Introduction -- People, poverty, politics, and posters -- Nature and transformation -- Production and mechanization -- Women hold up half the sky -- Serve the people -- Solidarity -- Politics in command -- After the cultural revolution.

"Dating from 1917 to the end of the Cold War, the posters in this book feature the work of such major Russian groundbreaking avant-garde designers as El Lissitzky and Alexander Rodchenko as well as extraordinary works by lesser known artists." --Book Jacket.

Provides an innovative reinterpretation of the cultural revolution through the medium of the poster -- a major component of popular print culture in China.

In 1966, when the Cultural Revolution took hold, posters, ceramic statues, "Little Red Books," and other material objects were the principal means that the Chinese government used to communicate with the masses. As art and as propaganda, the iconography of these artifacts was used to rally the people around the programs and personalities of the Maoist regime. For graphic artists, collectors, and Sino-historians, they have a growing importance. With nearly 500 color photos, this book is an introductory guide to the meanings and values of the material culture of the Cultural Revolution, along with brief explanations of their historical background.

This book presents carefully-selected posters created from the 1950s to 1990s, and categorizes them into the following chapters: leaders, politics, International affairs, military affairs and national defense, economic construction, national unity, and cultural education. The characteristic artistic approaches in these posters will definitely provides readers with a unique reading experience.

Chapters by scholars of Chinese history and art and by artists whose careers were shaped by the Cultural Revolution decode the rhetoric of China's turbulent decade. The many illustrations in the book, some familiar and some never seen before, also offer new insights into works that have transcended their times."--BOOK JACKET.

One of the common features of communist regimes is the use of art for revolutionary means. Posters in particular have served as beacons of propaganda--vehicles of coercion, instruction, censure and debate--in every communist nation. They have promoted the authority of state and revolution, but have also been used as an effective means of protest. By their nature, posters are ephemeral, tied to time and place, but many have had far-reaching, long-lasting impact. They are imbued with both artistic integrity and personal conviction--Bolshevik posters, for example, are among the most vibrant, passionate graphics in art history. This is the first truly global survey of the history and variety of communist poster art. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, and examines a different region of the world: Russia, China, Mongolia, Eastern Europe, North Korea, Vietnam and Cuba. This beautifully illustrated, comprehensive survey examines the broad range of political and visual cultures of communist posters, and will appeal to a wide audience interested in art, history and politics.