The Total Art of Stalinism Avant-Garde, Aesthetic Dictatorship, and Beyond

by Groys, Boris; Rougle, Charles

• ISBN13: 9781844677078
• ISBN10: 1844677079
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-08
• Publisher: Verso Books

Summary

From the ruins of communism, Boris Groys emerges to provoke our interest in the aesthetic goals pursued with such catastrophic consequences by its founders. Interpreting totalitarian art and literature in the context of cultural history, this brilliant essay likens totalitarian aims to the modernists' goal of producing world-transformative art. In this new edition, Groys revisits the debate that the book has stimulated since its first publication.

Author Biography

Brois Groys is professor of Aesthetics, Art History, and Media Theory at the Center for Art and Media Technology in Karlsruhe and, since 2005, the Distinguished professor in the Faculty of Arts and Science, NYU. He has published numerous books, including The Communist Postscript.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Culture of the Stalin Era in Historical Perspective	p. 3
The Russian Avant-Garde: The Leap over Progress	p. 14
White Humanity	p. 15
Red Agitation	p. 19
The Stalinist Art of Living	p. 33
Judgment Day for World Culture	p. 37
The Typology of the Nonexistent	p. 50
The Earthly Incarnation of the Demiurge	p. 56
Postutopian Art: From Myth to Mythology	p. 75
The Lost Horizon	p. 81
The Avant-Garde Artist as the "Little Man"	p. 84
Stalin's Best Pupils	p. 89
Poet and Militiaman	p. 95
A Cruel Talent	p. 99
Chronicler of the Kremlin	p. 102
Designers of the Unconscious and Their Audience	p. 113
Afterword	p. 121
Notes	p. 131
Introduction The Culture of the Stalin Era in Historical Perspective	p. 3
The Russian Avant-Garde: The Leap over Progress	p. 14
White Humanity	p. 15
Red Agitation	p. 19
The Stalinist Art of Living	p. 33
Judgment Day for World Culture	p. 37
The Typology of the Nonexistent	p. 50
The Earthly Incarnation of the Demiurge	p. 56
Postutopian Art: From Myth to Mythology	p. 75
The Lost Horizon	p. 81
The Avant-Garde Artist as the "Little Man"	p. 84
Stalin's Best Pupils	p. 89
Poet and Militiaman	p. 95
A Cruel Talent	p. 99
Chronicler of the Kremlin	p. 102
Designers of the Unconscious and Their Audience	p. 113
Afterword	p. 121
Notes	p. 131
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