Monday, September 22, 2008

Marxist Dogma Doesn't Fade Away

I saw this advert for the HaShomer Hatzair gathering:



and it immediately reminded me of these posters and others of the Soviet propaganda machinery:



and even this




And I found this:-

Art in the Service of Ideology: HaShomer HaTza'ir Political Posters HaKibbutz Ha'Artzi, Engaged Art, and the Historical Background by Eli Tzur.

HaKibbutz Ha'Artzi was the settlement arm of HaShomer HaTza'ir youth movement. Established in Eastern Europe on the eve of World War I, HaShomer HaTza'ir underwent a process of ideological and political radicalization during its first two decades of existence. This process was also manifested in the artistic media. Reflecting by the atmosphere prevailing in 1920s Europe, the process was influenced by currents of pacifist, socialist revolutionary and anti-establishment artistic movements that had deep impact on artists who, as youngsters, were members of HaShomer HaTza'ir. This trend was reflected in the politics of the Yishuv mainly from the 1930s, using posters and other visual means of political propaganda. Although ready to use these works of art, the Kibbutz Ha'Artzi leadership was reluctant to exert direct pressure on artists to make them "politically useful"



Old Marxist dogmatists die hard.

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