Authors

Erika Wolf¹;  ¹ Ne boltai! Collection of 20th Century Propaganda, New Zealand

Discussion

During the cultural ferment following the October Revolution, popular illustrated publications aimed at “the new Soviet person” explored diverse forms of photographic representation. In 1925, Nikolai Tarabukin asserted the central importance of previously marginal print media to the new culture and demanded the creation of new technological genres, including photo-caricature, which he deemed “an extraordinarily modern and necessary art form.”  

In the following years, photo-caricature flourished in Soviet visual culture. German communist media provided  Soviet photo-caricature key models, including Berlin Dada’s anti-aesthetic repurposing of photographic reproductions and John Heartfield’s illusionistic satirical photomontages. Unlike the limited-circulation “little magazines” of the historical avant-garde, Soviet photo-caricatures appeared in widely distributed newspapers and popular journals. During the Cultural Revolution, they were incorporated into agit-prop displays for major socialist holidays and handmade wall newspapers collectively produced for schools, clubs, and factories. While Socialist Realism in the 1930s prioritized optimistic, forward-looking cultural forms, caricature persisted as a domain for creative distortion and critical humor.

Through an analysis of photo-caricatures and related discourse—including discussions in the central press, professional photography publications, and instructional pamphlets—this presentation examines the key events, techniques, creators, publications, and genres of Soviet photo-caricature up to World War II.