See USSR
07 June — 31 August 2013
FREE ENTRY
GRAD: Gallery for Russian Arts and Design opened in London on 7 June with its first exhibition ‘See USSR’, devoted to Soviet propaganda in the 1920s–1930s. ‘See USSR’ displays ‘external’ propaganda tools of the period, namely Intourist posters, magazines and ephemera, alongside ‘internal’ agitprop textiles.
SEE USSR
07 June — 31 August 2013
FREE ENTRY
Curated by Elena Sudakova and IRINA NIKIFOROVA
Exhibition design by Calum Storrie and Katya Sivers
Photographs by Henry Milner
‘See USSR’ is the first exhibition of its kind to display Soviet graphic design of the period from this particular perspective and on such a scale. Through a wide range of Intourist materials, the display presents a very different image of the socialist state than the one normally conceived both within and outside the former USSR – of a welcoming and hospitable country open to travellers from around the world.
Soviet Intourist, known to everyone outside the USSR as the state travel monopoly responsible for bringing foreign visitors, was established in 1929, and one of its primary goals was to promote the USSR to the outside world, both for commercial and for ideological reasons. With more than 30 offices opened abroad, Intourist worked hard on advertising Soviet spa resorts, cultural events and the pleasures of Soviet lifestyle - seductively attractive though entirely utopian. Intourist posters, brought together for the first time in the exhibition at GRAD, depict the USSR not as a country of workmen and peasants, but as a touristic paradise, in full accordance with Western marketing tools and modern advertising methods. Soviet graphic designers working for Intourist were closely studying European examples, trying to adopt a style and visual language familiar to Western audiences, and Art Deco gradually become one of their chief artistic influences.
All objects in ‘See USSR’ show are on loan from the archives
of Trekhgornaya Manufaсtura (Moscow) and Antikbar collection (London).
The Transsiberian Express
103 × 69
c. 1930
Vneshtorgizdat (?)
A3 £25, A1 £60
Buriato-Mongolia
71 × 59.5
c. 1934
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
See USSR
102 × 69
c. 1931
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
See USSR
100.5 × 69
c. 1930
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
See USSR
101.5 × 69.5
c. 1930
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
See USSR
100 × 67
c. 1931
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
(signed HOB in the lower right corner)
Gesellschafts und Einzelreisen in die Sowjet Union
98 × 73
c. 1934
Printed in Germany
A3 £25, A1 £60
Sergey Sakharov
Country of 189 Peoples
101.5 × 68
1934
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Viktor Klimashin
USSR
102.5 × 71.5
1935
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
The Leningrad Festival of Music
101 × 72
1934
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Leningrad Festival of Arts
99 × 68.5
1935
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Dance Festival
98 × 69
1936
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Fourth Moscow Theatre Festival
100 × 66
1936
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Moscou
93 × 64
1935
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Moscow
96.5 × 66
Late 1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Leningrad
103 × 76.5
1935
Vneshtorizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Leningrad
104 × 74
1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
By Air to USSR
93 × 61
1934
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Odessa–Istanbul
87.5 × 58.2
1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
London–Leningrad
88 × 62.2
1934
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Volga
97.5 × 64
1932
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
USSR Health Resorts
100 × 62
1930s
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
The Crimea
99 × 67
1935
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Crimea
72 × 50.5
1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Crimee
71.5 × 49
1935
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Caucasus
100 × 68.5
1936
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Georgian Military Highway
109 × 73.5
1939
Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga
A3 £25, A1 £60
L'Armenie Sovietique
90 × 62
1935
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Bakou
97.5 × 63.2
1938
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Shepetovka–Baku
88 × 62
1937
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Soviet Central Asia
94 × 62
1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Hunting in the USSR
103 × 75
1930s
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Die Natur der UdSSR
106 × 70
1935
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Die Jagd in der UdSSR
101.5 × 68.5
1931
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Sommersport in der UdSSR
102.2 × 62.5
1930s
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Winter in der UdSSR
87 × 61.5
1935
Vneshtorgizdat
A3 £25, A1 £60
Sport in der UdSSR
87 × 58.5
1930s
Printed in the USSR
A3 £25, A1 £60
Tbilisi
101 × 68
1930s
Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga
A3 £25, A1 £60
Alongside Intourist posters and travel magazines, ‘See USSR’ showcases Soviet agitprop textiles produced by Trekhgornaya Manufaсtura in Moscow in the 1930s. These printed fabrics meant for domestic consumption display typical socialist imagery featuring workers, party leaders, aircrafts and red flag patterns, and provide a striking contrast with the glamorous Intourist adverts exported abroad.
