Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Totalitarian architecture

Fascinating

I went through, probably, 3/4 of the images available through that link, deciding on the way that I wouldn't mind taking the course they were assembled for. But, what really caught my eye wasn't the architecture, but the sculpture, painting, and poster art.

http://www.philart.net/images/large/postof2.jpg

http://www.philart.net/images/large/postof1.jpg


Those face each other across the entrance of the Post Office at 9th and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia. They're dated 1940 -- the sculptor is Donald De Lue, who also created this for the US cemetery at D-Day's Omaha Beach, and this:

http://www.forgotten-ny.com/STREET%20SCENES/worldsfair/parkrocketthrower.jpg


(which I found here,for the 1964 World's Fair... not all that different in style from Soviet heroic art.

http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/art-history/werckmeister/March_30_1999/Mukhina.jpg


It was also the era of the WPA Arts Projects. I could spend all afternoon looking for examples... but if you've ever seen any of the thousands of murals painted in post offices, schools and other American public buildings from 1935 - 1943, you may understand my point: "Socialist" Realism as a style of art is nearly indistinguishable from "Capitalist" Realism.

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