Rodchenko and Popova both produced propaganda and educational posters. The Bolsheviks recognised the importance of boldly designed visual materials in winning support for their ideas, especially given the low levels of literacy in Tsarist Russia.
Among Rodchenko’s projects was a series of posters illustrating the history of the Bolshevik party, incorporating archival images, excerpts from newspapers and other documents. Rather than imposing an overarching narrative, Rodchenko’s design encourages viewers to immerse themselves in the historical material, sift the evidence and make their own assessment.
This section also includes slogan-posters designed by Popova as projected elements for Earth in Turmoil 1922–3, a theatrical collaboration with Meirkhol’d. The production was intended to be the visual equivalent of a propaganda poster, with a montage of political quotations, party slogans and film excerpts providing an ideological commentary on the action.
