The Legacy and Memory of Socialist Realism Globally

• In Event: Memory in Creation: The Artistic Legacy of the Soviet Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

This paper offers a broad overview of the global legacy of Socialist Realism today based on a number of recent publications that have been reassessing Socialist Realism as a cultural doctrine, a part of the history of Modernism, and a significant style in the history of visual art of the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and Africa. The paper will also seek to address developments in Russia and other post-Soviet spaces, where a number of exhibitions in recent years have led to heated debates about the impacts, meaning, and legacy of Socialist Realism.

Author

• Ksenya Gurshtein, Independent Scholar