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Comparative StudyIB Visual Arts (HL)

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Section 1 •••

Introduction

Nina Vatolina (1915-2002) Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941)Lithograph on paper100 cm x 69 cm

(Artwork on the left)Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863)Liberty Leading the People (1830)Oil on Canvas260 cm x 325 cm

(Artwork on the right)Yue Minjun (1962-present) Freedom Leading the People (1996)Oil on Canvas250 cm x 360 cm

The theme of my artworks has always been around exploring my cultural identity and the various factors that create and influence it. This is because living in Hong Kong, a multicultural city, I often find it inadequate to define my cultural identity with one culture and difficult to pinpoint the factors that have contributed to shaping my unique multicultural identity. Through research and compos-ing several artworks, I have discovered that politics have played a crucial role in shaping Hong Kong’s unique multicultural identity, as the highly autonomous “One Country Two Systems” pro-posed by Deng Xiaoping (Miller, “One Country, Two Systems”) has granted Hong Kong immunity to political censorship and the freedom of speech (“Chapter III”). This has allowed the expression of various cultures and ideologies within the borders of Hong Kong, which has contributed to shaping the city’s multicultural identity.

To further explore how artists have examined and expressed the idea of politics being an influence upon a society’s collective identity, my comparative study explored and compared three relevant artworks that reflect three different political movements that may have helped define the social identity of the times the artworks were created in. The three artworks that I have chosen to study were “Liberty Leading the People” by French romantic artist Eugène Delacroix, “Freedom Leading the People” by contemporary Chinese artist Yue Minjun, and “Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women” by Russian artist Nina Vatolina. These three artworks differ from each other by the cul-tural, social and political context that they were composed in, but have all employed various artis-tic techniques that could inform my own art making.

Section 2 •••Liberty Leading the People (1830) - Formal Quality Analysis

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A pyramid structure (“Liberty Leading the People Composition”) can be seen at first glance of the artwork, with the female allegorical figure of liberty forming the apex of the triangle and the deceased soldiers forming the base of the triangle. This structure forces the audience to center their attention to the female figure and the French flag she car-ries, which promotes and reinforces a sense of french patriotism. This structure also conjures a sense of stability, which provides the audi-ence a sense of reassurance that their revolution will be a success.

The use of color in the painting has contributed in promoting a sense of French patriotism. The red, white and blue flag that ‘Liberty’ is waving in the air signifies rebellion, as the colors represent the revolutionists in 1789 (“The Tricolore”). This red, white and blue color scheme is ech-oed throughout the painting: the pale-

ness of the clouds and blue hue of the sky, and the red belt and blue clothes of the man who is kneeling down to the female figure of liberty. The drabness in the foreground that surrounds the brightly illuminated ‘Liberty’ makes her the most prominent subject in the entire painting. The pale clouds behind her further this emphasis on ‘Liberty’. This prominence attributed to ‘Liberty’ is to perhaps signify how liberty will ultimately prevail despite the hardships revolutionists face during their pursuit of freedom. This may act as a great encouragement to the revo-lutionists to continue their battle against the monarchy.

The raised hands of the figures and the pyramid structure of the paint-ing all prompt the audience to look upwards towards ‘Liberty’. These once again emphasize her importance in the artwork. The movement of the foreground where deceased soldiers lie unorganizedly is chaotic

and abrupt, which perhaps signi-fies the disruption and disorder that revolutions bring to human-ity.

Other than manipulating light to highlight ‘Liberty’, light is also shone on the deceased civilian and soldiers’ corpses. This is to remind the audience the painful and sorrowful cost of liberty (“Liberty Leading the People Composition”), which also emphasizes how precious liberty is.

The wild brushstrokes Delacroix have used to paint the sky and the clouds behind ‘Liberty’ strengthen the powerful surge of rebels and ‘Liberty’ as they advance to the pathway of free-dom led by Liberty. Delacroix’s brushstrokes may also reveal his fervor for social and politi-

cal reformation, as the varying sizes of his brushstrokes reveal an emo-tional rhythm (“Liberty Leading the People Composition”).

The gust of smoke behind ‘Liberty’ and dust that surrounds her create a chaotic and war-like atmosphere that cries rebellion against the un-just French monarchy. No dust or smoke, however, is seen covering ‘Liberty’, which accentuates her beauty and holiness.

Section 3 •••Liberty Leading the People (1830) - Cultural Context Analysis

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“Liberty Leading the People” is an artwork created based on the July Revolution that oc-curred in 1830 in France. The social uprising was triggered by Charles X’s passing of the four “July Ordinances” in 1830, which resulted in various social changes, such as press cen-sorship and narrowing the size of the French electorate (“French Revolution of 1830”). These various social changes had antagonized the general French population, who were more liberal and republican minded (“Change in the 1830s”). Charles X immediately abdi-cated and fled when the public declared opposition towards Charles X and claimed the streets of Paris. The scene of the revolution, now famously referred to the July Revolution, is depicted in Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”, and the artist had used some cultur-ally significant symbols and imageries to demonstrate his support for the revolution.

