Transnational and Trans-Ideological Connections: Cultural Relations between the Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe and the Capitalist West II

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel includes papers that seek to disentangle the different types of transnational connections that were created during late socialism between the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the West through the (in)visible connections of state institutions, and through the informal networks created by private collectors or mediators. Which was the official context of the relationship between the two blocs besides the relation between the USSR and the US? The panel proposes to enlarge the perspective of Cultural Cold War analyses using novel archival sources. The Cultural Cold War analyses deal with the ways in which culture was used during the Cold War by both socialist and Western countries, and with cultural diplomacy or cultural propaganda specific to the Cold War period. The use of art and cultural production as a means of propaganda have been seen in different ideological institutions such as the Congress for Cultural Freedom (1950-1966)/International Association for Cultural Freedom (IACF 1967-1979). How did the communist regime conceive their cultural relations with the West? Which institutions did they use? Were there common practices? The panel invites proposals that analyze the general context of cultural relations with the West and case studies of artists or collectors, etc.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Magdalena Radomska, Adam Mickiewicz U (Poland)

Papers

• Trans-Peripheral Cultural Diplomacy, or the Export of Socialist Modernity: Exhibition Histories of Włocławek 'Fajans' - Karolina Majewska-Güde, U of Warsaw (Poland)

• Soft Power in Fiber: Polish Textile Art, Institutional Networks, and Cultural Diplomacy at the Lausanne Biennale during the Cold War - Sandra Katarzyna Imko, John Paul II Catholic U of Lublin (Poland) / U of Lausanne (Switzerland)

• Globalization and Expertise: The 'Lohn' System and the Changes in Nature and the Role of Fashion Trends and Sustainability Discourses - Tincuta Heinzel, Loughborough U (UK)

• Wests of NET: Does Geography Work for Networking - Magdalena Radomska, Adam Mickiewicz U (Poland)

Discussant

• Katarzyna Cytlak, Nicolaus Copernicus U (Poland)