Picturing Socialism - Public Art and Design in East Germany

This vibrant history of the former German Democratic Republic''s public art reveals a barely known but visually and theoretically rich cultural legacy. Picturing Socialism shows how works of art and design in the urban spaces of East Germany were the site of a sustained struggle between practitioners, critics and political leaders. This was not the oft-assumed conflict between artistic freedom and political dogma; at stake was the self-identity of the republic as socialist. Art and its relationship to architecture functioned as the testing ground for East Germany''s relationship to socialist realism and modernism against the backdrop of Cold War competition from the neighbouring Federal Republic. Picturing Socialism makes a timely contribution to the recent groundswell of interest in the legacy of East Germany''s art and architecture, illuminating and elucidating the public art which has been lost or remains under threat since unification in 1990.>

About the author

J.R. Jenkins is a design historian specializing in the design culture of the former German Democratic Republic. She writes widely on design, with contributions in books such as Design, History and Time (Bloomsbury, 2019) and journals such as Design Issues. She teaches Design Contexts at Falmouth University, UK.

Product details

• Authors: J R Jenkins, J. R. Jenkins
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 16.11.2023
• EAN: 9781350428027
• ISBN: 978-1-350-42802-7
• No. of pages: 264
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 232 mm x 18 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Interior design, design; HISTORY / Europe / Germany, DESIGN / Graphic Arts / General, ART / Public Art, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, History of Art, History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -, Public Art, history of design, East Germany, Ddr