In “1000 Masterpieces of European Painting”, the authors had described Delacroix’s depic-tion of revolution a combination of “strict classical construction with the highly animated movements of the figures” (Stukenbrock & Töpper 267). This sense of classicism is perceiv-able in Delacroix’s painting, as the raised hands of the female figure of liberty, her powerful upright stance (figure 2), and her yellow drapery are in reminiscent of The Winged Victory of Samothrace (figure 1), which is a marble statue of the Greek goddess Nike - the goddess of victory in Greek mythology (“Nike”). This clever allegory that echoes the Greek goddess of victory reinforces his message that liberty will ultimately prevail injustice rule. Besides this, the Phrygian cap (see circled) ‘Liberty’ is wearing (Dorbani-Bouabdellah) reinforces the sense of freedom, as the cap was worn by Greek and Roman slaves that were liberated, which quickly made the cap a symbol of liberty in the French Revolution (“The Liberty Cap”). In addition, the tricolored flag that the female figure is waving also has connotations to revolution and liberty, as it was used by revolutionaries as a representative symbol (“The Tricolore”).

Other than the Greek symbolism, Delacroix has also employed a number of cultural sym-bolisms that are native to the French culture. On the right side of the painting, Delacroix has painted Gavroche (figure 3), a fictional character from the famous French historical novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (“Les Misérables Plot Overview”). Gavroche is the embodi-ment of nobel sacrifice and rebellion against injustice lead by the society’s youth (“July 28: Liberty Leading the People”). The sense of revolution is further strengthened by the black velvet beret Gavroche is wearing, as it is a garment worn by French students as the em-blem of rebellion (“July 28: Liberty Leading the People”).

Delacroix’s paintings were inspired by the artworks created by Peter Paul Rubens (“Peter Paul Rubens”) and those cre-ated by Venetian Renaissance painters (“Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix”). Thus, his artworks often capture the movement of his subjects with an emphasis on delineating the colors of the scene. The use of vibrant colors is also a common feature in other Romantic paintings, such as those created by J.M.W. Turner (as shown below), since Romanti-cism was a movement that emphasized on the use of color. It had promoted the idea that colors are the “life and soul” (”Romanticism”) of a painting.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Black velvet beret

The Phrygian cap

JMW Turner (1775-1851) The Lake of Zug (1843) Watercolor over graphite (46.6 cm x 29.8cm)

Section 4 •••Liberty Leading the People (1830) - Function & Purpose Analysis

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The painting was composed shortly after the Three Glorious Days, where French civilians rebelled against Charles X, the last Bourbon French king (Dorbani-Bouabdellah). It has since become an artwork that symbolizes revolution and urges its viewers to rebel against monarchical rule. It was for this very reason that the painting remained censored from the public eye after Louis-Philippe had claimed the throne as the new king of France once Charles X was overturned (“Liberty Leading the People (1830)”).

In the painting, the death of the two royal soldiers on the right side of the foreground (fig-ure 4) perhaps signifies the downfall of Charles X and his leadership. Their death can also be interpreted as an indication of the French civilians’ success at overturning the monar-chical rule, as the majority of civilians seen in the painting are survivors of the revolution with firearms and sharp blades in their hands (figure 5). Therefore, Delacroix’s painting could potentially serve as a future encouragement for French civilians to rebel against their monarchical government when they face unjust dictatorship, as victory, led by lib-erty, will be on their side. Delacroix has also deliberately depicted a bourgeois and a man from the working class near the foreground on the left side of the painting (figure 5) to urge the french public to dissolve their differences amongst each other and cooperate to-gether to fight, as it is the cooperation of the people that drives success against the mon-arch’s royal forces. All these elements contribute to creating the seditious nature of De-lacroix’s painting.

Other than promoting revolution, several elements of the painting serve as cues that re-mind Delacroix’s audience of the hardships and burden that the French public had to en-dure in order to achieve liberty. The deceased soldiers (figure 4) in the foreground are grim reminders of the death and sacrifice that were involved in the pursuit of liberty, thus em-phasizing the preciousness of liberty. The wounded and half-naked man that resembles a civilian on the left side of the painting’s foreground (figure 4) once again reminds the audi-ence of the brutality and ingloriousness of revolution.

The painting may also be intended to evoke a sense of patriotism in its French audience. The tricolor flag that ‘Liberty' is seen holding on her right hand is a traditional symbol that signifies the three principle ideals of the French revolution: liberty, equality, and fraternity (“Flag of France”). Meanwhile, the colors red and blue have long been colors that

represent Paris (“The Tricolore”). This sense of French pa-triotism is strengthened through echoing the same red, white and blue color scheme throughout the artwork as discussed in the analysis of the painting’s formal quali-ties.

Some argue that the person wearing a top hat on the left side of the painting beside ‘Liberty’ may be Delacroix himself (Dorbani-Bouabdellah). This is to perhaps show the artist’s support towards the revolution. In the paint-ing, he is seen gazing at ‘Liberty’, almost in response to her gaze back at the rebels. This perhaps signifies that the artist is also following ‘Liberty’s’ lead towards freedom.

