There is something about the old Soviet style "art" that just rubs me the wrong way. That "something" no doubt is its link with a lack of creative freedom. Under the Soviets, all art - unless it was a dangerous nonconformist or clandestine form of art - was made to serve the dictatorship of the proletariat.... which then of course served no one for its authoritarian means and its absence of authenticity.
But now when I look at some forms of this period art, it takes me back to that time and mood; one that should not be forgotten, if only for its colossal failure. This glorious example of socialist realism - a mosaic depicting the heroic people of Albania - at the entrance of The Natural History Museum in the main Skanderbeg Square in Tirana speaks to that period... when there were still high hopes that communism could forge the path to equality and brotherly love.
Tirana, 2009
This photo of this mainly yellow mosaic is posted for Mellow Yellow Monday and I ask you to forgive me for it not being a very mellow topic. More mellowness will be found when you click the link to find links to yellow.
My photo will enlarge when you click on it.