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Propaganda Posters Are Art Again

Hidden in the basement of a gated residential community on Huashan Lu resides one of the more subversive art exhibitions in China: The Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center. In order to access the...
Last updated: 2015-11-09


Hidden in the basement of a gated residential community on Huashan Lu resides one of the more subversive art exhibitions in China: The Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center. In order to access the museum, you must explain your purpose to a guard, who will then hand you a small card with a map of the buildings covered with cryptic arrows that eventually lead to a small entrance at "Building 4." From there, a dingy elevator takes you down to the basement where you and a few other foreigners discover Mao's world of propaganda poster art.

Covering every inch of three rooms, propaganda posters and other paraphernalia assert the reality of the recent past and of Mao himself. In Shanghai it is rare to encounter a native willing to converse about Mao, or about politics in general, a fact that lends a surreal quality to the years 1949 -1976.

When first questioned, the curators insisted that financial reasons dictate the museum's underground location. Given the fact that the thousands of pieces from this era belong to a single collector, Yang Pei Ming, it seemed unlikely that budget problems forced this exhibit below ground. Upon further inquiry, one curator admitted that although China is now "open" and this museum operates within its legal rights, it's savvy to keep a low profile when dealing with such a controversial subject. To ensure that the museum remains open, the collector shies away from mainstream tourist spots and relies on being sought out rather than advertising.

Like most strong leaders, Mao emerged at a time in China's history when external oppression and internal conflict combined to create a desperate need for unity and of single-minded purpose.

One way to affect this mental shift was through art. Mao insisted that all Chinese artists participate in painting propaganda posters, which initially offered positive reinforcement to a disconsolate people. However, during the 30 years - that China remained closed, the tone and content of the posters shifted from Mao's desire to strengthen the country to an apparent desire to boost his own image. Because surviving posters are rare - most were destroyed after the Cultural Revolutionand this particular collection is privately owned, the museum offers a small slice of propaganda rather than a representative subset.

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