Figure 4

Death of a civilian Death of royal soldiers

Figure 5 Civilians with their weapons raised

Working class Bourgeois

Some argue that this is Delacroix himself

Section 5 •••Freedom Leading the People (1996) - Formal Quality Analysis

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all characters identical to each other. Even their white t-shirts and blue short jeans are the same for each subject. The repetition of the facial expression highlights the artifi-ciality of the grin, suggesting that their laughter is concealing the characters’ true

hidden emotions. It also makes them seem clueless and foolish. According to The New

York Times’ interview with Yue Minjun, the iconic jaw-breaking face is actually the artist’s self-portrait (Bern-stein). The smiling faces in this painting are an obvious contrast to the real emotions of the characters rebelling. Beijing art expert on Chinese art Karen Smith told The New York Times that the laughing face is “a mask for real feelings of helplessness” (Bern-stein). According to Yue Minjun himself, the laughing faces echo those that are seen in Soviet-style inspired posters during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, where they also depict people laughing in joy, but their expressions contradict with the real emotions of the people experiencing the revolution (Bernstein). Figure 10 is an example of such poster, which depicts four cheer-ful and optimistic subjects smiling towards the audience.

Figure 10Figure 9

Figure 7 The colors of blue and white mainly dominate the artwork and contradict with the uprising of men seen in this painting. Blue expresses feelings of calm-ness and stability, yet it conflicts with the atmosphere of rebellion seen in the paint-ing. This conjures a sense of artificiality in the calmness promoted through the color, almost a deceptive device to con-ceal the anger of the uprising. The blue color of the sky is also a reminiscent of that used in Komar and Melamid’s “United States: Most Wanted Painting” (figure 9) and other Western paintings, suggesting that perhaps the color blue in Yue Minjun’s painting is a symbol of Western influence in China. This idea is reinforced through the t-shirts and jeans that the men are seen wearing in the painting.

Light does not seem to be manipulated to highlight or emphasize any particular features in the painting, as almost all as-pects, including the buildings seen in the background and the deceased men in the foreground (figure 8), are all clearly illuminated. This causes the painting to lack drama and a center of attention, which forces the audience to look at the whole picture. This has also made those deceased in the foreground appear as equally important as those that are still rebelling in the background, which makes no subject appear to be glorified.

The face of a man with a wide laughing grin is a famous icon in Yue’s paintings. In this artwork, the face is evident on every single character’s face, making

At first glance, the artwork possesses a triangular structure (figure 7). The man standing tallest amongst other people on a rock with his right hand raised up and his head turned sideways is the vertex of the triangle, whilst the men with eerie smiling expressions on their faces lying on the ground become the base of the triangle. However, due to the lack of con-trast in colors, the triangle structure fails to provide a center of attention or empha-size a particular aspect in the artwork.

The movements in this artwork are con-tradicting. The deceased men lying on the foreground direct the audience to look horizontally (figure 7). Yet, the raised arms of the men in the middle ground provoke the audience to look upwards. This again strengthens the sense that the artwork is not trying to provide a center of attention. Also, the conflicting horizon-tal movement (figure 7) in the foreground acts as a barrier that undermines the im-portance of the tallest man in the art-work.

Figure 8

Even the de-ceased are

bathed in light

The background is well lit

Section 6 •••Freedom Leading the People (1996) - Cultural Context Analysis

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realization almost makes the white t-shirts and denims seem like that they are amulets for revolution. By wearing the white t-shirts and denims, which represent Western culture, the characters seen in the artwork are almost hop-ing that their revolution can have the same impact on soci-ety as Western countries.

Other than the replacement of subjects, Yue has also changed the setting that the rebelling men were fighting in. Modern buildings are seen in the background, which echoes China’s rapid societal and economical develop-ment after China’s cultural revolution (Yang). This is to per-haps make clear that the time period Yue is referring to is the present era.

Yue’s work has been recognized as one of the major works of the Cynical Realism period in China. The move-ment is one that explores the aversive psychological im-pacts that China’s rapid societal, political, and economic growth have on its citizens (“Cynical Realism”). These is-sues are often explored through a satirical or ironic tone in order to avoid persecution. The smiling faces of Yue’s artworks are an epitome of this style of expression, as the face of laughter evokes humor, yet it is ironic as it is used to conceal the pain and burden that are hidden behind the mask of joy.

Figure 11

Bearing a resemblance to Eugène Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”, Yue’s satirical “Freedom Leading the People” is a parodic painting of Delacroix’s famous artwork. Through re-placing the French freedom fighters and the female figure of liberty into identical and eerie smil-ing men who are all in white t-shirts and denims, Yue Minjun creates a powerful artwork that captures the zeitgeist of the 1990s and provokes the audience to reflect upon the various so-cial changes and political movements that have shaped today’s China (Branczik).

