Soviet Family Albums: Silent Witnesses to a Shifting Collective Identity
In Visible Presence meticulously examines over 50 Soviet family photo albums, revealing photography's crucial role in constructing and sustaining a shared Soviet identity. The authors uncover a surprising prevalence of strangers within these albums, demonstrating that these images transcended personal narratives to reflect broader socio-political shifts and collective memory. Analyzing both photographs and interviews, the book explores themes of silence, oblivion, and the evolving political significance of imagery across different eras. It offers a nuanced understanding of the interplay between societal repression, personal memory, and the enduring power of images, providing a fresh perspective on photographic and social memory studies.
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