Communist Posters

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This digital collection comprises selected materials from the following archival collection at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library: Russian Posters collection 1919-1989 and undated Henryk Tomaszewski, who's the founding father of the Polish School of Posters, forged a deal with the Communist state, which changed the course of modern graphic design. Approached by the Ministry of Arts and Culture to design a film poster, he said he would only do it if he was given complete artistic free rein. On the centenary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ginsberg has edited a comprehensive presentation of the often vivid propaganda that, for the eyes of hundreds of millions in a pre-social media age, celebrated and condemned the likes of Castro, Mao, Lenin, Stalin, and the apparatchiks who tried to implement their theories and schemes. . . . Over 330 illustrations demonstrate the range and the scope beyond the U.S.S.R. and the P.R.C., with chapters on Korea, Mongolia, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and Cuba put in context with scholarly essays that cross-reference recurring themes." Older posters can fetch much higher prices. Pre-Second World War Soviet posters, in particular, are in demand. Though most Soviet posters were produced in print runs of 30,000 to 60,000, they were meant to be posted on walls and then disposed of, so few older examples have survived.

Seeing red: The propaganda art of China’s Cultural Revolution Seeing red: The propaganda art of China’s Cultural Revolution

They also shunned conventional layouts and hierarchy by integrating type and graphics rather than viewing them as separate elements. It may have been partly because fonts weren't available, so every letter was hand-drawn. This collection of 20th-century Russian posters spans almost the entire history of the Soviet Union (1917-1991). It can be divided into three main series, each representing distinct eras in the history of Communist political advertising. The General Political Poster series features works from the earliest days of Soviet power and is especially strong for the late 1920s, a period that coincides with the "cultural revolution" of I. V. Stalin. The Twenty-Second Communist Party Congress series includes electioneering placards from the early 1960s that graphically illustrate N. S. Khrushchev's promise to catch up and overtake the capitalist West. The Perestroika Era series, which rounds out this collection, is an assemblage of posters from the late 1980s that offers a poignant reminder of the promises and perils of the period of "restructuring" (perestroika) and "openness" (glasnost) under M. S. Gorbachev. Ha Qiongwen, “Long Live Chairman Mao” (People’s Republic of China, 1959) (courtesy University of Chicago Press) Relatively inexpensive, compared with Soviet-era paintings, for example, older examples from the 1920s and 1930s can be found in poster shops around the world. Take note: it is easy for both professional collectors and hobbyists to get burned. By its very nature, propaganda distorts the truth or tells outright lies. It targets our basest impulses—fear and anger, flight or fight. While works of pure propaganda may pretend to make logical arguments, they eliminate nuance and oversimplify complicated issues to the point of caricature. These general tendencies hold true in every case, but nowhere, perhaps, is this gross exaggeration and fear mongering more evident than in times of war.

Napoleon was defeated, that will be the case of the swelled-headed Hitler!" Reproduction of the poster from The State Historical Museum

Posters of the golden age of Soviet cosmonauts - BBC News Posters of the golden age of Soviet cosmonauts - BBC News

During the Cold War, Polish artists approached movie posters differently from the rest of the world. Instead of using stills or headshots, they often created imagery inspired by the movies themselves. When paired with an educational system that would indoctrinate and form a “new-man” to embody the Soviet cause, it seemed that the Soviet propaganda machine--and by extension, the Soviets--was unstoppable. The artists used their work to convey their disdain for the Soviet regime and against the use of violence but did so with humour and charm, and always subtly enough to get past the censors.Some Soviet graphic artists are particularly prized, such as Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg, Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky and Gustav Klutsis, partly because their vibrant, avant-garde designs have greatly influenced today’s western artists. Polish movie posters dwindled in production throughout the 1970s, and all but disappeared by the late 1980s. In 1989, film distribution was privatized, meaning that the once vibrant art form was dead.

Communist Posters for Sale - Fine Art America

And while we’ve all seen our share of wartime propaganda, we may be less familiar with the decades-long propaganda war the U.S. and Western Europe waged against socialism and Communism, even decades before the Cold War era. It may surprise you to learn that this offensive began even before the start of World War One, as you can see above in a British Conservative Party poster from 1909. Over the past few years, we have become friends with major gallery owners, collectors and poster experts in Poland, with who we work really closely. We're also meeting as many of the surviving artists as we can and the families of those who've sadly already died. What can you tell us about Projekt Mkt?But private entities did their share in the comic book war against Communism as well. Witness a particularly wild example, Is This Tomorrow?, above. Published by the “Catechetical Guild Educational Society” in St. Paul, MN, this 1947 comic implicates government regulation of business, social welfare programs, anti-religious sentiment, and “people giving up their silly ideas about ‘sacredness’ of life” in a fiendishly orchestrated plot to take over America. Workers who embrace Communist doctrine are little more than dupes and pawns. You can read the whole feverish scenario here. Iraklij Toidze. Stalin's speech at the ceremonial meeting devoted to the 24th anniversary of the 1917 Revolution. 1947 Often, poster makers were hired in-house by theaters, operas, and museums. This resulted in many unique perspectives on popular films. More often than not, Polish artists avoided a "literal translation of the plot" and instead sought to express the overall mood of the movie. This 1957 poster extols the virtues of Moscow sightseeing. Photograph: Wayland Rudd Archive/Yevgeniy Fiks/Flint