tutorial

I had a useful tutorial, we mostly went through the structure for the rest of my essay - the first chapter needs to lay the groundwork of the conditions in russia which lead to the revolution and all the amazing artwork to be created which I have done. 

But I need to have more of an argument within the essay - what am I trying to say, what is the point of the essay? What we came up with was:

I am arguing that the short time in Russia immediately after the revolution was one of the most powerful and pivotal periods in terms of creativity and innovation; that has had a direct influence on design for the subsequent decades.

Also, the essay needs to be split into more chapters, 4-5 rather than 3, which might make it easier to organise because at the moment my 2nd chapter has lots of different information in it which could definitely be split apart.
Vague outline of new structure:

Introduction (500?)

1 - history (1500)
what were the unique conditions that had an effect on creativity? what was the political situation in russia, why did the revolution have to happen

2 - innovation, propaganda, revolutionary (1500)
cheap printing, unlimited reproductions and the effect it had on propaganda - importance of posters in other areas of history
initial steps Lenin took in terms of propaganda
pick out key posters
specific persuasion techniques - what is it that manipulates us

3 - synergy with culture (1500)
Lenin's vision of communist visual identity
'New Economic Policy' - why there was now a need for advertising
rodchenko's adverts
other areas propaganda went into; kids books, board games, textiles, fashion
burst of energy to create this innovative work, to carve a new path in terms of design

4 - stalin (1500)
where all the innovation stopped, why did everything change once stalin came into rule (brief history) the purges on the old bolshevik party, on intellectuals and artists
what were the new conditions
stalin and lenin cult - big brother
compare how revolutionary artists were now having to work
compare products to the ones rodchenko designed
propaganda now (socialist realism) 
unfinished constructivist projects symbolic of the failure of constructivism, communism and the revolution; it was merely a utopian dream

5 - influences / conclusion (700)
find traces of propaganda today, were have they taken influence from (pick out exact pieces)
although they have different meanings in todays society, the aesthetic has been extremely influential 
shepherd fairey, korean propaganda, album covers, poster art etc. 
although the theory of communism didn't work, it can't be denied that the work that came out of such a short period of time has still been the source of inspiration and reference for graphic design almost 100 years since the revolution. It may have not been their aim at all but it is definitely something to be admired. 


In terms of practical, I'm still a bit unsure about where to go. I definitely shouldn't be illustrating my essay, so creating a narrative book documenting the revolution isn't the right direction. I can't ignore politics, it dictates our society and there is a lot going on at the moment with Corbyn. So I should try and relate my work to current issues, possibly student riots?
Teresa suggested looking at things like climate change, tracking, industrial farming and then maybe apply the constructivist aesthetic to illustrate it - maybe make a series of posters promoting sustainable living for the people.
I need to have a think and do some research into current issues and by next week for the practical tutorial I needs:
- more relevant sketchbook work
- write myself a brief with the type of work I aim to make, what format and what themes I want to explore

development

I tried illustrating the storming of the winter palace, I like how it turned out, it was only a rough sketch but I think it is quite atmospheric, it illustrates a feeling of revolution and anger against the dark, towering palace. It gave me an idea that maybe I could start trying to illustrate the timeline of the revolution - from life under the Tsar to Lenin gaining power as there would be some key, striking imagery within that. It could be in the form of a book perhaps and be educational - possibly for older children, to teach about that period of time, as not many people are taught that period of history in schools. This might not be a solid idea but I think its a good starting point to start creating imagery.

Once in power, Lenin used all the resources at his disposal to spread the word of communism, Russia is a massive country, with masses of countryside no where near cities so he branded trains, tractors with the Bolshevik message to make sure the whole country was behind him. I thought that could be interesting to illustrate, and although its rough there is a sense of narrative within this image. 

jeremy corbyn

I found this photo posted by 'the economist' on instagram of Jeremy Corbyn:

This is pretty much exactly like this piece of propaganda of Lenin:

I think it is interesting that they are comparing Corbyn to Lenin, in the comment section on instagram lots of people are complaining that its promoting communism and is 'Stalin-esque' but although Corbyn has said he admires the views of Karl Marx, I think this illustration is showing him more like a revolutionary figure. At the moment all the politicians sort of blend into one with their look and their views but Corbyn has come in looking a bit rougher than the others and being so much more left-wing than labour politicians have been recently and is shaking everything up a bit, which is what Lenin did when he began - he was different to what Russia was used to. 

poetry book

I found out about a poetry book, written by Vladimir Mayerkovsky and illustrated by El Lissitzky called "For the Voice", it isn't necessarily political but does have a similar aesthetic. They had a copy in the Vernon street library but it was an artists book so unfortunately I couldn't take it out or photocopy any pages, but I could take photos:

They had an english and Russian version which was useful as it meant I could understand the illustrations next to the poems

