The time has arrived for propaganda chic to lose its lustre. A dash of revolutionary graphics was once a layer of retro-ironic gloss for ad campaigns, book illustrations or even a blank brick wall in a SoHo loft. No longer. The simple fact is that Revolutionary art is all played out and Soviet Posters holds plenty of clues as to why. The first half of this compact monograph – which features posters from the collection of Sergo Grigorian – contains plenty to admire. The undeniable brilliance of early constructivism represents the purest distillation of aesthetic ideals into pure visual drama ever concocted. But as Stalin’s grip tightened, modernism gave way to the fetid kitsch of Soviet Realism, all muscled tractor mechanics and glassy-eyed children. Although the official style see-sawed between the two for the last years of the Soviet Union, the best place for the most mawkish imagery remains in a monograph.
INFORMATION
Soviet Posters: The Sergo Grigorian Collection, Maria Lafont, (Prestel, £12.99)
- Website
- http://www.prestel-uk.com
