POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Chinese propaganda poster

Chinese propaganda poster

Object No. 2017/2/26

This propaganda poster is an excellent example of Chinese political visual culture, especially from the second half of 20th century. It is also a great reference to understand the cultural context of a time that has seen extraordinary political and social change in China. This propaganda poster is also a New Year picture. Until the mid-20th century, nianhua (New Year pictures) were the most common form of household decoration in China. Most New Year pictures were designed to facilitate New Year celebrations, and with their themes of enduring optimism and brilliant colours they brought a spark of light into an otherwise dreary mid-winter environment. Chinese propaganda posters with brightly coloured illustrations are heavily influenced by New Year pictures. This poster is an excellent example of a new type of New Year picture produced by The Chinese Communist Party.

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Summary

Object Statement

Poster, 'New Year in Yan'an (Yan'an xinchun)', painted by Liu Wenxi, ink on paper, China, early 1970s.

Physical Description

Poster in portrait orientation, printed in colour. The poster depicts a festival scene. In the foreground is a group of young children sitting with musical instruments. A crowd of smiling people are standing behind them with Chairman Mao in the middle, he is smoking a cigarette. The two figures either side of him are smoking pipes. In the background is a mountainside with people wearing blue caps and white fabric head dressings. There are red flags waving on either side of the picture. Below the image is a caption in red. It has Chinese characters.

DIMENSIONS

Height

770 mm

Width

530 mm

SOURCE

Credit Line

Purchased with funds from the MAAS Foundation, 2017

Acquisition Date

19 January 2017

Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.

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