The book talks about how important posters were in terms of revolution - when information was spread mostly by print
‘The face of revolution had been transformed…. Political
power, the institutions of government, the law itself, now derive their legitimacy
not from the divine right of kings but from the populace itself’
‘from the start modern revolutions have depended on forms of
mass persuasion and communication – broadsheets, radio, posters, television –
to build consensus as well as to promote partisan causes, to educate as well as
to mobilise and excite.’ Pg 20
In Russia, much of the population were illiterate so the illustrations on the posters were essential in sending a message - they needed to be clear and uncomplicated.
‘the print runs were so large and so potentially visible
within the public sphere that, in most countries, posters eventually came under
the authority of the state…. Throughout most of the industrialised world,
controls were also gradually extended regarding the surfaces and locations on which posters could be mounted.
The mere challenge of posting such enormous numbers of
sheets required an army of well organised and skilled affixers, often state
employees or party militants working at dusk, able to deploy quickly and
uniformly within a city’
‘the city as a whole was to awaken and find itself dressed
up in a fresh set of clothes’ pg 21 (look at this for practical?)
“collage city” – Colin Rowe ‘an environment saturated with
patchwork patterns of repetitions and disjunctions, with the very materiality
of poster-encrusted walls coming to embody the accelerated and compressed
temporality and spatiality of modern life’ pg 22
The posters were so effective in how they manipulated people that the government began to take charge of what posters were allowed to be printed - because they would cover the whole city after one night. They were extremely influential in the rise of the Russian Revolution against the government.
The different categories of poster:
THE MARCH
‘examines the presentation of crowds arrayed as army-like fronts… they occupy public thoroughfares, squares, and parks and target places of political significance in what amounts to the performance of symbolic acts of territorial conquest. Marches assume a central role in the art of the political poster.’ pg 13
‘formations, whether linear, quadrangular or wedge shaped,
become the mark of the collectives power, expressing clarity of intention and
unanimity of will. As such, they become dominant features in the art of the
political poster’ pg 26
‘in the modern era an array of intermediate forms of protest
and persuasion develops that allow the populace to express its will beyond
electoral politics. These forms draw their inspiration from religious and
military practices’ pg 26
THE MASS ORNAMENT
‘concerned with the abstraction of multitudes into
decorative patterns or backgrounds. On the one hand, the collectivity finds
itself transformed into geometrical figures by the manipulation of photographs’
‘on the other, it is treated as an abstract backdrop: the
multitude becomes the ground over which hovers the figure of the mass leader or
the modern state’ pg14
‘mass ornaments can be understood as allegories of the
collectivity’s united desires and social aspirations’ pg38
‘everywhere in 20th century political poster art…
the poster becomes an idealising mirror in which the collectivity can gaze upon
itself either in action or as the necessary background for social change.’
ANATOMIES OF THE MULTITUDE
‘crowds rarely appear in these images, except in the
symbolic form of hands, arms, ears and mouths, sometimes severed, sometimes
attached.’
‘anatomies demonstrates how the organs and extremities of
the human body – all having a long history as symbols of the intent of gods,
monarchs, or other ruling elites – become systematically identified with the
actions, desires and fears of the collectivity in 20th century
poster art’ pg 14
‘such figurative considerations helped poster artists solve
an otherwise intractable problem. How to represent the collective will…? The
solution was to identify single features of the human body with single actions
of the collectivity; to create a symbolic anatomy of the multitude here reduced
to seven operations involving hands, arms, ears and the human voice’ pg46
the fist
'Forward' artist unknown 1943/4
‘clenched, the hand is reattached to the arm so
that together they may assert their strength, their defiance, their potential
as a weapon. The fist rises up directly out of the people with the scales of
justice; it bursts the chains of injustice; it lends its strength to the
national army; it inflicts the enemy’s brand on the innocent’ pg47
the salute
'Your yes for the Fuhrer on 4th December' artist unknown 1938
'the fist opens up into a proliferation of signs,
of peace, of victory, of recognition of the sacred bond between individual
citizen and leader’ pg53
pointing the finger
Art Studio no.62 'To assist the industrial and financial plan, lets organise a production comrades court' 1931
'the finger points as an expression of the
popular vote; it denounces enemies and traitors; it underscores key political
objectives and causes. What was once the hand of god becomes the hand of the
body politic’ pg56
the open hand
'the hand leaves traces on a wall in the wake of a massacre;
its fingers extend a welcome, becoming an invitation to vote for a given
party’s election list; it pushes back and pushes off. Endowed with claws, it
becomes the grasping hand of an enemy collectivity; whether socialist forces
from within or an army invading from without.’ Pg59
the handshake
Sabinsky and Vesely 'Without the Russian October Revolution there would be no 5th May' 1945
'when two hands meet, a social pact comes into
being: among workers themselves, between social classes, between labour and
industry, the army, the state of the nation. A handshake seals the deal’ pg 62
the crowd's voice and ear
'1st October - all-union day of the shock worker' artist unknown 1931
'ideally, the political crowd speaks in the
single voice of virtue and truth, either as a chorus or as an individual
entrusted with the task of representing the collectivity. In reality, it is a
realm of differences and debate, animated by a mix of facts, opinions,
impressions, gossip, public secrets and private information that can become an
object of scrutiny both by the state and by its enemies, particularly during
times of social turmoil and military conflict. Exposed to the vast
proliferation of information and technologies of eavesdropping and
surveillance, the public receives a mixed message. Exercise your freedoms;
discipline your mouth and ears’ pg66
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