Openness and Idealism: Soviet Posters

Book excerpt: A revelatory compendium on the reinvention of Soviet poster art under Glasnost As we approach the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR, this publication looks back at the rich history of Soviet art from the USSR's final chapter: the colorful and radical posters of Glasnost. Ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev, Glasnost (translating as "openness" or "transparency") was a movement that allowed for artistic and open-minded alternatives to the state-endorsed Social Realism. Within this movement, posters became the primary vehicles for confronting the history of the USSR from the vantage of its impending dissolution. The book features approximately 212 reproductions of posters from the Martha H. and J. Speed Carroll Collection, as well as essays by Russian history scholar Andy Willimott and art historian Pepe Karmel, and an introduction by J. Speed Carroll. Also included are three interviews with Russian artists who produced some of the posters pictured, conducted by Russian translator Bela Shayevich.