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1 soviet posters

2 Prestel Munich Berlin London New York

3 Maria Lafont soviet posters The Sergo Grigorian Collection

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5 6 From Revolution to Cold War and Beyond List of Posters Glossary Artists Biographies Contents

6 Seite 6 17:00 Uhr soviet_001_255:soviet_001_255 6 From Revolution to Cold WaR and beyond Vladimir Tabourin. Zinger Company, 1900s. Menert brothers. My first step towards an Einem biscuit, 1900s.

7 The publication of Sergo Grigorian s exceptional collection of Soviet propaganda posters offers a unique opportunity, as many posters in this book have rarely if ever been published before. The two hundred and more posters selected are fine examples of a distinctive art that was born in the Soviet Union, and they reveal the conception and development of the form from before the 1920s up until Over the last decade the Soviet propaganda poster has become the focus of much attention, a subject for collectors in both Russia and abroad as well as a matter for discussion, research, and study for a number of scholars. Unusually, many people in many different countries have turned their attention to this art form which began more than a century ago in a country that, since perestroika, has ceased to exist. Frequently the main period of interest addresses the posters created between the 1917 October Socialist Revolution and the 1980s. Even though the attention of this book focuses mainly on posters from this period, the poster form existed in Russia well before the Revolution. The first Russian posters date back to the 1880s when, inspired by the success of the poster in France and Germany, Russian manufacturers became interested in this new way of attracting publicity for their products. Within a few years, posters attracted such famous Russian painters as Victor Vasnetsov, Albert Benois, and many others who introduced a traditional, folkloric Russian touch into the poster (see far left, Vladimir Tabourin, Zinger Com - pany, 1900s). By the end of the nineteenth century the poster had taken its place as one of the most important means of adver tising (see left, Menert Brothers, My first step towards an Einem biscuit, 1900s). However, the story does not end with the advertisement of cookies and cigars. The Revolution of October 1917 created a whole new phenomenon, something that had never existed before the revolutionary propaganda poster. A new genre of art was born with the formation of a new country, the Soviet Union, and it continued to exist, in different forms, until perestroika at the beginning of the 1980s heralded is decline. The name of this new artistic trend ex plains its intention. Born from the Revolution, out of the needs of revolutionary propaganda, its aim was to introduce revolutionary ideas to the masses. Any ideology needs to be supported by propaganda and the poster was considered by the Communist Party as an important ideological tool. It had an enormous potential as a mass medium, explaining to the people the new ideology, culture, ways of thinking and 7

8 8 behaving at work, at war, or within the community. We should not forget that at the time of the propaganda poster s origin there were no other means of information no tele - vision, Internet, radio, or even electricity except newspapers. No wonder, then, that one of the first territories occupied by the Bolsheviks was typography. The phenomenon born in 1917 grew into an art movement, reaching its full potential in the Soviet Union under the banner of Supre matism. One of the founders of Suprematism, Kasimir Malevich created a new artistic alphabet, based on the languages of color and energy. The poster attracted the greatest painters and poets of the time: Vladimir Mayakovsky, Demyan Bedny, Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, among many others, and it was this in - volve ment by great artists that turned posters into art. To achieve their means the artists were both inspired by traditional art as well as introducing modern techniques. All those involved in art at the time, the famous and not-so-famous, considered participation in poster design as their professional duty, and often during times of trouble and instability it was the only way for many artists to make a living. The history of the propaganda poster was determined by the changing ideology of the new country. Thus their message and appearance altered throughout the decades depending on the shifting ideology dictated by the leaders of the Soviet Union. This history can be divided into several different periods. The first years after the Revolution intro duced the aims of the new Soviet government. The poster became an art to persuade people, the majority of whom were illiterate, by means of bright artistic images and easily graspable and accessible texts. The hundreds of posters created between 1918 and 1921 changed the consciousness of an entire nation, and they made the citizens of the Soviet Union express their thoughts and ideas through the language and images of the posters themselves. From this period until the 1980s the poster followed the Soviet citizen everywhere he or she went. Posters were displayed in trains, on the streets, in factories, offices, cafeterias, schools indeed they were present in all public areas. In order to reach a larger audience some posters were also reproduced as leaflets inserted into magazines. Despite a lack of printings materials and skilled labor hundreds of thousands of posters were printed. The first Soviet posters followed several main themes such as explaining who your enemies were, revolutionary ideology,

9 the need for literacy, interest in books and education, the promotion of good health, and the assignment of new responsibilities to women workers who now played an important role in the life of the Soviet people (see p. 29). The message of the poster itself was often not the only one to appear: many contained the notice: Anybody who tears down or covers this poster is committing a counter revolutionary act. Early posters also introduced pictures of Lenin as leader of the State. 9 From the beginning of the 1920s, Soviet posters gained the momentum that made them stand out from the poster art of other countries. Compositional experiments with texts, fonts, colors, and geometry led artists towards the creation of a poster towards a new construction. The first such example was introduced by El Lissitzky, and published in Vitebsk in 1920 (see above right, El Lissitzky, Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, 1920). Soviet advertising between 1923 and 1925, produced by Alexander Rodchenko and Vladimir Mayakovsky, created the political Constructivist poster. Gustav Klutsis introduced the new technique of photomontage (see pp. 66, 70, 71) where art and reality are represented in the same image, photomontage making it more accessible and understandable. Dynamic, powerfully designed, based on contrasting colors and shapes, these early posters offered the masses images that reflected real life; they compared the country s past and future, and pointed out achievements in industry and the economy. The artists dreams of changing society and its environment were realized by means of new images and new art forms, creating a language of signs that conveyed a certain message that people would see and understand no matter where or who they were. Lenin s death in 1924 introduced the need to find new ways of representing him and consolidating his ideology. The first five-year plan ( ) confirmed the photomontage poster as an important means of mass mobilization. It showed the potential and power of a developing El Lissitzky. Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, Literary Publishing Department of the Soviet West Front Political Administration, Vitebsk. VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2006.