In the artwork, identical laughing men dominate the entire composition (figure 11). From their raised hands, the gray smog in the background and the deceased men in the foreground of the artwork, it is clear that a social uprising is occurring. However, the fact that Yue did not use dra-matic lighting but instead chose to lighten all of the characters in the artwork makes the leader of the revolution unclear. This sense of confusion is further emphasized by the likeness of all the characters, as all of them are in the same attire with the same mysterious smiling face. Such uniformity amongst the identity of the characters in the artwork may perhaps be a silent criticism and reflection of the Cultural Revolution of China that occurred in the 1960s. During this period of harsh repression and communist dictatorship, Mao Zedong, who was China’s leader, launched this revolution in hopes that it could ‘purify’ the minds of the Chinese popula-tion by brainwashing them with his own outrageous and abhorrent ideologies. The result of this is the extermination of educators and intellectuals who opposed both Mao and the revolution (“Cultural Revolution”), and the creation of a new generation that was brainwashed by a uni-form set of ideologies. The identical faces of the characters in the artwork may well be a reflec-tion of such brainwash. The uniformity of the outfits of the men reminds the audience of the uni-forms China’s Red Army was forced to wear, which reinforces this artwork’s link to China’s cul-tural revolution.

Other than the uniformity of the characters’ faces, another most recognizable feature in the art-work is the laughing faces of the characters, which do not seem to correspond to the atmos-phere of revolution the artwork is depicting. Although it is common knowledge that laughter rep-resents a state of happiness, the laughter shown on the faces of the characters is ironic. By de-priving senses of solemness and patriotism in the artwork, the laughter of the characters in the artwork almost suggests that their act of revolution is a joke. They are almost mocking the July Revolution that occurred in France to signify that revolution would not have the same effect in China. This suggests that behind the mask of laughter is pain: the indescribable pain of realiz-ing that the society or country will never change regardless of what the general public do. This

Section 7 •••Freedom Leading the People (1996) - Function & Purpose Analysis

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Yue’s artworks are intended to criticize the Chinese Communist Party and to reveal the censored societal and political issues that have been lingering within the borders of the country and behind China’s booming economy. In his own version of “Liberty Leading the People”, Yue reveals his criticisms of revolution, whether it is one that supports Com-munism or Capitalism (Cohen). A reason for this is that revolution, in general, tears a so-ciety apart and could inflict great psychological harm on ordinary citizens.

Yue’s criticism towards revolution is made evident by the apparent lack of a leader that guides the rebels to a successful revolution, as the absence of dramatic and focused lighting on an individual makes everyone seem like leaders of the revolution. This de-prives the certainty that the revolution will end in a success, which perhaps reveals how the artist thinks that revolution will only bring disorder and instability. The repeated laugh-ing faces divest all gloriousness of revolution, as those that are still surviving and the de-ceased possesses the same face, which makes life and death, and victory and failure indistinguishable. Therefore, a sense of confusion is conjured. This sense is further strengthened, as no flags or symbols that represent any political parties are shown in the painting, which makes the rebels appear that they are confused about the cause they are fighting for. This deliberate absence of any political icons and symbolisms also makes Yue’s own personal political stance ambiguous and inconceivable upon seeing the painting alone, which may have achieved his purpose urging his audience to reflect the implications of revolution regardless of the political parties they support, and to avoid his work from being censored from the public eye. Yue’s depiction of himself as all of the subjects in his painting also makes his artwork seem politically neutral.

Since Yue has held exhibitions around the world (“Past Exhibitions”), this suggests that his artworks are intended for an international audience. Thus, the deliberate lack of spe-cific Chinese cultural symbolisms and imageries in his replica of Delacroix’s painting indi-cates that Yue allows his international audience to relate to his painting of revolution and invites them to consider the social and political implications of revolutions in their own countries as well. Yue even claimed once in an interview with the Huffington Post that he aims to “generate a more comprehensive meaning, both for the Chinese and Western viewer” through incorporating elements of Western artworks into his own (Cué), which

he did achieve in this artwork through mimicking De-lacroix’s famous portrayal of the July Revolution and dress-ing the subjects of his artwork in denims and white t-shirts (figure 12).

Figure 12

No flag seen

Denims and white t-shirt

Yue’s “Freedom Leading the People” making an appearance in Hong Kong’s M+ Sigg Collection

Exhibition (photo taken by myself)

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The use of color overall is lim-ited in order to place heavy emphasis onto the poster’s message and the female fig-ure. The color red of the woman’s dress and hairband is the dominating color in the poster, as it contrasts with the black and white back-ground behind her, which per-haps signifies her strength and anger towards “fascism”, the “most evil enemy”. Red also has connotations with the communist party of So-viet Russia.

The woman’s arms have sepa-rated the poster into two large triangles (figure 15). By doing so, it highlights each of the two sentences of the propagandistic message, making both of them seem equa l l y impor tan t . The woman’s arms are what sepa-rate the poster into two trian-gles, which make her the most important object of the entire poster, as both trian-gles include parts of her fig-ure. The fact that the female figure is positioned in the cen-ter of the poster (figure 16) and has adopted a vertical stance resembles a pillar of stability, which perhaps sug-gest that if people unite to-gether to fight Nazi Germany, they can restore balance and stability within the country.

“Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women” is a propaganda poster by Russian artist Nina Vatolina. In the poster, a woman dominates the entire composition with her arms creating a diagonal movement (figure 13). Her right hand is aligned with the word “Fascism” at the top of the poster, which invites the audi-ence to read the text “Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women” as they trace from the woman’s right hand to her arm and finally to her head. Then, by following the woman’s left arm to her hand with a finger pointing downwards, the audience is immediately di-rected to the most important text of the poster, “Everyone to the Struggle Against Fascism!” This emphasizes the propagandis-tic message of the poster. It is also interest-ing to note how the gust of smoke in the background follows the woman’s arm move-ments (figure 13) which reinforce the woman’s posture and making her seem more powerful and determined to fight for her country.

Figure 13

The gust of smoke in the back-

ground fol-lows the woman’s arm move-

ments

Light is mainly centered on the female figure. This evokes a sense of hope towards the audi-ence, as she is the only bright subject in the poster other than the text. In the background of the poster, light is used to illu-minate a deceased woman with her offspring (figure 14). Beside them is possibly the woman’s husband who has his head on his knees and is per-haps weeping in pain. This is to emphasize on how people are suffering when Nazi Germany invaded Soviet Russia. Other than the light, the finger of the woman also directs the audi-ence’s attention towards this scene of suffering and pain (red circle, figure 14).

Figure 14

Figure 15

In fact, the strong stances of the figures have been recurring images in other So-viet Russia propaganda posters, such as figures 17 and 18. In addition to her strong stance, Vatolina’s simplified depic-tion of the woman in the poster has made her appear even stronger, as the lack of subtle details makes her seem bold and confident. Such simplification in depiction is also another typical characteristic of propaganda posters, which is also appar-ent in the posters shown in figures 17 and 18.

The slogan of the poster is written in a large and white font. This makes the mes-sage of the poster clearly evident to the audience. The black background behind the first slogan and the red banner behind the second slogan make the message even clearer as the contrast in colors make the message appear clear even from afar. The black background also makes the woman more prominent as it contrasts with the bright red dress she is wearing, which again adds strength to her figure in the poster.

Figure 18Figure 17

Section 8 •••Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941) - Formal Quality Analysis

Figure 16

Section 9 •••Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941) - Cultural Context Analysis

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When the poster was created in 1941, Soviet Russia was at war with the forces of Nazi Germany during World War II (Farley). This is actually revealed clearly in the poster, as the slogan: “Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women” reveals Soviet Russia’s opposition against Fascist Germany. Despite that a nonaggres-sion pact was signed prior to the battle (“German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact”), the eradication of the Soviet Union and communism, and the occupation of specific land within the borders of the Soviet Union were always Adolf Hitler’s main goals (“Why did Hitler order the invasion”). What seemed as a ‘peace pact’ was actually a façade for Nazi Germany to conceal its treacherous and ambitious goals.

The battle lasted from June 1941 to May 1945 (Ov-ery). During this period, a surprising number of al-most one million Soviet women fought as front lines by becoming anti-aircraft gunners, snipers and even pilots of fighter jets (Andrews). One of the reasons for

the inclusion of women in war was gender equality, which existed within communism of the Soviet-era. Women were granted the same rights and privileges as men both socially and po-litically (“Women in U.S.S.R.”). Such equality is echoed in the poster, where the woman is rep-resented as a strong and confident individual as if she was a male soldier fighting against the Union’s enemy. The squarish face of the woman adds a hint of masculinity to the overall fig-ure, which might signify that women can also become as powerful as men.

The use of red in the poster displays a strong support towards communism. Red is a color typically associated with the communist party, as it is believed to represent the blood of the proletariat in order to glorify the working class for enduring sacrifices and hardships (Ghosh). The color red is also a color commonly seen in other Soviet Russian propaganda posters, such as figures 19 and 20. The fact that Vatolina has intentionally made the poster’s back-ground black accentuates the color red, which strengthens the communist sense that the poster is conveying. It also makes the female figure in the poster the center of attention, as

her bright red dress and white pale skin stand out from the dark background, which reinforce the image of a strong communist woman. Content-wise, Vatolina’s artwork is also similar to other propaganda posters created during the Soviet era, as they all promote Soviet ideologies and beliefs.

Subject-wise, the woman portrayed in Vatolina’s painting also has ties to World War II. According to Tate, the female figure seen in this poster is actually Vatolina’s neighbor who had her two sons that went to the battlefield (“Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women”). Therefore, the strength the female subject exhibits in the poster may also echo the strong desire of Vatolina’s neighbor for Soviet Russia to win their war against Fascist Germany, as she had sent her be-loved sons to battle.

Before the war, Vatolina was an avid painter who was inter-ested in pure art. However, the Second World War had made her devote her artistry into creating political posters (Viola). Perhaps she was employed by Soviet Russia’s propaganda machine, which began to spread Communist ideologies when Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seized power over the printing presses (Gale).

