Editing Socialist realism (section)

=== Characteristics ===
[[File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006428 004 Blick in die Halle mit einer Statue von Stalin u.jpg|thumb|Workers inspect architectural model under a statue of Stalin, [[Leipzig]], [[East Germany]], 1953.]]
The purpose of socialist realism was to limit popular culture to a specific, highly regulated faction of emotional expression that promoted Soviet ideals.<ref name="Nelson 1988, p. 5">Nelson, Cary and Lawrence, Grossberg. ''Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture''.  University of Illinois Press, 1988, p. 5</ref> The party was of the utmost importance and was always to be favorably featured. The key concepts that developed assured loyalty to the party were ''[[partiinost']]'' (party-mindedness), ''ideinost'' (idea and ideological content), ''klassovost'' (class content), ''pravdivost'' (truthfulness).<ref name="Ellis, Andrew 2012, p. 38">Ellis, Andrew. ''Socialist Realisms: Soviet Painting 1920–1970''. Skira Editore S.p.A., 2012, p. 38</ref> ''Ideinost'' was an important concept: not only was the work to embody an approved idea, but its content was more important than its form. This allowed the identification of [[Formalism (art)|formalism]], a work in which the formal aspects of a work of art commanded more importance than the subject matter, or content.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tompkins |first=David G. |title=Composing the Party Line |publisher=Purdue University Press |year=2013 |isbn= |pages=17–18 |language=EN}}</ref>

There was a prevailing sense of optimism, as socialist realism's function was to show the ideal Soviet society. Not only was the present glorified, but the future was also supposed to be depicted in an agreeable fashion. Because the present and the future were constantly idealized, socialist realism had a sense of forced optimism. Tragedy and negativity were not permitted, unless they were shown in a different time or place. This sentiment created what would later be dubbed "revolutionary romanticism".<ref name="Ellis, Andrew 2012, p. 38" />

Revolutionary romanticism elevated the common worker, whether factory or agricultural, by presenting his life, work, and recreation as admirable. Its purpose was to show how much the standard of living had improved thanks to the revolution, as educational information, to teach Soviet citizens how they should be acting and to improve morale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Socialist Realism Movement Overview |url=https://www.theartstory.org/movement/socialist-realism/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=The Art Story}}</ref> The ultimate aim was to create what Lenin called "an entirely new type of human being": The ''[[New Soviet Man]]''. Art (especially posters and murals) was a way to instill party values on a massive scale. Stalin described the socialist realist artists as "engineers of souls".<ref name="Overy, Richard 2004, p. 354">Overy, Richard. ''The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia''. W.W. Norton & Company, 2004, p. 354</ref>

Common images used in socialist realism were flowers, sunlight, the body, youth, flight, industry, and new technology.<ref name="Ellis, Andrew 2012, p. 38" /> These poetic images were used to show the utopianism of communism and the Soviet state. Art became more than an aesthetic pleasure; instead it served a very specific function. Soviet ideals placed functionality and work above all else; therefore, for art to be admired, it must serve a purpose. [[Georgi Plekhanov]], a Marxist theoretician, states that art is useful if it serves society: "There can be no doubt that art acquired a social significance only in so far as it depicts, evokes, or conveys ''actions, emotions and events that are of significance to society''."<ref>Schwartz, Lawrence H. ''Marxism and Culture''. Kennikat Press, 1980, p. 110</ref>

The themes depicted would feature the beauty of work, the achievements of the collective and the individual for the good of the whole. The artwork would often feature an easily discernible educational message.

The artist could not, however, portray life just as they saw it because anything that reflected poorly on Communism had to be omitted. People who could not be shown as either wholly good or wholly evil could not be used as characters.<ref>Frankel, Tobia. ''The Russian Artist''. Macmillan Company, 1972, p. 125</ref> Art was filled with health and happiness: paintings showed busy industrial and agricultural scenes; sculptures depicted workers, sentries, and schoolchildren.<ref>Stegelbaum, Lewis and Sokolov, Andrei. ''Stalinism As A Way Of Life''. Yale University Press, 2004, p. 220</ref>

Creativity was not an important part of socialist realism. The styles used in creating art during this period were those that would produce the most realistic results. Painters would depict happy, muscular peasants and workers in factories and collective farms. During the Stalin period, they produced numerous heroic portraits of Stalin to serve [[Stalin's cult of personality|his cult of personality]]{{snd}}all in the most realistic fashion possible.<ref>Juraga, Dubravka and Booker, Keith M. ''Socialist Cultures East and West''. Praeger, 2002, p. 45</ref> The most important thing for a socialist realist artist was not artistic integrity but adherence to party doctrine,<ref name="Nelson 1988, p. 5" /> thus creating a singular utopian aesthetic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Artist-Dictator: Stalin as Auteur in the Battle of Utopian Aesthetics {{!}} Jake Zawlacki {{!}} IJORS International Journal of Russian Studies |url=https://www.ijors.net/issue10_1_2021/articles/zawlacki.html |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=www.ijors.net}}</ref>