimed many lives. The artist also depicts the crowd passing through a well built prosperous section of city, might this be a sign of good things to come? One thing is certain however, the artist believes that this revolution is just and the correct course for his nation.

Sources:

http://www.rusartist.org/boris-mikhailovich-kustodiev-1878-1927/#.VeyOehFViko

Culture and Revolution Images

Vasily_Perov_-_Monastic_Refectory_-_Google_Art_Project

A Meal at The Monistary

zacsever / Art / 0 Comments

September 3, 2015

Vasily Perov was one of the original founding members of the Wanderers movement in pre-soviet Russia. His works centered around a new genre of art in Russia: Critical Realism. In his piece Monastic Refectory we can see just how skeptic he was of Russian social structure and customs. Although he paints a lovely scene it is quite easy to see its true purpose.

In the painting Perov depicts a meal taking place in a Refectory. At this meal we can see three different levels of Russian society all in the same room however there means and situation greatly differ. As peasants beg on the floor the priests are drinking and gorging themselves at the table taking little notice to the starving masses on the floor. Perov also depicts the priests as fat and jovial. In the corner we can see one priest beckoning for another bottle only in what I assume to be a statement by Perov on the priests excess of alcohol.

On a close look there is also one more statement the artist leaves for us. In the top left corner we can see people obviously of the upper class. One priest is inviting them to the table however once you see their faces it is obvious they are not interested. I would even say they are disgusted to see what is going on. Is this a statement by Perov towards the fact that the upper class looked down upon the clergy? We may never fully know all his meaning in this piece but we do know it is an amazing work of art.

Sources:

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/vasily-perov.htm

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/u/0/asset-viewer/monastic-refectory/lwHCsh4u2Kf5vQ