DOI Heft:
Nr. 2-3
DOI Artikel:Włodarczyk, Wojciech: "Aspects of Socialist Realism": Exhibition in the National Museum in Warsaw
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18904#0097
1. Henryk Stażewski, Grane, 1950, oil on canvas, Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe
The above brings us to a inore generał qucstion: Does the term „socialist realism" apply only
to a group of works selected because of their formal ąualities or subjcct-mattcr, or to all woiks
executed during the period of socialist realism which is usually singled out indicating important
events in political history. If the latter premise is adopted, the image of socialist realism must be
presented against a political background: still historical paintings and portraits of political
lcaders made a considerable portion of artistic production in that period. But the adoption of
the latter premise does not free us from dcfining the formal ąualities constituting the work of
socialist realism, which is where the selection of exhibits should start. This is cspecially im-
portant today, notably with rcspect to contemporary art. The organisers of exhibitions of art
produced over the last fifty years have too frequcntly put together uircomparable works of
pieces of unecraał value for the purpose of either vindicating their intcrpretation or attracting
the public. On the morał levcl the conclusion from the above is that the autonomy of works of
recent art should be defended when an absence of time perspective prcvcnts the less experienccd
member of the public from realising the aclual value of this art.
87
The above brings us to a inore generał qucstion: Does the term „socialist realism" apply only
to a group of works selected because of their formal ąualities or subjcct-mattcr, or to all woiks
executed during the period of socialist realism which is usually singled out indicating important
events in political history. If the latter premise is adopted, the image of socialist realism must be
presented against a political background: still historical paintings and portraits of political
lcaders made a considerable portion of artistic production in that period. But the adoption of
the latter premise does not free us from dcfining the formal ąualities constituting the work of
socialist realism, which is where the selection of exhibits should start. This is cspecially im-
portant today, notably with rcspect to contemporary art. The organisers of exhibitions of art
produced over the last fifty years have too frequcntly put together uircomparable works of
pieces of unecraał value for the purpose of either vindicating their intcrpretation or attracting
the public. On the morał levcl the conclusion from the above is that the autonomy of works of
recent art should be defended when an absence of time perspective prcvcnts the less experienccd
member of the public from realising the aclual value of this art.
87