It was a really nice book to look at, the graphic design within it was so innovative, and there is a code at the side of the book so you can flip to particular poems for ease (as it was meant to be a poetry book to be read aloud) so it is very functional, which was the main aim of the constructivists as well as some of the poems being about communism and the revolution. This doesn't really relate to what I'm doing as it isn't overtly political but I think it is a good example of the aesthetic in Russia at that time. 

propaganda within culture

I wanted to collect some of the images that depict the propaganda infiltrating the culture of Russia:

I find all these images fascinating to explore, they managed to create a society where all elements of culture looked exactly the same and spread the same message, so much so that to think anything different would be very difficult. 

initial sketches

I have felt quite stuck with my practical, I don't really have a clear idea of where I want to go with it or what I want to say with my work. So I tried to take a step back and just look at the general themes around my topic like - industrial, revolution, factories, smoke, emblems, red, inventions, education, manipulation, flags, guns etc. and just start making imagery even it isn't going anywhere; maybe an idea will evolve out of what I am making. 

key visuals

"Storming of the Winter Palace"

This is a key image because it depicts the communists taking charge and rioting against the provisional government who took the place of the Tsar. It was after this that Lenin came into power and Russia became a communist state.

"Cocoa'

Artist Rodchenko and write Mayerkovsky created advertisements for the government owned supermarket branding for all the products sold within it. It is a key image because it illustrates how the propaganda aesthetic infiltrated all areas of Russia, even the slogans for the cocoa was propaganda-esque; it read: 

“Comrades, don’t argue! Soviet citizens will become stronger in sport. In our might is our right. And where is this strength? In this cocoa”

They would often appeal to viewers sense of guilt, use literary techniques within the writing such as repetition and alliteration, they made out that buying this product would in some way benefit society - food advertisements were also being used as a tool to promote the communist philosophy

Vladimir Tatlin - "Counter-Relief" and "Monument to the third International"

This is a key image because it illustrates how creations made out of the early 1913 movement 'Suprematism' were altered to fit the government's requirements. Suprematism and early constructivism was still focused around non-objective ideas, and work that was created was not functional in society. So with these sculptures Tatlin produced, he altered and developed the idea into a proposal for a new government building which was considered to be helping the revolutionary cause

"Beat the Whites with the Red wedge"

A piece of propaganda produced by El Lissitzky, he was a suprematist artist, a movement which was considered non-functional, too speculative and a waste of time by constructivists and the communist government. But this piece demonstrates how the suprematist style could be used to illustrate a clear message using geometric and non-representational shapes. It became a key propaganda poster because of the lack of words - Russia had a very high illiteracy rate, and this poster sends a clear, revolutionary message without the use of words

"Have you volunteered for the Red Army?"

A propaganda poster by Dmitry Moor, it is key because it illustrates the Communist party's constant appeal to viewers sense of guilt and fear. The Russian workers were pushed to rise up against imperialism and fight for the communist cause.

revised structure

An examination of the success of visual propaganda used during the period of the Russian revolution from 1917-1924 and how it infiltrated the culture of the time

INTRODUCTION
- what the question is asking, brief overview of aim
- overview of contents within the chapters
- my methodology of working; what lens did I use, methods of research, why I decided to not look at certain aspects


CHAPTER 1
A historical background of russia
- life under the Tsar, what russia looked like, what art was like, why was there a need for a revolution
- Lenin and his utopian idea of communism, why was it needed? What was his vision? His outlook on art and design
- why was propaganda needed, how it was produced/distributed; printing relatively new process, would cover whole cities in posters, distribution was on such a massive scale
- compare pieces of art/propaganda from the two time periods

CHAPTER 2
- overview of constructivism, what the movement stood for, why it fit so well with communism, how it became the aesthetic of the revolution
- analyse particular pieces of propaganda; key figures (rodchenko, lissitzky) look at particular design techniques
- look at propaganda within the russian culture, how it took forms other than posters
- textiles, film, theatre
- look at psychological angle of propaganda; what we are more susceptible to, what will be more effective; apply that information to certain propaganda pieces 
- how the same aesthetic was everywhere, so even children's books, instruction manuals had the same look as the posters - they could even be considered propaganda

CHAPTER 3
- briefly look at the sudden contrast into Stalin's russia, how that also moved with the politics - they had lost Lenin's vision and turned communism into something much less for the people and more about stalin
- what is russia like now? examine russia under Putin?
- propaganda today, focus on north korea and possibly other forms of poster art which encompass a similar aesthetic
- end on a strong examination of a piece of propaganda which has lots of design techniques/was very effective

CONCLUSION
- propaganda was essential for success of russian revolution
- constructivism was short lived, but had such a massive influence on the rest of the world - everything about it highly innovative
- when considering revolution, that is the visuals usually accompanying
- has inspired a lot of other art movements, poster art etc. 
- the idea of communism may of not worked, but the effect of the propaganda managed to unite masses of people to revolt and stand up for what they wanted, and then succeed

tutorial

My tutorial went well, I need to tweak my question a bit more, make it less of a 'yes or no' answer and more of an exploratory statement. possibly something like:

'An examination of visual propaganda during the period of the Russian Revolution from 1917-1930 and how it infiltrated the culture of the time'

Teresa suggested I talk about how russia was just before the revolution, under the rule of the Tsar, looking at what art was like, how the streets looked - were there propaganda posters then? And then have imagery of the initial propaganda created in 1917, examine the contrast.
I could also look at how Russia is today, the art and visual work created under Putin's rule, whether propaganda still exists in a big way.

