Art is incredibly vital to any political movement. It is used to motivate people to join a cause and it is used to show the reasons for a revolution. At the Jewish Museum, we saw two different exhibits showing revolutionary art; art criticizing government and art that moved people emotionally to take part in a revolution. In the exhibit regarding Russian Avant-Garde from 1918 to 1922, I found a piece by David Yakerson named “Red Guards”. It grabbed my attention because it reminded me of the art that my peers create and put on signs when it comes time to organize our communities. It was a simple piece of art. There were 3 basic colors on it, red, blue and yellow, but that is all you need to capture someone’s attention. The foreground of the painting is very symmetrical and repetitive, and the background shows an image of a factory.
I was very intrigued by this art that I even went home to learn more afterward, but it was difficult to find out more, there were not many articles about it and there was only 1 photo of the piece online when you typed the title and artist name into the search engine—I have never had this happen before. It was painted in 1918 and it was designed to be on a banner for the first anniversary of the October revolution according to the blurb alongside the painting. Marc Chagall approved of this painting and even wrote on the back how many copies he needed and how large they had to be.
This art is considered experimental for various reasons. The minimalism of the art is interesting, it isn’t clear as to what is going on—all you know is that there’s a factory along with red soldiers carrying guns. It took a bit more research to understand that art of red army soldiers were common symbols of the revolution and was intended to reflect the issue of class struggle. It is a mimesis of the revolution—people arming themselves and fighting back is a common theme in any movement that demands action from the people. The art is minimalist, there is not a lot of details but it is enough to catch your attention and somehow it also is able to evoke emotion without seeing many details.
This painting is demanding your attention without overworking your senses. It is remembering the October revolution with life and passion. The way that the soldiers march together and are a reflection of each other show the unity of the people who want change; they could not remain silent in a situation where they are unequal. This type of art greatly influenced the political banners and posters of today. As I am writing this post, I look up at my bedroom wall and see all the posters I have used at protests and see the resemblance. Although they are not the same, Yakerson’s work and the work of other revolutionary artists have helped pave the way for artists use their art to demand liberation.
Hi Andrea! It’s super interesting how you were able to connect this artwork with your own posters that you’ve used at protests. It just goes to show that even now, the average person uses art as a way of protest and demonstrating their frustrations at the current system. Revolutionary art, especially historical art like that of Russia and China, has always been so fascinating, to me, for the way it inspired people and encouraged them mobilize and unite. The minimalist aspect of “Red Guards” definitely seems to be drawn from the communist themes of waging war against bourgeois elements; in general, the piece is very simple and reflects the concern with class struggle at the time. Nice job on this!
Hi Andrea,
Truthfully, when I viewed this piece at the Jewish Museum I didn’t give it much thought. Although after reading your blog post I can look at it with a whole different perspective.
You mentioned that this piece of art is lacking any details, and despite that it is able to catch the viewers attention and even evoke emotion. I would dare to say that it isn’t despite the minimalism that this painting is intriguing, but rather because of the minimalist nature of the painting that it is intriguing. I think that the lack of details cause the viewers to create the details in their own imagination, which makes the painting a little personal to each and every person who looks at it.
The fact that you mentioned that this painting reminds you of the protest posters you’ve made, and even have in your bedroom, reminds me of the power of political art. In my opinion, political art doesn’t have to be complicated but it has to say something strong. Maybe, there are no details because the details aren’t important to the message the artist is trying to send. Isn’t political art about the message after all? All in all this a great piece that says a lot, nice job on the post!
Hi Andrea,
When I saw this piece at the museum I saw it as on of the pieces that was easy to overlook and easy to just pass by without really thinking about it. I like you analysis a lot and I agree with the way you connected this piece to the protests that are going on today and protest signs that are present at these events. It was amazing for me to see that the same kind of technique to organize communities was used in earlier times. Your explanation of this as minimalist art made me think of how easy it is to put a message out there and spark the beginning of change. It also made me think about how messages of change don’t always have to be grand and huge. It was awesome to see how you connected something from a different person of a different culture and time to yourself.