The Green Bloc

Expanding the horizon of established accounts of Central European art under socialism, this book uncovers the neglected history of artistic engagement with the natural environment in the Eastern Bloc. The turbulent legacy of 1968, which saw the confluence of political upheaval, spread of counterculture, rise of ecological consciousness, and emergence of global conceptual art, provides the setting for Maja Fowkes’s innovative reassessment of the environmental practice of the Central European neo-avant-garde. Focussing on artists and artist groups whose ecological dimension has rarely been considered, including the Pécs Workshop from Hungary, OHO in Slovenia, TOK in Croatia, Rudolf Sikora in Slovakia, and the Czech artist Petr Štembera, 'The Green Bloc: Neo-avant-garde Art and Ecology under Socialism' brings to light an array of distinctive approaches to nature, from attempts to raise environmental awareness among socialist citizens to the exploration of non-anthropocentric positions and the quest for cosmological existence in the midst of red ideology. Embedding artistic production in social, political, and environmental histories of the region, this book reveals the Central European artists’ sophisticated relationship to nature, at the precise moment when ecological crisis was first apprehended on a planetary scale.

A radical anthropologist studies the global justice movement.

The book is about the revival of China in the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. It has eight parts: (1) The civil revolution in China, (2) The countryside bases, (3) The Long Match of the Red Army, (4) The Anti Japanese War, (5) Decisive civil battles before the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, (6) The Mao Era before the Great Cultural Revolution, (7) The Great Cultural Revolution, and (8) The Reform and opening up. This version of the book is with pictures.

This wide-ranging book makes a critical contribution to understanding the times in which we live and possible solutions to the increasingly acute crisis of global capitalism. Harris critiques with great perspicacity the ideology and destructive practices of hegemonic neo-liberalism as well as the failure of 20th century socialism to provide a viable alternative and the limitations of anarchism. All three ideologies are found wanting in the quest for human liberation. In this new globalized information age our emancipatory potential, he suggests, lies in freeing democracy from the constraints of capitalism through a more balanced relationship between the state, market and civil society.

A collection of Bahro's essays, including arguments for living in communes, pleas for a more stable social system and addresses on the crisis in Green politics. It finishes with his letter of resignation from the German Greens.

Building on the popularity of modern quilting, the book features 14 patchwork projects with a modern look which use rainbows as the overall color theme. The book enables readers to create their own rainbow look, from selecting which colors to use and choosing the appropriate fabrics for a project. Starting from the basics of patchwork the book includes tutorials on creating simple blocks, finishing a quilt and making an envelope cushion, alongside the basic tools and techniques used. Each of the 14 projects is broken down into easy to follow steps with detailed illustrations, making the book accessible for confident beginners as well as more seasoned quilters. The projects range in difficulty and time requirements, meaning that there is something for everyone depending in their time available and skill level. The five cushions and three mini projects are great for beginners, offering a smaller scale project that can be completed within a day and help to develop some of the skills required for making larger quilts. The six quilt projects include two large bed sized quilts, two lap quilts, a single bed quilt and a picnic blanket. All of the skills required to complete the quilts are included within the book, along with details on the authors inspiration, fabric choice and a coloring page.

The story of the experimental zeitgeist in Eastern European art, seen through personal encounters, pioneering dialogues, collaborative projects, and cultural exchanges. Throughout the 1970s, a network of artists emerged to bridge the East-West divide, and the no less rigid divides between the countries of the Eastern bloc. Originating with a series of creative initiatives by artists, art historians, and critics and centered in places like Budapest, Poznań, and Prague, this experimental dialogue involved Western participation but is today largely forgotten in the West. In Networking the Bloc, Klara Kemp-Welch vividly recaptures this lost chapter of art history, documenting an elaborate web of artistic connectivity that came about through a series of personal encounters, pioneering dialogues, collaborative projects, and cultural exchanges. Countering the conventional Cold War narrative of Eastern bloc isolation, Kemp-Welch shows how artistic ideas were relayed among like-minded artists across ideological boundaries and national frontiers. Much of the work created was collaborative, and personal encounters were at its heart. Drawing on archival documents and interviews with participants, Kemp-Welch focuses on the exchanges and projects themselves rather than the personalities involved. Each of the projects she examines relied for its realization on a network of contributors. She looks first at the mobilization of the network, from 1964 to 1972, exploring five pioneering cases: a friendship between a Slovak artist and a French critic, an artistic credo, an exhibition, a conceptual proposition, and a book. She then charts a series of way stations for experimental art from the Soviet bloc between 1972 and 1976—points of distribution between studios, private homes, galleries, and certain cities. Finally, she investigates convergences—a succession of shared exhibitions and events in the second half of the 1970s in locations ranging from Prague to Milan to Moscow. Networking the Bloc, Kemp-Welch invites us to rethink the art of the late Cold War period from Eastern European perspectives.

A supplementary volume in the series Research in social movements, conflicts and change, containing contributions on the Green movement. Topics covered include: the west European environmental movement; the Green movement in the USSR and Eastern Europe; and the failure of the US Greens.