Figure 19Figure 20

Section 10 •••Fascism - The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941) - Function and Purpose Analysis

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The purpose of this poster is clear: to gain women’s support for communism and to pro-voke them to fight against the Fascist forces of Nazi Germany, since women began to dominate the society by joining workforces and the army. Vatolina achieves her purpose of advocating op-position through several techniques. First, she provokes her female audience through stating clearly that Fascism is “the most evil enemy of women”. The large, bolded fonts that this slogan is written in further strengthens the power of this message, as the typeface makes the slogan seem like a statement of fact rather than an opin-ion. Thus, the slogan urges the audience to adopt the political stance of the poster.

Then, Vatolina has empowered her female audi-ence and reassured their strength and abilities through portraying a strong and confident female

figure at the center of the poster. The woman in the poster has strong raised arms and a muscular torso, which adds a hint of masculinity to her appearance (figure 22). Her direct eye contact with the audience (figure 23) is almost a direct invitation to the audi-ence, calling them to join herself in the battle against Fascist Germany. This is rein-forced by the slogan below the female figure: “Everyone to the struggle against Fas-cism!”, which makes the invitation to battle even clearer.

Next, Vatolina has employed a scene of suffering at the background of the poster (fig-ure 22) to almost justify why Fascism is “the most evil enemy of women”. As men-tioned previously, the scene portrays a family dying in the flames ignited by the Fascist German forces. This elicits anger from the audience towards Fascist Germany, as it has destroyed a presumably happy and thriving family. Thus, this scene of brutality once again urges the poster’s audience to fight against the German forces.

Other than being a representation of all women, the fe-male figure in the poster may also symbolize Soviet Russia as a whole, as Soviets often use the term “Moth-erland” to refer to their country (Maddox). This sug-gests that other than provoking anger, the poster may also aim to promote a sense of patriotism amongst its Russian female audience, which may further encourage them to fight against Fascist Germany due to a sense of national pride evoked.

“Fascism-The most evil enemy

of women”

“Everyone to the struggle against Fascism!”

A suffering family

Masculine appearance

Figure 21

Direct eye contact with the audience

Figure 23

Figure 22

Section 11 •••Comparison: Formal Qualities

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Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941)Freedom Leading the People (1996)Liberty Leading the People (1830)

Eugène Delacroix Yue Minjun Nina Vatolina

At first glance, the main subject of the three artworks (as circled in yellow) has all adopted a powerful stance of protest. All three characters can be seen with their right arm raised towards the sky, signifying strength and determination as they lead other subjects to revolt against their perceived enemy. Despite that Yue’s “Freedom Leading the People” is highly similar to Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”, the lack of dramatic lighting and use of dark colors to strengthen the contrast between the main subject and the others make Yue’s artwork less rebellious and powerful in terms of provoking the audience to re-bel or eliciting a sense of patriotism. The peculiar smiles on the faces of Yue’s subjects soften the strength of the revolution that they are leading and also de-prive the nobility and seriousness of the uprising that the subjects are leading. This is a great contrast to Delacroix and Vatolina’s artworks, as both of them have carefully employed light and color to ensure that the leaders of revolution portrayed in their artworks (i.e. ‘Liberty’ and the woman in red) are prominent and appear heroic.

It is also interesting to note how similar the woman in red in Vatolina’s poster looks when compared to Delacroix’s ‘Liberty’, as both women have their arms placed diagonally. Yet, Vatolina has utilized this diagonal placement of arms to attract her audiences’ attention towards the woman and the slogans of the poster, whereas Delacroix has employed a triangular structure to attract his audiences’ attention towards ‘Liberty’. Yue, on the other hand, does not

provide the audience a focal point in his painting despite that a triangular structure is used to mimic Delacroix’s original piece. Thus, Yue’s painting seems to be in disagreement with the two other artworks. However, similari-ties in the use of colors can be seen between Yue and Vatolina’s artworks, as Yue has mainly used white and blue, which makes his painting a reminis-cent of propaganda artworks like Vatolina’s poster.

Delacroix’s painting, conversely, contains a wider variety of colors. The soft blending of blue, orange and white in the background of Delacroix’s painting has also added a sense of idealistic and imaginative atmosphere, which is in contrast to the sudden blending of colors in the background of Yue and Vato-lina’s artworks, where inferred lines are created when two colors meet (figure 24). Finally, the subjects depicted in Delacroix’s painting are arguably more realistic compared to the two other artworks, as Delacroix’s portrayal of de-tails in his painting, such as the drapery of ‘Liberty’ makes her alive and real, whereas Yue and Vatolina have exaggerated and simplified their subjects re-spectively, which attribute a sense of artificiality to their appearances.

Nevertheless, the chaotic and rebellious atmosphere of all three artworks is what unites them and makes them become powerful portrayals in their times.

