The Velvet Prison: Artists Under State Socialism

by Miklós Haraszti

Examines the aesthetics of censorship and how writers are cooperating

Genres: Nonfiction, Hungary

165 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 1987

Reviews

[Edwin Pietersma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating work with so much depth and interesting read of socialist artists. The work is very philosophical in nature, which can make it somewhat harder to follow or find it's evidence. This is the reason I gave it four stars, as it merely describes and does not provide much evidence towards supporting an argument. However, the argument, is very solid in its logic: that censors and artists in socialist states are not working against each other, but rather are intertwined/entangled in a mutual embrace. We can even state this harder, which is the irony of the work: communism, as fighting against religion as "opium of the people," in this sense, acts like opium itself, subjecting one reality upon the people, having artists participating in this. However, this does not mean that you are limited, but rather that your creativity is merely controlled. Marxism, thus, becomes "the legend that legitimates our ideas of serice to the people." and the artists gives expression to permitted beliefs."

[Adnan Soysal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great analysis of approach of Socialist State to Art,
and it's methods of brain washing and curving freedom by a man who lived through that atmosphere as an Artist. It is not written in a revengeful , resentful style but displaying ugly face of coercive cohesive socialist-fascist state mind

[Xiang Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

深度广度都够了 不过结构实在太任性……

[Ben Klingman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be better. It was just rhetoric on the nature of art, at a time when critics of various socialist states were silenced and censored. The book didn't mention a single artist and their experience with the state really, it was 150 pages of just commentary or philosophy of art I guess? Was hard to read, used lofty words frequently and in succession, just kept waiting for a page to jump out as significant but it didn't really happen.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

whoops, read this awhile ago.

loved it. there were some sections where i felt like i was personally beefing with the author (this is a fun pass time for me). “art is an invention of capitalism and class” rewired my brain completely.