Steeple Arts Poster Exhibition North Fife

SteepleArts in Newburgh, North Fife is delighted to present this exhibition of approximately 60 Chinese socio-political posters collected in the early 1980s by a British teacher, Ingrid Hass who worked in Wuhan, Central China. The exhibition ‘Red Star, White Flowers’ marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1st October,1949. This collection is being shown for the first time in Britain and will appeal to those interested in graphic/poster art and particularly in its use as propaganda in a Communist regime.

So-called propaganda art has played a major supporting role in the many campaigns designed to mobilise the people and, throughout the People's Republic, the propaganda poster has been the favoured vehicle through which art conveyed model behaviour. Extensive use is made of Socialist Realism, not only to show life as it really is but also life as it ought to be, thus propagating ideals of correct behaviour and thought. This practice did not stop with the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. On the contrary, propaganda art continued to be seen as one of the major means of explaining and illustrating the 'correct' policies of the moment and the Communist Party's visions of the future. These posters reinforced the messages passed on by other media such as newspapers, film and radio broadcasting. In modern China, posters are no longer produced in the same quantity and are seen by many Chinese as old-fashioned. In fact, they have now become collectors’ items in the West.

The exhibition is open from 12 noon till 4pm every day from 1st to 11th October, 2009. In addition, SteepleArts welcomes school groups and will extend opening hours to any morning if desired. Further details can be obtained from Ingrid Haas - 07772807091.

Ingrid Haas collector of these iconic posters.