Clear lines are evident

Figure 24

Section 12 •••Comparison: Cultural Context

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Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941)

Freedom Leading the People (1996)

Liberty Leading the People (1830)

Eugène Delacroix

Yue Minjun

Nina Vatolina Despite being a propaganda influenced artwork that was created during World War 2, Vato-lina’s expression of the invasion of Fascist Germany into Soviet Russian borders in “Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women” is, to some extent, similar to Delacroix’s “Lib-erty Leading the People”. This is because propaganda posters are intended to promote cer-tain ideologies or beliefs and gain popular support (“Defining Propaganda I”). Thus, the woman portrayed in Vatolina’s poster may only be an idealized portrayal of a Russian woman rather than an accurate depiction that reflects reality. Delacroix’s painting also aims to gain popular support from the public as well by depicting civilians following the lead of ‘Liberty’ and fighting against the royal forces. Thus, Vatolina’s propaganda poster is similar to Delacroix’s painting to some extent.

Yue’s “Freedom Leading the People”, however, is a contrast to these two artworks. Instead of representing any idealized beliefs, Yue has utilized mockery and irony to reveal the nega-tive implications of revolution the public will suffer from, which were common expression techniques during the Cynical Realism movement in China. This creates a direct opposition to Delacroix and Vatolina’s artworks, as their artworks both encourage rebellion and fight against injustice and glorify the concept of social uprising. However, Delacroix and Yue’s artworks are similar in the sense that they are both created after the political event they por-tray have occurred, whereas Vatolina’s poster was produced during World War 2, which was a relatively unstable and frightening period compared to periods of time Delacroix and Yue have completed their paintings.

In addition, Delacroix and Yue’s artworks are also similar in the sense that both of them por-tray their political events based on their own personal political opinions, whereas Vatolina has produced her poster based on the ideals proposed by the Soviet Russian government that may not necessarily reflect Vatolina’s own personal political stance and opinion. This is expected of Vatolina, as the Soviet government had complete dictatorship and control over the media, the arts, and any forms of expression. Thus, the artworks produced all serve to advocate and present communist ideologies rather than feature the personal expression of human emotions or thoughts that may hinder the Soviet government from spreading their communist ideals widely throughout their country.

Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” portrays the French Revolution with a mix of idealism and realism, as it was created during the Romantic pe-riod (“Delacroix”). Romantic artworks are character-ized by their expression of human emotions and ex-ploration into fantasies, spirituality, and the impossi-ble (”Romanticism”). Thus, Delacroix has personi-fied liberty as a woman that echoes the Winged Vic-tory of Samothrace into his artwork to glorify the concept of liberty and to signify that liberty ulti-mately prevailed in the French Revolution.

Section 13 •••Comparison: Function and Purpose

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Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women (1941)

Freedom Leading the People (1996)

Liberty Leading the People (1830)

Eugène Delacroix

Yue Minjun

Nina Vatolina

retrospective outlook towards the social uprisings they portray, which urges their audience to reflect upon the de-picted revolutions of the past.

Nevertheless, all three artworks have successfully por-trayed the revolutions specific to the time periods they were produced in and had successfully delineated the so-ciety’s collective identity amid the political events.

The function and purpose of Delacroix and Vatolina’s artworks are similar in the sense that both of them solemnly and overtly glorify revolution and encourage their audi-ences to battle against injustice; be it the unjust leadership of the French Monarchy or the Fascist German forces in World War 2. Yet, this message is made especially ex-plicit in Vatolina’s “Fascism-The Most Evil Enemy of Women” through the use of large and bolded text that clearly urges “everyone to the struggle against Fascism!” which is absent in both Delacroix and Yue’s painting. This use of text succeeds in leaving the audience no room for any other interpretation other than to support Soviet Russia through battle, thus making the poster appropriate for a wide audience, as the art-work’s message does not need much interpretation or thinking to be discovered. De-spite that Delacroix’s artwork did not use text to encourage its French audience to re-bel against unjust Monarchial leadership, this intention is still clear in his painting, as the theme of liberty is made explicit through his use of symbolisms that advocates lib-erty, such as the tricolor flag and the Phrygian cap.

The function and purpose of Yue’s painting, on the other hand, counter both De-lacroix and Vatolina’s artworks, as he questions the effectiveness of revolution and criticizes these social uprisings, claiming that they will not have the same effect in China. This is also done in a contrasting manner to Delacroix and Vatolina, as Yue has deliberately made his artwork’s meaning ambiguous to reflect a controversial political issue within the boundaries of censorship in China and to avoid persecution. Without knowing Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” and the historical significance of the French revolution, Yue’s mockery of revolution may not become immediately ap-parent to the audience.

