Red Aesthetics, Intermediality and the Use of Posters in Chinese Cinema after 1949

Abstract: This article focuses on the aesthetic and affective techniques of saturation through which posters legitimated the Party-State in Mao’s China by closing the gap between everyday experience and political ideology. Propaganda posters were designed to put into practice the principle of unity, as conceptua- lised by Mao Zedong. The argument posits that while the “poster” is normally a printed edition of a painting or design intended for mass distribution in this way, the term may fairly be deployed to capture other cultural objects that function as “posters”, in that they provide public, political information that expresses or con- structs a political self in aesthetic form. This approach requires a metonymic understanding of a visual field in which cultural objects are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. The essay draws on recent in-depth interviews with poster artists of the 1960s and 1970s

View of Amsterdam (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "View of City (c. 1911)," shows an aerial photograph of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.This lantern slide was taken as part of a Boy Scout trip to Holland. According to older catalog records, one of the scoutmasters attending this trip is James Archibald Kyle, the Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters and developed the Equipment Department. For his work, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Amsterdam is known as “the Venice of the North” because of its more than one hundred kilometers of canals. The city has about ninety islands and fifteen hundred bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, which were dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city. The canal ring and surrounding area were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010

Scouts on Village Road (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "Scouts on Village Road (c. 1911)" shows a group of boy scouts standing on a brick sidewalk. One of them is holding St. George’s Cross, a white flag with a red cross. According to Baden-Powell, St. George was the patron saint of scouting. Sitting on nearby crates and propped against a building are three men. A young Dutch girl is standing in the center of the group. This picture was taken as part of a Boy Scout trip from England to the Netherlands.One of the scoutmasters may have been James Archibald Kyle, who worked as Organizing Secretary of the southwest London District until 1909, when Baden-Powell appointed him the Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters and developed the Equipment Department. For his work with the Association, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. He also wrote “Band and Music for Boy Scouts,” “Firedrill for Boy Scouts,” and “Training Camps and Standing Camps for Boyscouts.” The Boy Scouts started around 1908, when Robert Baden-Powell, a Lieutenant-General in the English military, wrote a book entitled “Scouting for Boys.” Edgar M. Robinson (Springfield College class of 1901) involved the International Y.M.C.A. Training School (now known as Springfield College) with the fledgling Boy Scout movement in the United States around 1910. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Fragile—single glass plate

Holland Tour Map I (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "Holland Tour Map I (c. 1911)," shows a map of Holland (a region on the west coast of the Netherlands) that outlines the tour route taken by a group of English boy scouts. One of the scoutmasters may have been James Archibald Kyle, who worked as Organizing Secretary of the southwest London District until 1909, when Baden-Powell appointed him Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters and developed the Equipment Department. For his work with the Association, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. He also wrote “Band and Music for Boy Scouts,” “Firedrill for Boy Scouts,” and “Training Camps and Standing Camps for Boyscouts.” The Boy Scouts started around 1908, when Robert Baden-Powell, a Lieutenant-General in the English military, wrote a book titled “Scouting for Boys.” Edgar M. Robinson (Springfield College class of 1901) involved the International Y.M.C.A. Training School (now known as Springfield College) with the fledgling Boy Scout movement in the United States around 1910. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Fragile—single glass plate

Ship on Waterway (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "Ship on Waterway (c. 1911)," shows the full length of an unidentified ship passing through a waterway, likely in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) or Hull (England). This lantern slide was taken as part of a Boy Scout trip to Holland. According to older catalog records, one of the scoutmasters attending this trip is James Archibald Kyle, the Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters and developed the Equipment Department. For his work, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Fragile—single glass plate; some deterioration

Economy Electric Ecolite Electric Lantern

Economy Electric Ecolite Lantern, circa. 1930. This electric lantern is a no. 400 model camp lantern featuring two bulbs. Patent no.1906587https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/mh_and_rm_artifacts/1013/thumbnail.jp

Holland Tour Map II (c. 1911)

This lantern slide, "Holland Tour Map II (c. 1911)," shows a map of Holland outlining the tour route taken by a group of boy scouts from England. Unlike "Holland Tour Map I (c. 1911)," this slide shows a photograph of a flattened map.One of the scoutmasters may have been James Archibald Kyle, who worked as Organizing Secretary of the southwest London District until 1909, when Baden-Powell appointed him the Secretary of the Official Boy Scouts Office. In this position, he organized the headquarters and developed the Equipment Department. For his work with the Association, Kyle was given the honorary title of Chief Scoutmaster. He also wrote “Band and Music for Boy Scouts,” “Firedrill for Boy Scouts,” and “Training Camps and Standing Camps for Boyscouts.” The Boy Scouts started around 1908, when Robert Baden-Powell, a Lieutenant-General in the English military, wrote a book titled “Scouting for Boys.” Edgar M. Robinson (Springfield College class of 1901) involved the International Y.M.C.A. Training School (now known as Springfield College) with the fledgling Boy Scout movement in the United States around 1910. This item is a part of Springfield College’s series of lantern slides depicting a Boy Scout trip to Holland.Fragile—single glass plate; some deterioration

Tuning Bells at York Minster (c. 1914)

This lantern slide, "Tuning Bells at York Minster (c. 1914)," shows five men standing around eleven bells of varying size that have been taken down for tuning and are resting on planks of wood. The men are inside York Minster, formally called The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St. Peter in York.St. Peter in York is the second largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe, the minster was first built in 627 as a place to baptize Edwin, King of Northumbria. Across the next six hundred years, the church suffered from a cycle of constant damage and repair. In 1220, Walter de Gray ordered the renovation of the cathedral, thus giving the building its recognizable gothic design. This renovation was only declared complete in 1472, when the minster was consecrated. During the English Reformation, the cathedral was looted and many of its tombs, windows, and altars were destroyed. 1730 to 1858 saw another cycle of constant damage and repair, and the 20th century brought a renewed preservation effort. The York Minster has the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world and was the first church to install a carillon. This lantern slide was taken as part of a Boy Scout trip to Holland. According to older catalog records, one of the scoutmasters attending this trip is James ArchibaText on border reads, "Bells under repair. York Minister.