Abstract:

"Examines the Communist Party's rigorously enforced art policies during China's Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976, when pictorial artists were given strict aesthetic guidelines for the production of works designed to promote the ideology and imagery of Mao Tse-tung's illusory new society. Through a detailed study of paintings, posters, and operas -- from their color scheme to their treatment of light and shadow, from the bodily poses and facial expressions and clothes worn by the subjects -- the video reveals how artists were politically mobilized, under the guidance of Mao's wife, Jian Qing, to promote an ideology of revolutionary purity." Directed by Kubert Leung.