North Korean Posters: The David Heather Collection
Average Rating: out of 1 Reviews
Price: $25.00
Sale: $17.30
Manufacturer: Prestel USA
EAN (European Article Number): 9783791339672
Number of Items: 1
Binding: Paperback
Author: David Heather::Koen De Ceuster
Publisher: Prestel USA
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.674095193
Publication Date: 2008-05-30
Reading Level: 288
Description: This rare glimpse into North Korean society is the first book of its kind: a riveting collection of state-sponsored propaganda posters that present the unique graphic sensibilities of this little-known country.
Seldom seen by the outside world, North Korea s propaganda art colors the cities and countryside with vibrant images of brave soldiers, happy and well-fed peasants, and a heroic and compassionate leader. More than 250 of these posters are collected here for the first time, showing the wide range of North Korean propaganda art. Hand-painted, one-of-a-kind pieces of art, these posters display the latest political slogans that are repeated in newspaper editorials, government declarations, and compulsory study sessions throughout the country. A unique collection which would appeal to artists and graphic designers as well as those interested in this closed society, this book may not represent the reality of North Korea, but rather a vision of the country as promoted by its regime and depicted by its state sponsored artists.
Customer Reviews
Review Summary: Ever forward to Paradise
Date: 2008-05-03
Details:
To quote from Koen De Ceuster in the book's intro: 'Only if the poster appeals to the ideological and aesthetic sentiments of the people will it succeed in truly rousing the people'. The cynical might conclude because the people were not truly roused by these posters is a good enough reason to explain why the economy of the DPRK is in such a ramshackle state.
The 250 reproduced are pretty lackluster in their creativity. This becomes apparent when compared to Soviet Posters (published by Prestel in 2007 and the same size and format) though admittedly they developed over several decades and had the benefit of talent like Lissitzky, Govorkov and Rodchenko to create political masterpieces. With a closed society like North Korea where creativity emanated from the two Kims should anyone expect anything better.
Despite a sameness to many of the images some do stand out. A poster on page 233 is an interesting painting of four horsemen with flags, riding into the future (where else!). As with so many posters shown the groupings are the same: a soldier, woman farmer, steel worker and an intellectual. The painting style looks quite contemporary though. On page 251 has a diesel engine done in a very graphic style with the side of the unit incorporating bold type, the poster headline is in the same perspective as the engine. There are no dates or artists mentioned in any of the captions and looking through the pages I get the impression that maybe the bulk of the posters were created by a small group of artists and designers.
There is a chapter called: Undeterred Defiance, with forty-five works hurling abuse and dire consequences at the US and some of these look several decades old. Covering the Korean war and later the capture of the USS Pueblo in 1968 and a US helicopter incident in 1994. These last two events, very minor in the scheme of things but as they are the only two things where the US directly affected North Korea their importance is exaggerated enormously.
The book is identical to the Soviet Posters I've mentioned. The same 288 pages, color throughout, in 150 screen and also the same annoyance of having all the captions and page numbers sideways on each page (so four stars) but I thought the Soviet book's contents far more interesting. With two books covering the same subject I wonder if Prestel will extend the idea to Cuban, Polish and East German political posters?
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
out of 1 Reviews
