Art Under Control in North Korea - Softcover

Portal, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861892365 ISBN 13: 9781861892362

Publisher: Reaktion Books, 2005

Synopsis

Nuclear bombs and geopolitical controversy are often the first things associated with North Korea and its volatile leader Kim Jong-II. Yet behind the secretive curtain of this isolated nation also lies a little-known and slowly expanding world of art.

Art Under Control in North Korea is the first Western publication to explore the state-controlled role of art in North Korea. This timely volume places North Korean art in its historical, political, and social contexts, with a discussion on the state system of cultivating and promoting artists and an examination of the range of art produced, from painting and calligraphy to architecture and applied art. Portal offers an incisive analysis that compares the dictatorial control exerted over artists by North Korean leaders to that of past regimes. She also examines the ways in which archaeology has been employed for political ends to legitimize the present regime.

Art Under Control in North Korea is an intriguing and vibrant volume that explores the creation of art under totalitarian rule and the ways art can subvert a dictatorial regime.

About this title

About the Author:

Jane Portal is curator in the Oriental Antiquities department at the British Museum, London. She is the author of Korea—Art and Archaeology and Chinese Love Poetry.

Review:

"Timely . . . If only all political histories were accompanied by such engaging visual material."

(Reena Jana Bookforum 2005-06-01)

"Examines the country's art, architecture, archaeology, and culture with vigor and immediacy. . . . Concise and brilliant." (Richard Byrne American Prospect 2005-12-20)

"Fascinating study of the interface between art and politics in North Korea." (John Gittings The Guardian 2006-10-27)

"A valuable pioneering work. It contains much information not easily available to the Western reader outside of university libraries, and benefits from the author's exposure to the North Korean art scene and her conversations with Korean art workers. The generally judicious choice of plates supports the text at ever turn and, in the excellent reproductions, gives a good rendering of the originals. Above all, the dispassionate and knowledgable handling of the material is welcome in a field where comment is largely either adulatory or denigrating." (Susan Pares Asian Affairs 2006-11-01)

"Well-illustrated and transparently written, it is a useful introduction to North Korea's peculiar art world. . . . Portal succeeds in keeping her political distance and avoiding the hyperboles and generalizations so often seen in publications on this country. . . . Art Under Control in North Korea is a very good introduction to the peculiar socio-economic situation of North Korean art and its recent history." (Ken Vos Museum Anthropology 2007-03-27)

About this edition

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1861892365
• ISBN 13: 9781861892362
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192