Other facts and events about Syria might seem more urgent, but these paintings remain very interesting and relevant nonetheless. Besides crediting itself for providing 'economic security' for the lower classes of the Syrian population, the regime in Syria has primarily used the open -- and mostly latent -- struggle with Israel to claim legitimacy. The October 1973 War was the only event which has brought Syria into real confrontation with Israel since President Hafez al-Assad led the Corrective Movement, a political manoeuvre which established the latter's rule in 1970. However, the War has nurtured a long and imagined narrative which was used to legitimise a one-party system.
The socialist realist style in these paintings is really striking. They are displayed in the October (1973) War Panorama, and they depict the late Syrian president Hafez al Assad. According to the lonely planet guide on Syria, the memorial was built with North Korean assistant. This artistic inspiration may explain a great deal of what is going on at the moment!
Look how happy everyone looks in that first picture. I can assure you, the Syrian people have never seemed to have ever been even close to that much happiness throughout the 40 years rule of this man's regime.
ReplyDeleteThe Syrian people has always been happy, but they intrinsically lacked maturity and reason which left them short of expressing their own feelings or even realising their nature. This is why the State had to constantly step in to explain the people what they actually felt, and of course to vocalise their feelings through cliched art. I say Syrians should be very grateful.
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