Book Description

This elegant book reveals a body of art practice previously and necessarily hidden from public view in both the Soviet Union and the West. Bringing together artists who worked in a broad range of styles and approaches, and often at great personal risk, Forbidden Art reveals artwork that challenged Soviet totalitarianism. From the horrific purges of the Stalin Era, to the time before the Soviet Union's collapse -- when failure to conform could result in loss of employment, imprisonment, or death -- this book documents the heroic legacy of Soviet nonconformist art, and includes a group of scholarly essays on such issues as the relation of Russian "outsider art" to the avant-garde. With a bibliography and artist biographies, this book is a captivating reminder of the artist's role in challenging the status quo.