World Art in the 20th Century: The Censorship, Production, and Direction of

Design following the ascension of socialist regimes adopts a no frills schema. Art must propagate a political leader or laborer. In order to maintain exacting standards, symbolism is thrown out the door, save depictions of swastikas and the like. Progressive movements like Dadaism and Cubism are ridiculed as lower art forms, useless to the hardworking masses. Not just posters, this austerity permeates clothing, food, and architecture. In societies where masses of people are extinguished, it is no surprise that artworks were snuffed out.

No better example of uniform graphic design can be offered than China's renmenbi designs in which denominations of ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥20, ¥50, and ¥100 are stamped with Mao Zedong's head. Mao fervor sang to the tune of 40 billion volumes from one publisher alone. (Barme)

No more delicate lotus flower feet as art -- tassels of delicate womanhood were unwound, and out sprung vibrant revolutionaries. One casualty of oppression was exiled to the United States with $30 in his pocket. Ai Wei Wei scrubbed floors for $3/hour until he made it to Parsons Design School. His shattered past is reflected in his conceptual art which involves smashing vases and painting on shards. Though he helped design the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics, he refused to attend the opening ceremony, denouncing Steven Spielberg for choreographing the event. This seems hypocritical, as choreographing and housing involve just as much effort.

Credited for his Art Nouveau muses, Alfons Mucha's style took commercial success in France and the United States. His posters for Sarah Bernhardt are just as beautiful as his stained-glass window designs. One of his art pieces, Slav Epic, depicts the history of his homeland, including wars, religion, and education. However, it received a lackluster response, and it is not hard to understand why. High details rivaling those of The Last Supper overwhelms the viewer. Not surprisingly, he was one of the first to be attacked by the press when fascism gripped Czechoslovakia.

Materials from the USSR tend to be tricolor, with red and black setting the contrast. The faces of leaders, poets, and youth look menacing and dark. Even posters for recreation are hypnotic and grim. "During the years immediately following the 1917 revolution, the Soviet government tolerated advanced art while more urgent problems commanded its attention, but by 1922, having turned hostile, it accused experimental artists of 'capitalist cosmopolitanism.'" (Meggs) Such uniformity in output was achieved through the Great Purges in which thousands of people were weeded out for not being true reds.

In the land of the free (USA), censorship takes on a euphemistic mask of esthetic guidance. A mural of the statue of liberty was suspended until "a building permit has been issued for the sign and has not expired prior to the effective date of this ordinance, and construction pursuant to the permit has progressed to the point that one of the inspections by LAMC Section 91.108.05 has been made." The city "contends that
A third example of subversion is the Chinese Nushu. Banned from reading texts, women in southern China devised clever ways to embroider almost indecipherable characters into their silk fans, which they would exchange with each other as a means to fortify sisterhood. One of the last remaining readers of Nushu, Yang Huanyi - aged 98 - comments, "It made our lives better, because we could express ourselves that way." These characters are a phonetic representation of the Chengguan dialect. As each English typeface values a certain setting, Nushu's highest form of elegance is that which is written most finely. No doubt this abetted the clandestine nature of the language. However, even efforts to investigate this elusive language was branded rightist. Samples collected by linguist Zhou Shuoyi in 1950.

Sometimes even relics of a bygone power are viewed as threats. When artist Kitagawa Utamaro did the portraits of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's concubines, he went to jail. One day heralded as gems, the next handcuffed for obscenity-it is difficult trying to see the real wrongdoing unless you look for the insecurity of those enforcing these art decrees. Taliban militants in Swat, Pakistan have been drilling the faces off Buddhas. North Korea fares no better in art matters. Bright red and blue hues outline soldiers on billboards that praise leader Kim Il Sung.

Graphic arts takes a blow in the face of war, as even women are mobilized for the front. From the Office of War Information comes the strategy plan "These jobs will have to be glorified as a patriotic war service if American women are to be persuaded to take them." With banners like "Victory Waits on Your Fingers" and "It's A Woman's War Too!" who could resist taking the call to bear arms, or typewriters? (National Archives) Imagery not only brings forth new ideas, it normalizes them. With the onslaught of red white and blues, who are you to mutiny? Propaganda works, and that is why the presses are the first thing to be silenced in oppressive times.

Before WWI, Italian and French nightlife posters featured women in opulent atmosphere. Draftsmen Leonetto Capiello, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Juls Cherét deftly captured the glamour of those champagne-filled evenings. War's effect on economy, expression, and morale was no easy slump to get over. It is no wonder that minimalist art sprung forth from this period. As a tender venture from desolation, it was really the only type of design a war-torn society would allow itself. Constructivism was the utilitarian marriage of simplicity and art. The new focus was on industriousness and organization. To me, it sounds like a bunch of people scrambling for order and productivity. Somehow constructionist artists break things down to achieve a futuristic quality. Symmetry and precision in grid-like space all tout the accuracy of machinery during the postwar years. From soldiers to bots, it was almost like artists couldn't permit themselves to feel again. Even the geometric shapes seem cold and rigid.
In all five cases of stunted art, reasons are attributed to the common good. The biggest fear of a totalitarian mindset is dissent. As evidenced by Negro spirituals and Capoeira, there can be rebellious currents in art. Fredrick Douglas remarks, "Every tone was testimony against slavery, and a prayer for deliverance from chains." Capoeira is a dance that originated in Brazil, but its head-butting moves and body throws are fighting techniques from ancient Africa. What Capoeira dancers and spiritual singers do through action, graphic artists do through image.

Barme, Geremie Shades of Mao. M. E. Sharpe, Inc. 1996

Meggs, Philip B. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2006

Tarpo, Shyla. "The Evolution of American Music 1870 - Present" http://www.lclark.edu/~ria/americanmusic.htmlpresent

Toy, Mary-Anne. "The artist as an angry man." The Age 19 Jan. 2008: 24-26

Zahniser, David. "Firm fights to keep supergraphics on Los Angeles high-rises." Los Angeles Times 22 Jan. 2008: 41-43

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