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ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS) Aarhus, Denmark
Saturday, November 5, 2005
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AARHUS, Denmark - An unprecedented art exhibition has opened in Aarhus,
Denmark, featuring Ukrainian poster art from the Soviet era.
The Exhibition opened amid the on-going debate on Ukraine's aspiration
to join the Euro-Atlantic communikty. More than 100 posters were
displayed in the exhibition gallery of the Aarhus Music House.
The posters cover the period from the 1950s to the end of the 1980s and
include images and text about the obligatory socialist "forward-to-
the-victory-of-communism" marches and "long-live-labour" slogans from
the Soviet era.
Poster art was big business in the Soviet system and was used as a very
effective way of glorifying the achievements of the Soviet people.
Poster artists had special schools, received studios from the State and
their posters, if approved, were purchased by the government. The state
also held special contests and awarded prizes. Millions of posters were
published each year in the Soviet Union by state owned publishing
companies.
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View of the exhibition hall
ArtUkraine.com photo
(Click on images to enlarge them)
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Posters were also designed to instill patriotism, pride, and the
struggle of the Soviet system for peace, a good harvest, against
imperialism and other such issues. The main purpose of Soviet
propaganda political posters was the promotion of Communist ideals and
goals among the population.
Under communism poster artists would have been arrested if their works
were politically incorrect or if they dared to criticize the
authorities.
Poster
publishing was under the strict control of the communist party and new
posters had to be approved by government committees at several levels
before they were published.
For the smallest disobedience to the party line, real or perceived,
artists were detained and questioned by the feared secret police. Many
of them suffered even worse fate. An artist could be in the favor of
the state one day and arrested the next.
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L-R Iryna and Volodymyr Veshtak, owners of the collection, Natalia Zarudna, Ukraine's Ambassador to Denmark, Per Nyholm, Danish journalist and Peder Stougard, director of the Museum at the opening ceremony
ArtUkraine.com photo
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The highlight of the 'Posters from Ukraine' exhibition were those
featuring themes about Ukrainian culture. They attracted special
attention from the audience.
A poster showing Taras Shevchenko, the most famous Ukrainian poet and
national hero, attracted great interest as well as posters with other
prominent figures of Ukrainian culture. Ukrainian folk ornaments are
used in some of the posters which gives them a beautiful and very
special look.
The posters for the exhibition were provided by Iryna and Volodymyr
Veshtak, Ukrainian poster and graphic artists, who are the owners of the
"Maisternia" gallery in Kyiv. The Veshtaks have a large collection of
posters.
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Iryna and Volodymyr Veshtak donated the over 100 posters shown in the
Exhibition to the Danish Poster Museum in Copenhagen to become a part of
the Museum's permanent collection.
The poster exhibit was organized by Heine Svejstrup Jensen, Honorary
Consul of Hungary in Denmark, who is a big fan of posters. Peter
Stougard, director of the Museum of Posters in Copenhagen also assisted.
Mr. Stougard owns a collection of 250 thousand posters, the world
largest collection of posters.
The Ukrainian poster exhibition will be presented in other towns and
cities of Denmark.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Denmark, Mrs. Natalia Zarudna, opened the event.
The Ambassador said she still remembers how propaganda posters in the
Soviet union accompanied every step of person's life, from birth to
death.
Mrs. Zarudna, who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, said posters are a very
specific kind of art. She said posters are a part of the historical
heritage of Ukraine and played an important role during crucial moments
in the history of Ukraine.
Mrs. Zarudna added that she is pleased to present the first exhibition
of Ukrainian posters in Denmark and hopes this exhibition will help
people in Denmark to learn more about Ukraine.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Denmark stated she is very positive about
Ukraine's future as a member of the European Union.
The exhibition will be on display in Aarhus until November 30, 2005.
Sponsors for the exhibition were Consul Heine Svejstrup Jenson, Danish
Poster Museum, Gallery Maysternia and the the Arhus Music House.
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A poster displayed at the exhibition
ArtUkraine.com photo
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A poster displayed at the exibition
ArtUkraine.com photo
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