Art Under Control in North Korea

London: Reaktion Books, 2005. 192 pages, illustrations (some colour); 25 cm. A good reading copy, with highlighting on a dozen pages & light edgewear to wraps. "Art Under Control in North Korea is the first publication in the West to explore the role of art in one of the world's most isolated nations. This timely publication places North Korean art in its historical, political and social contexts, discusses the state system of producing, employing, promoting and honouring artists, and examines the range of art produced, from painting and calligraphy to architecture and applied art. Jane Portal also compares the control exerted over artists by North Korean leaders to that of other absolute dictatorships, and looks at the way in which archaeology has been employed for political ends to justify the present leadership and its lineage. / Jane Portal is curator in the Oriental Antiquities department at the British Museum, London. She is the author of Korea: Art and Archaeology and Chinese Love Poetry." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Art for the state; Historical background Politics and society since 1953 The Kim cult Archaeology and the reshaping of history The production and consumption of art. . Paperback. Good. 4to.