The sizes of the artworks have further aided the artworks to achieve their respective purposes and functions. Vatolina’s propaganda poster has a dimension of 100 cm x 69 cm and was produced through lithography. This allows the poster to be placed conveniently in public places and mass produced, which then allows the propaganda message to spread quickly throughout the country during World War 2. Meanwhile, the large dimensions of Delacroix and Yue’s oil paintings signify that they are in-tended to be displayed in galleries since they are difficult to transport and are fragile. This suits their purpose and function of providing their audience a timeless

Section 14 •••Development of an artwork based on the three artworks examined

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Hong Kong’s multicultural identity has always been the subject of exploration in my artworks. Due to British colonial rule, the city was exposed to a mixture of Chinese and Western culture. This has since given Hong Kong a unique multicultural identity that is still persistent until this day. Yet, many fear that Hong Kong would loose its uniqueness and become another Chinese city when Beijing’s 50 year guarantee of Hong Kong’s autonomy based on capitalist ideals ends in 2047. The integration of Hong Kong’s politics into Chinese governance may result in a drastic change that could potentially damage the city’s multicultural identity.

After examining Delacroix, Yue and Vatolina’s artworks, I have decided to create an artwork that protests against this potential loss of Hong Kong’s unique cultural identity due to the expiry of Hong Kong’s 50 year guarantee. Through the artwork, I aim to express the fear and anger I feel about the possible loss of Hong Kong’ multicultural identity within my lifetime.

In order to make my artwork more culturally relatable to a wide Chinese audience, I have decided to look at Chinese propaganda art as well, since they are a common style of art widespread in mainland China. I also intend to use such style to represent China’s gradual influence over Hong Kong’s multicultural identity. Nevertheless, my artwork will mainly be inspired by the three artworks that I have investigated. Figure 25 and the following pages will display some of the pages I have used in my Visual Arts Journal to develop the artwork inspired by Delacroix, Yue and Vatolina’s artworks, and also the Chinese propaganda style I have explored additionally.

Figure 26

Figure 25

Figure 26

Section 15 •••Development of an artwork based on the three artworks examined

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Section 16 •••Development of an artwork based on the three artworks examined

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Figure 27

Section 17 •••“2047” - A response to the investigated artworks

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On the left is the artwork that I have created in response to the three artworks I have investigated. The artwork is entitled “2047”, which echoes the year that Hong Kong will become fully integrated back into China’s governance.

In the painting, I have portrayed myself attempting to tear my red face apart. The color red echoes China and its pure Chinese culture, which I am unfamiliar of, as I have been raised under both Chinese and Western cultures and traditions. The fact that this color has be-come my skin tone symbolizes that China’s growing influence on Hong Kong will eventually replace the city’s unique multicultural iden-tity; one that was created because of “One Country Two Systems”, which allowed Western and other cultures to influence the city. My act of tearing my face apart is a protest against this replacement and erosion of Hong Kong’s multicultural identity. My direct eye contact with the audience strengthens my protest, as I am looking directly at the audience, calling for their attention and awareness towards this potential catastrophe to Hong Kong’s multicultural identity. The deci-sion to exclude some parts of my head and my hands from the self-portrait was intentional, as I attempt to break the fourth wall to make my audience feel that the gradual loss of Hong Kong’s multicultural identity is a realistic and relevant problem to them as well, especially if they live in the city.

I was inspired by Vatolina’s propaganda poster to use red and black as predominant colors in my artwork. The contrasting colors make my face become more prominent and clearly visible even from a dis-tance. The black outlining I have used to highlight my facial features and my hands was inspired by Chinese propaganda art, as they often contain subjects that are outlined with dark colors to dramatize the postures and expressions of the drawn subjects in the poster. The dark outlining in my painting not only dramatizes my facial fea-tures, making them visible from afar, it also makes me seem more ag-gressive at my act of tearing my face apart.

2047Acrylic on canvas30.4 cm x 25 cm

Section 18 •••“2047” - A response to the investigated artworks

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Yue has inspired me to use my face as my artwork’s subject. He has also inspired me to adopt an ironic approach in my artwork by em-ploying propaganda to express my anger of Hong Kong’s potential loss of its multicultural identity. Including elements of Chinese propa-ganda to express this message is ironic, since Chinese propaganda is commonly employed to spread idealized political beliefs. Yet, I have used such style to delineate the harsh truth that Hong Kong might lose its uniqueness and its citizens may struggle to cope with a potential eradication of the city’s unique multicultural identity. Through doing this, I am also ironically criticizing the use of propa-ganda, as the ideologies they promote may not always reflect reality, such as the negative societal impacts created due to the implementa-tion of various policies.

In addition, I have employed Delacroix’s soft blending of colors on my face and also preserved the subtle tones and details of my face to make my self portrait appear more realistic. This enhances the message I want to convey towards my audience, as through making my portrait realistic, I am arguing that the potential loss of Hong Kong’s cultural identity is an authentic problem that Hong Kong will face as 2047 approaches.

Finally, my artwork links to the three artworks that I have studied the-matically as well. Since my artwork explores how Chinese politics could potentially influence Hong Kong’s multicultural identity, my art-work is also about political changes redefining a society’s collective identity, despite the fact that it does not portray a scene of revolution like those depicted in the three artworks studied. My artwork also aims to remind my audience of this potential societal and cultural problem, which is also the function and purpose of Delacroix, Yue and Vatolina’s artworks, since they all remind their audience of a po-litical event that has changed the society’s identity.

2047Acrylic on canvas30.4 cm x 25 cm