Poster House Examines Early Soviet Constructivist Film Posters

The October Revolution of 1917 marked the end of the tsarist regime and the birth of the Soviet Union. The shift was bloody and swift; however, the all-encompassing transformation of the society had to be done in all the fields of human activity.

Media such as photography, graphic design, and film were seen as perfect vehicles for implementing socialist ideals. Arts and culture were no longer a privilege of the bourgeoisie but rather a means for emancipating the working people.

Poster House is hosting an exhibition titled The Utopian Avant-Garde: Soviet Film Posters of the 1920s, taking a closer look at the outstanding experimentation of the early Soviet era with an emphasis on poster art,

The Development of the Soviet Film Industry

In 1919, B=barely two years after the revolution, the film industry was nationalized by the Communist party and put under the supervision of the All-Russian Photography and Motion Picture Department. The same year, the first state-filmmaking school in the world, the First State School of Cinematography, was formed in Moscow.

The film production soon flourished and had a rapid and rather experimental development thanks to filmmakers such as Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein. These two figures introduced a new way of editing that had a tremendous impact on the further development of world cinematography.

In the Soviet vortex, where all things were interconnected for the sake of revolution, visual artists were motivated to respond to the new film aesthetic with their designs. Soon, cinema and graphic design became entwined, which led to an incredible production of posters throughout the 1920s.

The 1920s Avant-garde Posters

By showcasing experimental film posters, the upcoming show will explore the dominant patterns and strategies that informed the golden age of Soviet graphic design. At the forefront of this production stood the proponents of Constructivism, Suprematism, and Productivism such as Alexander Rodchenko, the Stenberg brothers, Semyon Semyonov, Anton Lavinsky, and Nikolai Prusakov.

Their bold designs have transformed the streets of Soviet cities and were used to engage people with both the new medium and the new aesthetic. The posters appropriated the spirit of experimental film techniques such as cutting edge editing and framing whether they have advertised Soviet or Western films.

Soviet Film Posters at Poster House

After Stalin consolidated his power as a leader of the Soviet Union, the state decided to move away from the avant-garde and embrace Socialist Realism as an official cultural doctrine. The age of experimentation was over, and the artists had either adapted to the new regulations or had to face prosecution and detention.

The golden age of Soviet graphic design was forcefully stopped and forgotten until the arrival of the first Western scholars amid the gradual collapse of the Soviet Union. Nowadays, these posters allow us to understand the unprecedented period of creativity in the history of humankind that enabled the progressive visions of graphic designers to shine through.

The exhibition The Utopian Avant-Garde: Soviet Film Posters of the 1920s will be on view at Poster House in New York from February 25th through August 21st, 2022.

Featured image: Alexander Rodchenko – Battleship Potemkin, 1925. The Ralph DeLuca Collection.