Synopses & Reviews
The tumultuous events of the Russian Revolution were matched by dramatic shifts in graphic art and design that continue to influence our visual landscape. David King, an expert on Soviet art and an internationally acclaimed graphic designer, selected the more than 165 posters reproduced here from his own unparalleled collection. Constructivist posters, socialist advertising, 1920s film posters, classic photomontage, the heroic posters of the Great Patriotic War, biting political satire, and the cult of personality of the Stalin years are all represented, as are artists such as Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, Gustav Klutsis, Dimitri Moor, Viktor Deni, and Nina Vatolina. King sets the posters in context and profiles the art directors and creative directors whose vision played such a vital role in creating these striking works.
Synopsis
German artist John Heartfield (1891-1968) is widely considered one of the inventors of photomontage. In the 1930s, he produced some of the most visually arresting and politically hard-hitting artwork of the 20th century, appropriating the widely circulated propaganda of the time to create its total antithesis. In his own words, he used andldquo;laughter as a devastating weaponandrdquo; to target the Nazis, which made him a target for Nazi censorship. In 1933, the Gestapo destroyed much of his work, after which he produced his brilliantly terrifying images in exile. This new book includes an insightful essay and more than 150 full-color reproductions of his works.
About the Author
David King is the author of The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalinand#8217;s Russia and Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the Death of Stalin. Former art editor of the Sunday Times (London), he is one of the worldand#8217;s preeminent collectors of Russian artifacts.