This vibrant history of the former German Democratic Republic's public art reveals a barelyknown but visually and theoretically rich cultural legacy. Picturing Socialism shows howworks of art and design in the urban spaces of East Germany were the site of a sustainedstruggle between practitioners, critics and political leaders. This was not the oft-assumedconflict between artistic freedom and political dogma; at stake was the self-identity of therepublic as socialist. Art and its relationship to architecture functioned as the testing groundfor East Germany's relationship to socialist realism and modernism against the backdrop ofCold War competition from the neighbouring Federal Republic.Picturing Socialism makes a timely contribution to the recent groundswell of interest in thelegacy of East Germany's art and architecture, illuminating and elucidating the public artwhich has been lost or remains under threat since unification in 1990.An enlightening analysis of the complex relation between socialist politics and the steelworkerreliefs, farm girl paintings, cosmonaut mosaics, dandelion-shaped sprinklers and otherartwork adorning East German buildings. Florian Urban, Professor and Head ofArchitectural History and Urban Studies, Glasgow School of Art, UKIn this lavishly illustrated account J. R. Jenkins shows how public art, craft, design andarchitecture became key elements in the socialist imaginary. Picturing Socialism takes thereader on a fascinating journey through the former East Germany: from steel and coal cities,to science and technology centres and ports. Containing an extraordinary visual record ofmany rapidly vanishing works of art, the book draws on fascinating interviews andcontemporary debates. Picturing Socialism is an important and timely addition to studies ofCold War history and politics. Harriet Atkinson, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities,University of Brighton, UKJ. R. Jenkins' Picturing Socialism explores the placement and legacy of public art in the GDRfrom post-war re-construction through to the 1990s. Spanning the mid-century to the latemodern, Jenkins deftly surveys and evaluates the forms, functions and evolving ideologicalimperatives which drove these very public genres. Cogently authored and contextualized, thiswell illustrated and incisively researched publication looks set to become a benchmarkintervention in the emerging history of the GDR's public art and design aesthetic. GrantPooke, Senior Lecturer, History of Art, University of Kent, UKPicturing Socialism fills a gap in twentieth-century design history by focusing on how socialistrealism in East Germany used urban places as a canvas to depict communal values. For thoseinterested in the graphic image of the twenty-first century city, this book provides valuableinsight into the emergence of Complex Environmental Design in the former GermanDemocratic Republic. Robert Harland, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director forGraphic Communication and Illustration, Loughborough University, UK