Stalinism and Modernist Craft in Poland

This paper considers the status of studio crafts in Poland during the Stalinist period. During the first half of the 1950s party ideologues sought to influence all forms of culture in terms of both form and content. In this they were guided by ‘principles’ of Socialist Realism which had been drafted in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. However, unlike established and traditional forms of culture such as easel painting, there was no clear ideological position on the handmade. In fact the relatively obscure and overlooked status of studio crafts meant that makers could explore practices such as abstraction which were under political embargo. In consequence, a culture of Modernist practice continued throughout a period in which Modernism in the fine arts was vilified