Review of Charity Scribner's 'Requiem for Communism' Analyzes Artistic Responses to Post-Socialist Europe
In her 2003 publication 'Requiem for Communism,' released by The MIT Press, Charity Scribner investigates how artists responded to the fall of communist governments in Eastern Europe, drawing a comparison to Jutta Scherrer's 1996 work 'Requiem for Red October.' Scribner delves into themes such as Collective, Solidarity, Nostalgia, Mourning, Melancholia, and Disavowal, focusing on creations from artists in former Soviet territories and Western Europe. She highlights films by Andrzej Wajda, including 'Man of Marble' and 'Man of Iron,' as well as Rachel Whiteread's 'House,' and institutions like the Kita-Museum and the Open Depot. Additionally, the book discusses Western artists like Tony Harrison, Mark Hermann, John Berger, and Leslie Kaplan. A review in ARTMargins Online in 2004 suggests Scribner may miss certain political subtleties.
Key facts
- Charity Scribner's 'Requiem for Communism' was published in 2003 by The MIT Press.
- The book analyzes artistic responses to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, focusing on the 'second world.'
- Scribner examines concepts including the Collective, Solidarity, Nostalgia, Mourning, Melancholia, and Disavowal.
- Artworks discussed include Andrzej Wajda's films 'Man of Marble' and 'Man of Iron,' and Rachel Whiteread's 'House.'
- Museums like the Kita-Museum in Oranienburg and Open Depot in Eisenhüttenstadt collect communist-era artifacts.
- The review contrasts Scribner's work with Jutta Scherrer's 1996 'Requiem for Red October,' which focuses on politics.
- Scribner uses the term 'second world' to describe industrialized, non-consumer-driven societies in Eastern Europe.
- The review was published on ARTMargins Online on November 18, 2004, by Hans J. Rindisbacher and Larissa Rudova.
Entities
Artists
- Charity Scribner
- Jutta Scherrer
- Andrzej Wajda
- Rachel Whiteread
- Tony Harrison
- Mark Hermann
- John Berger
- Leslie Kaplan
- Joseph Beuys
- Heiner Müller
- Christa Wolf
- Nikita Mikhalkov
- Ivan Dykhovichnyj
- Peter Cattaneo
- Boris Groys
- Helena Goscilo
- Mark Lipovetsky
- Vyatcheslav Kuritsyn
- Nancy Condee
- Mikhail Epstein
- Katerina Clark
- Richard Taylor
Institutions
- The MIT Press
- Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales
- Universitätsverlag Leipzig
- Kita-Museum
- Open Depot
- ARTMargins Online
Locations
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Leipzig
- Moscow
- Gdansk
- Poland
- Oranienburg
- Eisenhüttenstadt
- Germany
- England
- GDR
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
- Switzerland