''The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia'' is a 1997 book by David King about the censoring of photographs and fraudulent creation of "photographs" in

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

through silent alteration via airbrushing and other techniques. It has an introduction by Stephen F. Cohen.

Album

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

created a companion album of the same title in 1999. The second disc of the two-disc album contains ''The Fall of Icarus'', the score to an eponymous

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

which had previously been unreleased. The first disc, ''The Commissar Vanishes'', is a version of ''The Fall of Icarus'' that has been defaced similarly to the photographs reproduced in King's book.

Track listing

Disc 1: The Commissar Vanishes #Earth In Turmoil #Jealousy And Revenge #Look Out For An Enemy! #Ordinary Citizens #A Swift Exit Disc: 2: The Fall of Icarus #Disaster #Wings #Walls #Water #Utopia

Documentary

A documentary was made about David King and ''The Commissar Vanishes'', called ''Facing the Dead'', by Gabrielle Pfeiffer. The film was commissioned by

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

and broadcast internationally. It won the "Golden Gate Award" at the

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

References

External links

* Art history books 1997 non-fiction books Metropolitan Books books Canongate Books books Censorship in the Soviet Union {{classical-album-stub