Constructivism vs Soviet Film Poster

構成主義 / ソ連映画ポスター

Constructivism comes from Avant-garde and Soviet Film Poster from Regional Graphics. Both are read here as style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.

Constructivism

Constructivism — El Lissitzky《赤い楔で白を撃て》1919 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainConstructivism — El Lissitzky 作品 1919 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainConstructivism — Liubov Popova《コンポジション》1917 — Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0

Turns a message into motion with diagonals and hard contrast.

Soviet Film Poster

Soviet Film Poster — 『戦艦ポチョムキン』ポスター 1925年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoviet Film Poster — ニコライ・プルサコフ《官等と人々》1929年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSoviet Film Poster — 『熱狂 ドンバス交響曲』ポスター 1931年 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

The revolutionary-era film posters the Stenberg brothers built in lithography: photomontage-like giant faces, careening letters and violently exaggerated perspective translating cinematic motion onto a sheet of paper.

ConstructivismSoviet Film Poster
Era1910s–1930s1924–1932
FamilyAvant-gardeRegional Graphics
KindStyleStyle
CuesRed, black and white / Diagonal axis / Photomontage / Imperative letteringGiant faces / Careening lettering / Exaggerated perspective / Flat lithographic color
Best used forCampaigns that demand action · Delivering a strong statement in an instantFilm festival and repertory bills that compress a film's motion into one sheet · Music or theatre announcements where a static page needs speed and elation
TypeHeavy condensed type in capitalsHeavy sans running on a slant, size shifting word by word
CompositionCollide photography and type along a diagonal spineOne face blown past the edge, radiating diagonals splitting the rest
MaterialCoarse halftones, cut-out photos, three colors onlyAbout three flat inks, photographs coarsened into visible halftone
CautionCarries strong propaganda associations. Check the ethics of context and message.Copying only the slant and the scale leaves a decoration where neither the star's face nor the title can be read.

Put these two together

Avant-garde ／ Regional Graphics

IndexStyle