ThiscatalogueispublishedtocoincidewiththeUMAGexhibitionNorthKorea’sPublicFace:20th-centuryPropagandaPostersfromtheZellwegerCollection.
FormostpeopleoutsideoftheDemocraticPeople’sRepublicofKorea(DPRK),itmaycomeasarevelationthatartisavailableinNorthKorea,orthatitisawell-developedfeatureofnationalculture.Asthestateguidesartisticproduction,allartistsaremembersoftheKoreanArtistsFederation,andmustcreateacertainnumberofworkseachmonthtoreceiveasalary.
Althoughthecategoryof‘PropagandaArtist’isalower-rankingdesignationthan‘People’sArtist’,thepropagandaartistsaregiventhevitaltaskofkeepingthepopulationinformed.Postersfirstcametoprominenceduringthe1950–53KoreanWarandtheyarestilldisplayedprominentlythroughoutthecapitalandcountryside.Slogansareoftentakenfromstatementsmadebythecountry’sleadershipandfromnewspapereditorials.
NorthKoreanpostersportrayawidevarietyoftopics:fromphrasesreinforcingpartypoliciestomessagesreiteratingcampaignsonculture,publichealth,educationandsports.Workspresentedinthisexhibitionprimarilyillustratetopicsrelatedtoagriculturaldevelopmentandfoodproduction—areasofparticularinterestbasedontheyearsthatKatharinaZellwegerhasaddressedfoodandfoodsecurity-relatedissues.
PUBLICHEALTH Fed POSTERS PEOPLE KOREA COLLECTION FACE
