Capitalist and Socialist Realism Style Difference Based on Peeters' and Mo Shuzi's Artworks

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Capitalist Style and Socialist Realism Style Difference
Capitalist realism was commonly used in artwork in Germany to depict the nation's consumer culture and society saturated by the media and influenced by American pop. Socialist realism in art was developed as the official art style in the Soviet Union (Squire). The main focus of socialist realism is communist values. Capitalist realism is considered a counter to the socialist realism artistic style. Research of both would seek to identify their differences and involve a comparison of two artworks that depict each of the styles. The main question for the research would be the identification of the factors depicted in the art that qualify the artwork to be an example of socialist or capitalist realism. Therefore, this paper will focus on the difference between capitalist and socialist realism based on two artworks.
The main difference between capitalist and socialist realism is what they represent. The capitalist style focuses on consumer behavior and media-saturated society. On the other hand, socialist realism focuses on the values of a communist. Mo Shuzi's poster design is an example of artwork that represents the capitalist style. The painting shows an individual studying and could indicate a revolution. It shows that people have to work hard to achieve their dreams. A media-saturated society is well-known for depicting the successful figure in society. The images of such individuals are printed all over the media. Therefore, the artwork is a representation of the iconography of the media. Behind the lady reading a book are other individuals struggling to achieve success. Such could also be described as the consumer behavior represented by capitalist realism. Clara Peeter's breakfast piece is an example of artwork that represents social realism. The piece represents a common breakfast where the table has a flower setting. Such a setting would be expected to belong to an individual with a substantial income. Therefore, the artwork represents the thinking of a communist and what they value. A communist prefers to get value for their money and believe in spending to achieve good things. The flowers on the table make the breakfast sophisticated and suitable for a communist. Clara's work has been able to evoke a human presence using food. Therefore, the main difference between the capitalist style and socialist realism is what each represents because the factors being represented cannot be similar.
Another difference between the capitalist style and socialist realism is the techniques used in creating artwork. The capitalist style focuses on education and self-expression Peters, (Michael et al.). Shuzi's work of art is a direct presentation of education. The woman in the painting is holding a book and looking away from the book. Such could mean that she is reflecting on the book's contents that she just read. Behind her are other human figures painted on a white background to represent a dream. This could be a representation of the woman's dream of revolution. In a capitalist style, revolution can be best achieved through education. Therefore, the book is held on the painting is the key to self-expression. It sho...