78 × 78
1927, Krasnopresnenskaya Trekhgornaya Manufactura
Print on cotton
The Second Congress of the Textile Workers
89 × 90
1930s, Krasnopresnenskaya Trekhgornaya Manufactura
Print on cotton
1905
120 × 73
1932, Krasnopresnenskaya Trekhgornaya Manufactura
Print on cotton
Portrait of Stalin
97.5 × 91.5
1937, Krasnopresnenskaya Trekhgornaya Manufactura
Print on cotton
Complementing these unique historical artefacts GRAD presents a contemporary reproduction of Nikolai Zhukov’s ‘See USSR’ poster from 1930. The lost artwork was reconstructed by British artist Henry Milner based on the archive image of the original poster, and printed at Curwen Press Studio in an edition of 75. These limited edition works are available to purchase in our Shop.
Nikolay Zhukov ‘See USSR’
1929—1930
Photograph
Henry Milner after Nikolay Zhukov
‘See USSR’
2013, printed by Curwen Press Studio, edition 75, 60 × 90
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‘SEE USSR. Intourist Posters and Marketing of the USSR’Edited by Elena Sudakova
Published to accompany the exhibition ‘See USSR’ Contents: ‘Intourist — an Alternative Truth’ by Elena Sudakova ‘Our Posters as Weapons of World Revolution’ by Irina Nikiforova ‘Soviet Textiles: Between Communism and Commerce’ by Alexandra Chiriac ‘Style and Font Design of Soviet Intourist Posters of the 1930s and their Place in Art Deco’ by Aleksandr Shklyaruk Biographies of Intourist Poster Designers For more information, please visit our Shop. |
SEE USSR EVENTS
FREE ENTRY
FUN TRAVELS, CHILDREN’S EVENTS
31 August 2013
GRAD invited little tourists for an afternoon of travel adventures, including the opportunity to create posters to advertise a dream holiday destination.
‘THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF MR. WEST IN THE LAND OF THE BOLSHEVIKS’ (dir. Lev Kuleshov, 95’, 1924)
30 August 2013
This screening offered a chance to see one of the earliest examples of Soviet anti-American propaganda. The film chronicles the adventures of an American tourist, Mr. West, and his faithful friend cowboy Jeddie, as they visit the land of savage Bolsheviks.
COMMUNIST CHIC: FASHION IN THE SOVIET UNION
29 August 2013
A late night opening dedicated to Soviet flappers and fashion in the USSR in the 1920s-1930s. Alex Chiriac assistant curator of GRAD, took us through the trials and tribulations of dress and textile design in the early years of the Soviet Union. She was joined by guest speaker Victoria Morris, who discussed the appearance of the NEPka, the Soviet Union’s equivalent of the flapper, in the mass culture of the 1920s.
TRAVELLING WITH INTOURIST
01 August 2013
A summer evening of readings and reminiscences about travelling with Intourist in the 1960s and ‘70s. Speakers Nicholas Murray and Richard Barling brought a personal perspective to the topic, recalling their journeys to Moscow in 1968 and the Southern Soviet Republics in 1977 respectively.
50 YEARS OF RUSSIAN HISTORY IN POSTERS, FROM TSARS TO DICTATORS
11 July 2013
The period 1890 to 1940 marks a profoundly turbulent phase of Russian history. Drama, trauma, war and political upheavals were very graphically reflected in the mass media of the period – namely posters. Collector Kirill Kalinin presented guests with a visual journey through these 50 years of history as narrated by poster art.
‘SEE USSR’ INTRODUCTORY SEMINAR
06 June 2013
Chaired by Professor John Milner (Courtauld Institute of Art), this seminar brought together a cast of international academics to discuss the function of graphic arts in the USSR, the role of magazines, posters and textiles in promoting the Soviet policy both at home and abroad and the wider issue of East/ West relations. GRAD was delighted to welcome the contributors from Moscow, Irina Nikiforova (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts) and Aleksandr Shklyaruk (Kontakt-Kultura Publishing House), as well as guests from closer to home such as Christina Lodder and Lutz Becker.