Page 54 - Studio International - October 1972

3 Red Square, Moscow, 1918. Demonstration for the first
anniversary of the October Revolution, showing the circus
artists' float. Written on the side is 'International Art'

4 One of the earliest agit-boats arriving at Saratov in 1920.
Named Red Star its mission was to honour 'electrification of
the village' which had a high government priority. Here Red
Army soldiers and local inhabitants are queueing to see a
political film. On the right of the boat is a jagged motif
depicting electricity
EXPLANATION OF THE SEQUENCE OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustrations in this article fall into three categories : • the first shows
two schemes drawn by artists during the early years of revolution, one
realized in Leningrad (by Altman), the other a project for Moscow
(by Kolli) which was not realized. Two illustrations indicate the kind of
people and sites which this art was intended to reach : the first is Moscow
in 1918 ; the second, of 1920, shows an agit-boat newly arrived at a
provincial town. By 1921 the privations of the civil war had a
dampening effect on even minimal public spending on art. Later, during
the N EP period of the twenties, the slackening of the ideological drive
was apparent in the two major annual holidays—in May and November—
which assumed.a more purely carnival aspect. But 1927, the tenth
anniversary of the Revolution, left some memorable street works,
unfortunately not illustrated here, and 1931-2 saw the last flowering of
the serious and ambitious aims of the earlier years. • The advent of
Hitler offered a sobering and effective subject for political content; two
illustrations show Leningrad works which dealt with this theme. After
this the dark period of the thirties effectively dampened these public
events ; there followed the war and the subsequent period of austerity. 5 Agit-prop figure floating on a Leningrad canal, 1931. Note
• In recent years, however, the tradition has given evidence of a vigorous the swastika on his cuff and the top hat of the capitalist, on his
revival, instanced in the last illustrations which take us up to the shoulder is a group of three buildings on which is written
Leningrad of 1967 and 1970. BANK in the roman alphabet. The claw finger nails are also a
typical device
6 Decor of the central tribune, Uritsky Square, Leningrad,
used for the November 1931 and May 1932 celebrations. This
was a project of enormous dimensions on the anti-fascist
anti-capitalist theme; Hitler was not yet in power when it was
designed and realized. From contemporary accounts it made
use of mixed media effects, i.e. sound, theatrical
performance, etc. The general theme was called 'The war of the
two worlds' and was largely planned by a Leningrad
Komsomol group

7 Cosmos, 8 Structure of a Diamond. These two works were
realized in Leningrad for the November 1967 celebrations of the
50th anniversary of the Revolution. They were designed by a
group of young Moscow artists, 'Movement', who wanted to
emphasize dynamism and movement as well as scientific
achievement. They planned programmed rhythms and sounds
as part of a mixed-media scheme. These works were placed
on the University embankment of the river Neva, Leningrad.
Artists working on these works included Lev Nusberg,
CAPTIONS TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS Francisco Infante and Galina Bitt under the direction of the
chief artist of the city V. A. Petrov

1 N. Ya. Kolli's The Red Wedge 1918, a project for a monument
9, 10 Winter Palace Square, Leningrad, 1970. The
in Voskresenskaya Square, Moscow
commemoration of the centenary of Lenin's birth. The vast
scale of this facade is evident from the photographs. The figure
2 Nathan Altman's sketch for decorating one side of Uritsky
of Lenin is brought forward in slight relief, and during the day
Square, Petrograd (Leningrad), November 1918— to
casts a varying shadow on the panel behind. This was painted in
commemorate the first year of revolutionary government.
a clear red showing the detailed figures of a vast crowd where
(Uritsky Square later reverted to its former name of Winter
the silhouettes of their heads define the jagged top against
Palace Square). This was to be a wooden hoarding depicting the
the sky. Designed and erected under the direction of the chief
silhouette of the trees of the park behind, and written on it
city artist, Petrov
'Proletarians of all countries unite'.