When perusing over the attached art for our final session, I was really struck by how Russian High Art, and paintings, in particular, have come full circle. At first, this art was reserved for the express purpose of depicting religion but gradually evolved to encapsulate the nobility, and finally, the commoner.

The move from early to middle-Soviet Socialist Realism to Komar and Melamid’s ‘Nostalgic Socialist Realism’ was almost relieving. Whereas previous Socialist Realist paintings tried to prop up the status of former leaders like Stalin and Lenin, these two artist’s works do so more blatantly to the point of parody, as mentioned in the background to their paintings. For instance, “The Origins of Socialist Realism” (1982-83) and “Double Portrait as Young Pioneers” (1982-83), depict Stalin in such a glorified way that it questions his authority. In the latter of the two paintings, Stalin’s bust is in the top right corner of the frame on an elevated surface while two pioneers are saluting him below. Importantly, these men are lower than him, implying Stalin’s significance, and the only source of light in the painting points radially outward from his face, furthering this point. “The Origins of Socialist Realism” (1982-83) is substantially more comical in its insanity and something, I believe, would not have gotten passed the censors.

On a more serious note, an element I noticed in “Nostalgic View of the Kremlin from Manhattan” and “Lenin Hails a Cab”, and a recurring theme in many works of Soviet emigrants is their longing for the birthland. The conflation of aspects that should belong to either the US or the USSR into one image emphasizes this, and the keyhole through which you can see the Kremlin—as if the two are looking from afar—brings home this message.