“Mao and New China: Art from the Era of Mao and the 90s” contrasted propagandistic images of Mao Tse-tung with “Pop” depictions of Mao by contemporary artists from mainland China. The revolutionary­-era pictures, created to promote the ideals of the party, combine aspects of traditional Chinese painting with social realism. In contrast, the more recent Pop images use the style of mass media such as advertising and cartoons—capitalist propaganda—to poke fun at Chairman Mao.

During his nearly thirty years as head of the communist party, Mao and his cultural ministers required that Chinese