Margarita Matulytė “Creating Altreality: The Sovietization of Lithuanian Photography”

“Once established as a means of disseminating communist propaganda, Soviet photography was expected to reflect the illusion of absolute truth. Through the use of visual coding methods and the manipulation of symbols and iconic narratives, Soviet photography generated a mythological reality – an altreality founded on political values and meanings. The totalitarian ideals implied in the reproduction of Socialist Realism through photography promoted the Soviet individual’s selective and unobjective attitude toward the surrounding environment – the means by which the regime from doubts and thereby creative stabilizing conditions for the further development of Soviet society.”

Margarita Matulytė