Arts and Politics - China, Germany, and the Soviet Union Essay

Arts and Politics - China, Germany, and the Soviet Union - Essay Example China, Germany, and the Soviet Union have been used as the target examples. This end of the article analyses the three choices, looks at their relationship and the reason as to why they were chosen as great choices for this report. In the 19th century, the Russian Tsars were clear in their articulation that revolutions stood in the offing, in the presence if outstanding masterpieces. There are situations in Russia where great artists of various forms were regarded as a threat to the government’ existence through their works of art. Pushkin, for example, as a great author who could express his thoughts in an articulate manner that was deemed as arrogant, with some freedom that made him make fun of official figures. His work, as per the governments, would rather have been used in public service. Art and politics have been closely related from past to present. There are some aspects that clearly point out the relationship between the two. The institutions of art, schemes in ideol ogy and some artists’ political dominance are just but a few. Over years, some authorities have tried to impose controls on ideologies in order to tame artists. Other governments have even attempted to thwart the freedom of expression as rolled out by artists. In China, the communist party pushed at gaining legitimacy in order to win cooperation from artists. The party tried to woo the artists to join in socialist constructions. The Chinese movements and the various notable interactions between the governments and artists place the country as one worthy of analysis for the purpose of this research. The artistic influence has grown in stages in China, with a recent period starting in the 1980’s after Mao’s death. This is a period that saw individual subjectivity on the rise and artists expressing themselves in minimal social reform. Germany has had its issues in the interactions between arts and politics as well. There were early attacks by the government to the artists, some of which indicate the magnitude that the artists had on the political arena. A good situation is in the 1940s when the national socialists banned all art that was in existence prior to 1933. There are examples of artists being forced to join certain groups, with those who refused being frustrated with professional dismissals. Looking at the mentioned issues, their effects and the reasons that led to their occurrence, art is an indispensable weapon in politics despite its autonomy, there is some coexistence that cannot be refuted. Looking at the Soviet Union, there is some inseparability between art and politics. According to Fox (1977), aesthetics and the style of art are led by the political exigencies. The politics of the day in the USSR dictate the Russian art. The styles of art in this country follow the trends that are in accord with the government. The links between art and politics in the Soviet can be traced from Karl Marx to Frederick Engels who asserted the i mportance of realistic representations to the state. The three countries have been able to showcase the tight bond between art and politics clearly as outlined b the examples stated above. A distinct relation is first evident in the manner in which the government controls the works of art. This may be represented vaguely, but political icons have treated artists with great suspicion from the word go, in all situations. In the USSR, the government dictated the styles; in Germany, the â€Å"degenerate art† exhibition indicated the government’s perception towards art and culture. In China, the government literally controlled the artistic movements.