Parapolitics

During the Cold War, modernist art became an emblem of freedom and democracy in the West, assuming the role of a symbolic overcoming of fascism. ‘Parapolitics’ gives an in-depth examination of the cultural diplomacy of this period, particularly the activities and publications of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-communist advocacy group founded in 1950 and backed by the CIA. Through extensive archival documentation and recent responses by various artists and writers, the volume encompasses a wealth of references for anyone interested in the culturalization of economic liberalism in the non-European world or challenging the prevailing modernist canons.