Figure 1 
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• This movement meant a new direction in art and its influences from technology, geometric shapes and photo montage will become a big part of the Soviet lifestyle.
• The context when this movement happened was after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. In this context ideas mattered, were very important even dangerous. The purpose of the ideas expressed through art started from something intangible to having the power to change society. In 1919 Lenin said
“Of all arts, for us cinema is the most important.”
(Gariff, D., n.d.)
• The start of the movies industry begun in 1920. The State Cinema Enterprise called Goskino opened in 1922 and was changed to Sovkino in 1926. The advertising department was called Reklam Film and the main roles were designing, approving and distributing film posters throughout the country. The advertising department was led by graphic design Yakov Ruklevsky.
• He recruited a lot of talented artists including the Stenberg Brothers, George and Vladimir, Nikolai Prusakov, Mikhail Dlugach and Alexander Naumov.
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Figure 9
• The golden age of the Russian film poster was between 1924 and 1930. They were seen as an ideal tool to educate the illiterate masses.
• Two of the most dynamic posters artists were the Stenberg Brothers Vladimir and George. Their work was based around Constructivist principles having art as a practice for social purposes.
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Figure 11
• This came to an end in 1930 because of Stalin who preferred art as propaganda rather the free expression to ideas. The work of filmmakers, writers and artists were censored. Anybody who refused to comply faced labour camp.
• The author Susan Pack says in her book Film Posters of the Russian Avant-garde,
“Stalin may have closed the window of creativity, but not before it had illuminated history with some of the most brilliant posters ever created.”
BBC Arts – To The Cinema, Comrades: The Revolutionary Age Of Soviet Film Posters
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• The posters have in common the influence of Russian style in different periods. Photo montage and print screen is present, as exaggerated scale, sense of movement, a dynamic use of colours and sans serif types. All of them are based on a controversial issue which has an impact both socially and culturally.
It is easy to take for granted dynamic composition of film poster at this stage but I believe the Russian style posters had a great influence in cinema and what the Stenberg brothers did on that period of time was unprecedented to the film poster art and will remain an inspiration for the artists to come.
Sources:
BBC. 2017. BBC Arts – BBC Arts – To The Cinema, Comrades: The Revolutionary Age Of Soviet Film Posters. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4F3Tn4PT9rdt8nntNJc5Dp6/to-the-cinema-comrades-the-revolutionary-age-of-soviet-film-posters ;
Being in orbit. n.d. Russian Constructivism: From Avant-Garde To Propaganda. [online] Available at: https://beinginorbit.wordpress.com/essays/from-avant-garde-to-propaganda/ ;
Brody, R., 2018. “Isle Of Dogs” Is A Stylish Revolt Against (American) Political Madness. [online] The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/isle-of-dogs-is-a-stylish-revolt-against-american-political-madness;
D’Souza, S., n.d. Soviet Film Posters Of The 1920S Exhibition | Just A Platform. [online] Justaplatform.com. Available at: https://www.justaplatform.com/soviet-film-posters-of-the-silent-screen-exhibition/;
Fomina, D., 2017. A Gallery Of Constructivist Film Posters. [online] Culture Trip. Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/a-gallery-of-constructivist-film-posters/;
Gariff, D., n.d. Russian And Soviet Cinema In The Age Of Revolution, 1917 – 1932. [ebook] Available at: https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/calendar/film/pdfs/notes/ngafilm-russian.pdf ;
Hillegas, L., 2019. The Constructivists Imagined A World Where Art Was Created In Factories. [online] Artsy. Available at: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-constructivism-brought-russian-revolution-art;
Rennie, P., 2018. Poster Service: Saul Bass’s Poster For Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. [online] the Guardian. <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/26/poster.vertigo>;
Vuong, T., 2008. The Stenberg Brothers – Revolutionary Poster Design. [online] Designhistorymashup.blogspot.com. Available at: <http://designhistorymashup.blogspot.com/2008/03/stenberg-brothers-revolutionary-poster.html>;
Webb, P., 2013. Stenberg Brothers Posters – Part 1. [online] Poulwebb.blogspot.com. Available at: http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/12/stenberg-brothers-posters-part-1_10.html;
Widewalls. 2016. Understanding The Significance Of Avant-Garde. [online] Available at: https://www.widewalls.ch/avant-garde-movement-theater-music-photography-contemporary-art/.
Images:
Fig. 1. https://arthive.com/artists/18753~Mikhail_Oskarovich_Dlugach/works/541385~Music_story_the_Musicalfeature_film;
Fig. 2. https://www.cinematerial.com/movies/himmelskibet-i8100/p/5tyjzm9s;
Fig. 3. http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/12/stenberg-brothers-posters-part-1_10.html;
Fig. 4. https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/575546027371951991/;
Fig. 5. http://www.artnet.com/artists/yakov-ruklevsky/the-bagdad-thief-f8ib682Xc3MOMcvHwASL5A2;
Fig, 6. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Russian-Avant-Garde-Cinema-Alexander-Naumov-Bella-Donna-Large-Litho-Movie-Poster-/233418554322;
Fig. 7. https://www.pinterest.se/pin/267401296601952167/;
Fig. 8. http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/12/stenberg-brothers-posters-part-1_10.html;
Fig. 9. https://www.cinematerial.com/movies/le-joueur-dechecs-i18045/p/ptegxjor;
Fig. 10. https://www.justaplatform.com/soviet-film-posters-of-the-silent-screen-exhibition/;
Fig. 11. https://www.justaplatform.com/soviet-film-posters-of-the-silent-screen-exhibition/;
Fig. 12. Webb, P., 2013. Stenberg Brothers Posters – Part 1. [online] Poulwebb.blogspot.com. Available at: http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/12/stenberg-brothers-posters-part-1_10.html;
Fig. 13. Webb, P., 2013. Stenberg Brothers Posters – Part 1. [online] Poulwebb.blogspot.com. Available at: http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/12/stenberg-brothers-posters-part-1_10.html;
Fig. 14. Vuong, T., 2008. The Stenberg Brothers – Revolutionary Poster Design. [online] Designhistorymashup.blogspot.com. Available at: <http://designhistorymashup.blogspot.com/2008/03/stenberg-brothers-revolutionary-poster.html>
Fig. 15. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043014/mediaviewer/rm3057726976;
Fig. 16. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5104604/mediaviewer/rm2831244544;
Fig. 17. Vuong, T., 2008. The Stenberg Brothers – Revolutionary Poster Design. [online] Designhistorymashup.blogspot.com. Available at: <http://designhistorymashup.blogspot.com/2008/03/stenberg-brothers-revolutionary-poster.html>;
Fig. 18. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063350/mediaviewer/rm3662516481.
Laura Elena Agafitei 