Central and Eastern European Art Since 1950
Maja Fowkes
In this path-breaking new history, Maja and Reuben Fowkes introduce outstandingartworks and major figures from across central and eastern Europe to reveal themovements, theories and styles that have shaped artistic practice since 1950. Theyemphasize the particularly rich and varied art scenes of Poland, Czechoslovakia,Hungary and Yugoslavia, extending their gaze at intervals to East Germany, Romania,the Baltic states and the rest of the Balkans.
While politics in the region have been marked by unstable geography and dramatictransitions, artists have forged a path of persistent experiment and innovation. Thisgenerously illustrated overview explores the richness of their singular contribution torecent art history. Tracing art-historical changes from the short-lived unison of thesocialist realist period to the incredible diversity of art in the post-communist era, theauthors examine the repercussions of political events on artistic life – notably theuprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Solidarity movement in Poland, and thecollapse of the communist bloc. But their primary interest is in the experimental art ofthe neo-avant-garde that resisted official agendas and engaged with global currentssuch as performance art, video, multimedia and net art.
Maja Fowkes is a curator and art historian with a focus on the theory and aesthetics of Eastern European art from the socialist era to the present. Together with her husband Ruben they are co-directors of the Translocal Institute for Contemporary Art, a research centre in Budapest that operates at the intersection between ecological thought and contemporary art.
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