"The notion of the real is used in a recurrent manner throughout art history concerning the period since the 1960s. It is applied to neo-avant garde practices, the return to the figurative, research on the abolition of borders between art and life, and photography. Nothing is more remarkable than seeing such different art practices side by side under the same banner on both sides of the Iron Curtain, East and West. Next to the notions of freedom, economics and equality, the real is a fundamental term that was used in different ways by each of the Cold War superpowers in order to promote their models of society. This notion within the fine arts and its polymorphic Cold War aspects has yet to be fully researched. Until now, no research has ever taken into account the ideological context of the relations between the West and East's notions of the real. This research project aims to capture the way that the notion of the real was applied to the fine arts in France, West Germany, East Germany, and Poland from the 1960s until the end of the 1980s. The analysis of the application of the very same notion on both sides of the Iron Curtain provides a new reading of the links, connections, and differences between art practices East and West. Applying an innovative method of research will allow for a renewed vision of European art from the second half of the 20th century. This research aims to go beyond the conventional divisions between East and West by presenting new ways of interpreting Cold War art practices."