Victoria Scott presents art lecture on Maoism's effect on culture

History still has a lot to teach us, Professor Victoria Scott illustrated in her presentation titled "Maoism, France and the Posters of 1968" on April 7 in Holmes Auditorium. According to Scott, the Cultural Revolution in China influenced the art and the general strike in France in 1968.

Scott, a visiting professor of art history at Alfred University, has taught at the College of William and Mary and at Binghamton University. She is an expert on the art produced during the student and workers' revolt of May 1968 in France.

Scott used the art involved in 1968 France to show how “Maoism was exploited and perceived in France.” Television and radio broadcasting were strictly monitored at the time and could not be properly accessed by the revolutionaries. Accordingly, Chinese street art propaganda, called Dazibao, was greatly utilized. Posters, art journals, and manifestos were also used to promote the strike and Maoist beliefs.

Scott provided cultural references to the Cultural Revolution in China that had been on-going from a decade earlier. She showed that many of the same practices that occurred in China under the direction of Mao were implemented later in France.

It is important to know that television was not as big of an influence in other countries as it was in the United States during these periods, Scott said. In fact, commercials and advertising were not aired on French television until late 1968 and on radio until the 1980s. Due to these restrictions and the additional tight control French officials placed on television and radio broadcasting, radicals and reformists had to find other ways to reach the masses.

Incidentally, Mao had a similar problem in China throughout the previous decade. Scott discussed Mao’s early struggles during the 1960’s and how he finally found success with Dazibao, street art and posters. “It was difficult to determine the amount of influence Maoism had on artistic circles in France,” Scott said.

However, Scott speculated that popular art journal at the time, the “Opposition Artistique,” which claimed to have a circulation of 10,000 copies, seemed to indicate a large Maoist influence. The posters also used a traditional silk screen style rather than more technologically advanced methods. This was also the result of Maoist influence.

In 1968 France, there were more posters criticizing the media than any other subject. French reformists and strikers were highly critical of government attempts to censor and control events and the mass media’s inability to defend itself. Although French officials tried to hide it, the strike in France 1968, “relied heavily upon the Chinese precedent,” Scott concluded.

Scott's talk illuminated the presence of government in culture and the interrelation between Mao, France and the media presented to the public.