10 10 Konstantin Ivanov. Let s avvenge the people s suffering! x 30.5 cm. Iskusstvo. nation, and proclaimed the unity of the people. Many posters show pictures of industrial plants, furnaces, power stations, people at work, and construction sites. The image of Stalin became the most important bearer of communist ideas, linked to progress and industrialization, economic success, and ideological domination (see pp.70 71). Posters also showed all the most important events that happened in the country (see below near right, Alexander Deineka, We demand com - pulsory education for everybody, 1930). With the outbreak of World War II ( ) the achievements of five-year economic plans were replaced in poster iconography by the necessities dictated by war. The poster called the nation to face up to the enemy, to fight fascism, as well as to unite against the war. Images of Stalin become fewer, and we see more of the army, representations of victory, and battles against Nazism, people fighting and working for the needs of the front. Posters explained the way the Nazis thought and acted; while those in occupied territories call from the posters Save us, protect us (see below far right, Viktor Koretsky, Red Army Soldier, HELP! 1943). As in the aftermath of the 1917 Revolution, the poster was once again at the political front. The image of the motherland, born before the war, gained momentum during the conflict. Mothers called to their soldier sons to kill and conquer the enemy, and to free the land from the dangers of Nazism (see left, Konstantin Ivanov, Let s avenge the people s suffering, 1943). Posters produced after the war valued work and announced the imminent victory of communism over capitalism. Until the death of Stalin in 1953 there were many images of the father of the nation which would disappear immediately after his death (see pp , Konstantin Ivanov, Happy New Year, dear Stalin, 1952). The poster of the 1960s called people to

11 work better, and tried to re-establish the values of socialism. It introduced a large anti-alcoholism propaganda campaign, as well as calling for family values. It addressed the principles of brotherhood and the fight against aggression. The first man in space launched a whole series of posters featuring scientific achievements and sporting values, and also showed that people enjoyed a steady rise in wealth and standard of living. The poster continued to express a fear of war and desire for peace during this period of Cold War (see p. 198, Vladimir Kalensky and Irina Kalenskaya, A peaceful world that is our happiness, 1961). Propaganda posters remained a part of Soviet cultural life until perestroika in the mid-1980s when they virtually disappeared. Printed in varying quantities between five thousand and one hundred thousand, all these posters have had a very small lifespan, and many were often completely destroyed when no longer needed. Sergo Grigorian s collection offers a rare glimpse into a lost world whose history and artistic legacies are still with us today. 11 Alexander Deineka. We demand compulsory education for everybody, x 59.5 cm. Russian State Library, Moscow. Viktor Koretsky. Red Army soldier, HELP! x 30.5 cm. Iskusstvo.

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14 14 Cossack! Which side are you on? Are you with us or with them? Kosake! Zu wem gehörst du? Zu uns oder zu ihnen? 1918.

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17 This is what awaits peasants and workers because of the activities of deserters, self-seekers, and cowards, Das erleiden Bauern und Arbeiter durch Deserteure, Egoisten und Feiglinge,

18 18 Revolutionary song, Revolutionslied, 1919.

19 People of the world welcome the Red Army of workers, Die Völker der Erde begrüßen die Rote Arbeiterarmee,

20 20 Citizens, preserve historical monuments! Bürger, erhaltet die Kunstdenkmäler! The beginning of the Cultural Revolution caused tremendous damage to buildings, books, and works of art. Thousands of books were lost during the first years of the October Socialist Revolution, burned in the stoves or used as cigarette papers. Untold numbers of monuments and churches were destroyed by the Bolsheviks. This poster, as many others, is an effort to change people s perception of cultural values in the monarchist, capitalist past. Its aim is to explain the importance of culture as well as the value of knowledge and education

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22 22 It will not be like this anymore, So wird es nie wieder sein, 1919.

23 Wrangel advances Proletarians to arms! Wrangel kommt Proletarier an die Waffen!

24 UNVERKÄUFLICHE LESEPROBE Maria Lafont Soviet Posters The Sergo Grigorian Collection Paperback, Flexibler Einband, 286 Seiten, 19,5 x 24,0 cm 250 farbige Abbildungen ISBN: Prestel Erscheinungstermin: Februar 2007 Seit dem Ende des Kalten Krieges und dem Fall der Berliner Mauer ist die sowjetische Propaganda-Kunst als faszinierende Inspirationsquelle von Designern und Künstlern entdeckt worden. Die umfangreiche Plakat-Sammlung des russischen Kunstsammlers Sergo Grigorian umspannt den Zeitraum von 1917 bis zum Kalten Krieg und wird nun erstmals in Buchform präsentiert. Sowohl Arbeiten berühmter Avantgarde-Künstler wie Malevitch und Rodchenko als auch grafische Arbeiten anonymer Künstler finden sich unter den 250 abgebildeten Plakaten, deren wirkungsvoller Aussagekraft man sich nicht entziehen kann. Die Themen sind mannigfaltig, sie reichen von der Warnung vor Alkoholmissbrauch und der schleichenden Bedrohung durch die Nazis bis hin zur Verherrlichung der Sowjet-Arbeiter. Ein Buch, das kultverdächtig ist! (Englische Originalausgabe mit deutscher Übersetzung der Plakattexte.)