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1992 |
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Print, Invitation Ticket to Program in Polygraphic Design of Political Posters and Leaflets
This is a Print. It is dated ca. 1930 and we acquired it in 1992. Its medium is lithograph, typography on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
Poised in asymmetrical balance, bold blocks of color intersect and overlap in these Soviet-era tickets. These geometric compositions reflect the influence of Constructivism, an avant-garde movement characterized by abstract precision. This attention to form and balance seems remarkable in a ticket—an object more likely to be crumpled in a pocket or tossed in the trash than exhibited in a museum. The designers who made these tickets weren’t expecting them to last. In fact, the choice of such a transitory medium was deliberate; Constructivists were intent on reintegrating art and life. Whereas previous generations of artists showed their work in elite museums, Constructivists wanted to engage the public with their work. Like the candy wrappers, cigarette packs, and price tags they also created, tickets delivered constructivist design right into the hands of the proletariat. These tickets are invitations to public symposia on the Bolshevik Press, which showcased the very printing and design techniques exemplified by the tickets themselves.
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Mainstream Modernism: An Open Invitation.
It is credited Museum purchase through gift of Lucy Work Hewitt.
- Poster, The Reality of Our Program...Six Conditions for Victory
- lithograph on paper.
- Gift of Merrill C. Berman in honor of Ellen Lupton.
- 2014-20-5
Its dimensions are
7.5 x 9.5 cm (2 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.) (unfolded): 7.5 x 12.8 cm (2 15/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
Cite this object as
Print, Invitation Ticket to Program in Polygraphic Design of Political Posters and Leaflets; Russia; lithograph, typography on paper; 7.5 x 9.5 cm (2 15/16 x 3 3/4 in.) (unfolded): 7.5 x 12.8 cm (2 15/16 x 5 1/16 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Lucy Work Hewitt; 1992-167-8
