During the 1970s and 1980s, Arthur Grace travelled extensively behind the Iron Curtain, working primarily for news magazines. One of only a small corps of Western photographers with ongoing access, he was able to delve into the most ordinary corners of people's daily lives, while also covering significant events. His remarkable book Communism(s) A Cold War Album is effectively psychological portraits that leave the viewer with a sense of the gamut of emotions in that era.
Illustrated with over 120 black-and-white images-nearly all previously unpublished- Communism(s) gives an unprecedented glimpse behind the veil of a not-so-distant time filled with harsh realities unseen by nearly all but those that lived through it. Shot in the USSR, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and the German Democratic Republic, here are portraits of factory workers, farmers, churchgoers, holidaymakers and loitering teens juxtaposed with Social Realist-designed apartment blocks, annual May Day Parades, Poland's Solidarity movement (and the subsequent imposition of martial law) and the vastness of Moscow's Red Square.
Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9788862087674
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0:00 Introduction to Cold War Conversations and Arthur Grace
2:37 Sponsor: Cold War Conversations merchandise and donations
5:31 Arthur Grace's experiences in Romania
15:45 Encounters and photo opportunities in East Germany
21:23 Anti-government memorials and Solidarity movement in Poland
33:39 The art and challenges of photojournalism during the Cold War
40:42 Transition and transformation in Poland between 1982 and 1989
46:16 Reflections on Cold War assignments and favorite photographs
48:45 Anecdotes from Moscow, Warsaw and the Gobi Desert
58:11 Arthur's book
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