On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the One-Street Museum on Andriyivsky Uzviz launched an exhibit entitled “Mouthpiece of the Soviet Period,” organized in collaboration with the Collectors Club. The exhibit consists of Hennadiy Kyrkevych’s private collection of posters reflecting a mythological history of a state, executed in the Soviet realist manner. Looking at the posters captioned “Revolutionary Theory: Our Powerful Weapon,” “WE Are Keeping Pace with the World,” “THEY (i.e., the imperialists — Auth.) Want to Start a War,” you wonder what it would be like if every day you had to see these smiling faces of Soviet machos and cheery-eyed women with their unwomanly professions. Perhaps I would now be standing in front of a monument to Lenin, sporting a red May 1st bow. How would I feel about scum like Stalin if I saw posters proclaiming “We Are Grateful to Our Beloved Stalin for Our Happy Childhood,” in which the leader is portrayed as the quintessence of gentleness? It is hard to rid oneself of stereotypes that were implanted on such a mass scale and so skillfully. These posters were produced by the most renowned and gifted artists, who were filtered through various competitions and selection processes. The works of Adolf Strakhov, a prominent artist of the 1920s, are a case in point. The items on display are interesting from both the artistic and historical points of view. Hennadiy Kyrkevych’s collection started out with several posters of the late Soviet period. He says that his love of collecting didn’t begin overnight, but once you start doing something, he says, you begin delving into the nuances and details. Today his collection numbers some 2,000 posters, many of which are rarities.
Do you have a favorite subject in the domain of poster art?
Kyrkevych: Every trend is interesting in its own way. There were so many artists, true masters engaged in this. All the works are unique. For me, the most interesting trend is represented by WWII posters. The past is the key to the future, as you can see the present through the prism of the past, and maybe return something. But I’m well aware that one should not return to everything. Of course, some people think, ‘What is this for? It’s better to throw all this out and forget about it.’ But I think that this has also been done to me often enough. It’s simply that we must preserve the memory and treat it properly.
There are not that many posters in the exhibit. Are you planning a larger show?
Kyrkevych: Yes, I’m planning a large display dedicated to all the unusual things that were generated by the Soviet period: samizdat, Soviet jokes, and the dissident movement. I am interested in all this. I also collect Soviet leaflets, rare photos of political leaders. So I have many plans.
