This week I’m exploring the cult of swimming in revolutionary China, with Ferren Gipson: art historian, writer, presenter, and a doctoral researcher in Chinese art at SOAS, University of London. Ferren is the host of the Art Matters podcast, and the author of The Ultimate Art Museum, with a forthcoming title for Quarto Publishing on the way.

Tune in as we discuss the function of rivers and seas in Chinese propaganda poster art, Mao’s cult of swimming and the dawn of the Cultural Revolution, and how the humble dressing gown became an unlikely heroic garment. 

We also consider how Chinese revolutionary realist art differed from Soviet socialist realism, the stories behind some of the most well known French swimming paintings (or swimming-adjacent paintings), and the pictures from art history you definitely would NOT want to swim in.

You can follow Ferren on Twitter and Instagram. The art history course mentioned in this week’s show was Art and Revolutionary China, taught by Ferren for Black Blossoms School of Art and Culture - I’d recommend checking out all their courses.

You can follow me @AmberButchart, #MakingASplashPod to find out more about future guests and episodes, and find some of the images discussed in this episode.

*Please be aware that cold water swimming can be dangerous. Read and follow the advice at the Outdoor Swimming Society if you are new to it*

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