Illustration from The Results of the First Five-Year Plan
Varvara Stepanova. 1932 C.E. Russian. Photomontage
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There is a sharp contrast between the black and white photographs and the red elements, such as the electric tower, the number 5, and the triangle in the foreground. Our eyes are attracted to these oppositions and by the contrast between the indistinct masses and the individual portrait of Lenin, as an implicit reference to the Soviet political system.
Form
This was a double page spread in a book. In this photomontage, Vladimir Lenin, revolutionary leader of the Bolshevik cause, orates over an eager audience. The silhouette of a red transmission tower is just to the left of him, a sign of industrial progress. The wires of the tower connect him to the speakers at the far left, which broadcast his message to the hordes of people below. Red was a powerful symbol for the USSR and the Bolshevik Army, of which countless working class volunteers made up.
Function
This was graphic art in the service of political and propaganda purposes. This rousing depiction of Lenin and the regime is an example of communist propaganda at its most artistic. It’s a photomontage, which became a popular art form after Lenin declared that photography could be used as a tool for the revolution. Layering photography, graphic design, typography, magazine images, and text, photomontage could communicate broadly—to both literate and illiterate audiences. The purpose of the magazine was to show countries such as France and Great Britain that the USSR was also a leading force in the global market and economy. By choosing to include images rather than just articles, the public would be able to see with their own eyes the accomplishments achieved under Stalin.
Content
Red dominates the color of the Communist Soviet Union. The CCCP is a Russian abbreviation for the Soviet Union. A large portrait of Lenin dominates, although deceased, his image is used to stimulate patriotism. This photomontage is an ideological image intended to help establish, through its visual evidence, the great success of the Plan.
Context
The Five Year Plan was the soviet practice of increasing agricultural and industrial output in five years; launched in 1928 and considered complete in 1932. There was an emphasis on the growth of heavy industry rather than consumer goods. Huge increases in electrical output. Constructivists experimented with new architectural materials and assembled them in a way devoid of historical reference. Beginning in 1914, Stepanova and others saw the new Russia as an idealistic center removed from historic reference and decoration. Influenced by the cubists, Constructivists designed buildings with no precise facades. Emphasis was placed on the dramatic use of the materials used to create the project.
Innovation
Stepanova was on of the main figures in the Russian avant-garde movement. Stepanova’s work was influenced by cubism and fu- turism. Although Stepanova worked hand in hand with the Soviet government, her work shows great personal creativity. By using vibrant color, and striking images in a dynamic composition, she pioneered photomontage and revolutionized the way we now understand photography. Stepanova’s photomontages are an important reminder of how an artist can blur the line between aesthetic passion and ideology. Socialist Realism was a style of art found especially in the Soviet Union, China, other communist nations from the 1930s until the 1980s. Its images of happy, healthy, and productive workers celebrated labor’s role in making the state strong. It used bright colors and bold, easily understood graphics and was often used as propaganda.
Artistic Decision
She commonly mis-matched the scale of photographic elements to create a sense of dynamism in her images. Despite the flat, paper format, different elements are visually activated and can even seem to ‘pop out.’ Several clear artistic oppositions are visible in The Results of the First Five-Year Plan. For example, there is a sharp contrast between the black and white photographs and the red ele- ments, such as the electric tower, the number 5, and the triangle in the foreground. Our eyes are attracted to these oppositions and by the contrast between the indistinct masses and the individual portrait of Lenin, as an implicit reference to the Soviet political system. As the term photomontage suggests, images are combined and manipulated to express the message the artist wants to convey. This image celebrating of the results of the First Five-Year Plan is the artist’s interpretation of events, under the strict supervision of Party ideologues.
Interpretation
The creation of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) was thought to be a watershed moment by many in Russia. Artists and the intelligentsia of the time saw it as a bold step forward for a people who had suffered with extreme poverty under an inept monarchy for far too long. Stepanova considered herself a constructivist and part of a larger artistic movement that united Soviet artists under a shared set of graphic design principles. As a contributor to a publication titled USSR under Construction, Stepanova was particularly invested in promoting the USSR through visual and written propaganda. While Soviet art and propaganda was all about suggesting progress, things went downhill after Lenin’s death in 1924 when Stalin became a totalitarian dictator. His rule led to the deaths of millions of Russian peasants who’d lost their land to the state.