I need to do a lot more thinking about my practical, but I think ideas might start coming once I begin making and playing with the different processes. I could possibly start making simple compositions and juxtapositions using the aesthetic while also getting my head around screen printing. 

Over the next two weeks until tutorial:
- do more focused reading
- start sketch booking, coming up with compositions/ideas
- make clear structure for essay
- write draft of first chapter
- bring in 5 key visuals of russia before and after revolution

revised proposal

cop task

1.

My question is

‘Was the success of the Russian revolution down to their use of propaganda? - Focusing on their design techniques and how it infiltrated the culture of the time’

Russia was under the rule of Nicholas II, a dictatorship where the people were not considered – there was a shortage of money and food, this lead to the rise of communism, lead by Lenin, who eventually overthrew the royal family. Communism was a relatively new concept and appeared to be a utopian idea, which was a government who were for the people.  I am interesting in exploring the propaganda created for the communists as it was very innovative design work at the time and played a massive part in organising people together. I also want to look at the art movement ‘Constructivism’ became the communist aesthetic, it infiltrated all forms of culture, any design/art created was for the people and to enhance society.

This is important to me because this period in Russia has been of interest to me for a long time; I find the continuous influence of art/design and politics fascinating. Also, the constructivist aesthetic is something I am influenced and inspired by a lot by in my work.

This project will contribute to my development in the next year because it will allow me to work a lot more with printing processes (especially screen print) which I feel I haven’t made enough use of yet.

2.

I am going to go about researching it by reading around the subject – books/articles/journals about Russian art, propaganda, design techniques in propaganda, examples of propaganda today, the psychology behind poster art/advertising/propaganda. Also I will research by making; doing drawing and screen-prints, exploring different subject matter using a constructivist approach.

I will accomplish my goal by creating a timetable, and stick to it. I have to make sure I don’t leave the practical for too long as I want my practical and essay to work together.

My practical outcome will be an exploration into the constructivist aesthetic, and methods of the period (screen printing, quick processes, photo montage). I am not certain of the subject matter but I will start by exploring technical processes. I want to look at illustration/art as a function, so possibly instruction manuals, info-graphics, or children’s books? I am interested in looking at the educational side of illustration this year, being able to condense ideas into simple images/shapes.

3.

Books:

‘Revolutionary Tides: the art of the political poster’

‘Iron Fists: branding the 20^th century totalitarian states’

‘Age of Propaganda: the everyday use and abuse of persuasion’

‘Russian Revolutionary Posters’

‘Graphic Agitation’

‘Forbidden Art: the post-war Russian avant-garde’

‘1984’

‘Rodchenko’

Texts by Rodchenko, El Lissitzky, Karl Marx, Lenin

Films/videos

‘The art of Russia’ (documentary)

‘They Live’ (film)

‘Propaganda’ (documentary)

Tsar to Lenin’ (documentary) 

group tutorial

I felt my presentation/tutorial went well. Before the tutorial I was finding it quite hard to focus in on what I wanted to say and what the project was actually about, so I think the actual presentation was a bit complicated. But I got a lot of good, useful feedback:
- focus on either Russia or Germany because they are both massive subjects, and I would have to look into the history of both, and it would become difficult constantly trying to link the two together in an essay
- for some modern examples of propaganda I should look at North Korea, which is under a dictatorship and uses propaganda a lot to manipulate the people. They also have a similar use of architecture - with the huge monumental structures which are used to intimidate
- for the practical I could look at Shepard Fairey, especially his 'Obey' work which is based on the 80s films 'They Live' which explores the manipulative meaning behind advertising (billboards with advertising would turn into just the word 'prey' when special glasses are out on)
- look at street art, it is the only type of art still illegal (in some areas), it is a way of getting around the constraints of society out on by the government
- look at the DIY approach to making prints/artwork, where nothing gets in the way of making art (look at Poland; paper was banned but artists found others ways to print)
- movement of technology, printing was a revelation, it was so quick and cheap, nothing like it had been seen before. Screen printing and other print processes are coming back -reverting to the traditional
- look at other poster artists who have taken influence from the constructivist movement

Some texts/films/practitioners to look at:
- Shepard Fairey
- Graphic Agitation
- Other texts written by Steven Heller (wrote Iron Fists)
- 'They Live'
- Orwell's 1984
- North Korea's use of propaganda