Soviet Art (Avant-Garde Art and Socialist Realism)

A History of Art in the Soviet Union from the Russian Avant-Garde (particulcarly Kazimir Malevich) to Socialist Realism.

The perceived backwardness of the Russian Empire, combined with the inferiority complex towards the West and the assumption that Russia should not only be more modern than the West, but different and better overall, was the perfect breeding ground for the most radical ideas. So it is not surprising that the radical modern artists of the Russian Empire fell in love with the revolution.

Stalin made short work of these ideas by replacing all art forms with Socialist Realism. But contrary to what is often claimed, Socialist Realism was not a betrayal of the revolutionary art styles. It was the fulfillment of the ideals of the avant-garde by other means. At least that is how I understand the main thesis of Boris Groys' book "The Total Art of Stalinism", which I am presenting here. A sobering thesis, since it says that all utopian art ultimately ends up as advertisement.

main source:
Groys, Boris; "The Total Art of Stalinism: Avant-Garde, Aesthetic Dictatorship, and Beyond"; 1988
Groys, Boris; "Werbung für den Kommunismus [Advertising Communism]", essay in: Die Zeit from 27. Feb. 2003 (the quote in the video is my own translation)
Groys, Boris; "Becoming Revolutionary: On Kazimir Malevich", essay in: e-flux from Sep. 2013

If you want to know more about the history of art in the Russian empire I recommend this video:
   • The Quickest History of 20th Century ...  

Timestamps:
0:00 intro
2:01 Avant-Garde
3:45 Black Square
5:45 Avant-Garde and the Bolshevik Party
7:44 Socialist Realism
8:59 "The Typical"
11:45 The Earthly Incarnation of the Demiurge
15:03 Conclusion: Advertising Communism