03/07/2025
China, 1973; Artist: D**g Zhengyi; Publisher: Renmin Meishu Chubanshe
This is one of the most famous naïve “peasant” painting from the “China as Paradise” art movement (1972-1976). The authorities initially claimed these art pieces were painted in Huxian (Shaanxi Province) by “self-taught amateur painters, expressing spontaneously their great love for Chinese Communism.” It was later admitted that the “peasant painters” had received extensive professional help in “the composition of their pictures, as well as with the conception, presentation and skillful rendering” in their work. Perversely, the assistance was often provided by precisely those professional artists who were no longer allowed to work themselves. The Huxian paintings provided idyllic slices of the good life in the rural areas and were peopled with happy and enthusiastic peasants engaged in fishing, agriculture, political meetings and study sessions. The Commune Fishpond conflates two subtle messages into a powerful propaganda statement, hidden to the Western eyes: 1) To everyone living in the leftist countries, Communism was understood to mean “Materialistic Abundance, Free-of-charge,” see the net overfilled with communal fish. 2) The Chinese word for fish (vu) is phonetically identical with the word meaning “abundance,” so the fish symbolizes wealth. No wonder, this “Double Happiness” propaganda poster sold like hotcakes... I mean, fishcakes.
