Soviet Space Art
August 2, 2007 2:50 PM Subscribe
That the first space race was politically motivated shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of Soviet propaganda space art. More here and here.
Brilliant! I love this kinda stuff. Thanks for the links ...
posted by homodigitalis at 3:19 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by homodigitalis at 3:19 PM on August 2, 2007
That first graphic, the link for "Soviet" of the match box top, I swear I've seen before. But... it was made 18 years before I was born, and I don't have the faintest clue where I would have seen it.
Maybe it's the particular color scheme and screen-print look or something.
Anyways, trikes a deep chord in a creepy way for me, and it's a really awesome design.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:38 PM on August 2, 2007
Maybe it's the particular color scheme and screen-print look or something.
Anyways, trikes a deep chord in a creepy way for me, and it's a really awesome design.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:38 PM on August 2, 2007
Ugh, should be "strikes," not "trikes.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:38 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:38 PM on August 2, 2007
...closing quotation. Keyboard is sticking.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:39 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:39 PM on August 2, 2007
We know what you've been doing.
posted by Grangousier at 3:40 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Grangousier at 3:40 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
SmileyChewtrain, a modified version of that image (sans the CCCP on the helmet) used to appear in the CSA Images catalog. The csaimages.com site doesn't seem to have it anymore, unless I missed it.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2007
Um. Sorry.
When I went on a school trip to the Soviet Union during the Falklands war (just a coincidence - I wasn't trying to escape conscription or anything), we were told that the Space Pavilion (which was the only Soviet museum anyone was interested in) was closed that year. Or that decade, I'm not sure. Mischa, our Intourist tour guide, was quite jolly in the face of tourist attractions being closed at the drop of a hat for indeterminate, but very long periods of time.
Instead we were taken to the Pavilion of Fur, which was a lot less interesting, although there was a gold statue of the Spirit of Fur, surrounded by furry creatures, and two live, but understandably depressed, mink, one of whom was called Boris, if I remember correctly.
posted by Grangousier at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2007 [2 favorites]
When I went on a school trip to the Soviet Union during the Falklands war (just a coincidence - I wasn't trying to escape conscription or anything), we were told that the Space Pavilion (which was the only Soviet museum anyone was interested in) was closed that year. Or that decade, I'm not sure. Mischa, our Intourist tour guide, was quite jolly in the face of tourist attractions being closed at the drop of a hat for indeterminate, but very long periods of time.
Instead we were taken to the Pavilion of Fur, which was a lot less interesting, although there was a gold statue of the Spirit of Fur, surrounded by furry creatures, and two live, but understandably depressed, mink, one of whom was called Boris, if I remember correctly.
posted by Grangousier at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2007 [2 favorites]
why is it that soviet propaganda from the 70's looks so much like "It's a small world"? Was it just the era? Were pastels and golden outlines mandatory back then or what?
posted by Avenger at 4:01 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by Avenger at 4:01 PM on August 2, 2007
Man, I love soviet art.
posted by Hildegarde at 4:27 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by Hildegarde at 4:27 PM on August 2, 2007
The pic in the "Soviet" is my new desktop wallpaper. Awesome. Thanks.
posted by slogger at 4:38 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by slogger at 4:38 PM on August 2, 2007
This is one of my favorite bits of space-iana... I keep meaning to order one. Or two and send the other to Ken MacLeod, except he might dislike anything that close to Stalin. (link goes to poster shop)
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:39 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:39 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]
This stuff is great. Nice post, thanks!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:15 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:15 PM on August 2, 2007
ROU, very cool design. The translation is a bit unfortunate, though: could be taken in a galactic gulag sense. I'd say a better rendering is "Space Will Serve Mankind."
Oh wait, maybe that's not any better ...
posted by rob511 at 5:18 PM on August 2, 2007
Oh wait, maybe that's not any better ...
posted by rob511 at 5:18 PM on August 2, 2007
yes... fabulous post. i love this stuff. i am still trying to find the awesome apollo-soyuz poster my dad got me when i was a kid. i guess there just arent any around anymore...
posted by joeblough at 5:20 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by joeblough at 5:20 PM on August 2, 2007
This one, especially the text, is pretty compelling. The description says it was designed after the Soyuz 1 disaster, the first fatality in the history of space travel.
posted by churl at 5:59 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by churl at 5:59 PM on August 2, 2007
ROU, very, very cool. I'm going to have to order one to go with my vinyl recording of Gagarin's transmissions to earth from Vostok 1.
Cool post!
posted by trip and a half at 6:15 PM on August 2, 2007
Cool post!
posted by trip and a half at 6:15 PM on August 2, 2007
This one particularly, had me pondering a Tintin influence.
posted by phoque at 6:27 PM on August 2, 2007
posted by phoque at 6:27 PM on August 2, 2007
In the thread about the Russians planting a flag on the Arctic sea bed, brownpau posted this awesome link to a page about the metallic pennants the Soviets put in their space vessels and dropped on the Moon and Venus. Not exactly propaganda art, but I thought it fit with this post's theme enough to point to it here for those who didn't see it earlier.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:17 AM on August 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by Sangermaine at 12:17 AM on August 3, 2007 [2 favorites]
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posted by Artw at 3:07 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]