Rachael Majdali

ARH 3728-0W61
UCF- Spring 2019
Artist Statement
Look
The propaganda poster was a relatively new kind of propaganda that emerged in the wake of World War
One. In my book, I analyzed the history of propaganda posters, and documented the techniques that were used.
Although poster art had started to change, I was able to analyze how those changing art styles were successfully
implemented into propaganda poster art. I was also able to compare, and contrast, art styles used between various
posters, allowing me to document how various countries tried to influence the world.

The first technique I had analyzed in propaganda posters was their ability to combine imagery and text,
allowing them to catch the attention of viewers. One tool that is essential to the success of propaganda posters is
looking, as "through looking, we negotiate social relationships and meanings..." (Geppert, Theories of Visual
Culture). This means that the viewer can make their own interpretations of the poster by simply examining its
message, and they can make the choice whether to act on the choices presented to them. Another key attribute to the
success of propaganda posters is that the artwork for the posters themselves “may be inspired by a verbal text,
accompany it, or expand it…” (Geppert, Theories of Visual Culture). In propaganda posters produced by the Soviet
Union for example, artists from ROSTA Windows had combined simple slang with avant-garde art to create posters
meant to appeal to illiterate workers. This was a style of art found in posters throughout the 1920s, and the Soviet
Union was one that quickly utilized it in its artwork.

The second technique that was analyzed was how propaganda posters were made to agitate viewers into
doing a certain action. In the twentieth century, propaganda posters were part of "systematic and deliberate attempts
to sway mass public opinion in favor of the objectives of the institutions…" (Geppert, Theories of Visual Culture:
Mass Media, Persuasion, and Propaganda), and as such, used numerous techniques that made the messages
appealing to viewers. Some of the techniques that were common in propaganda posters include crude depictions of
enemy soldiers, the usage of figures and visual codes, and slogans that were used in other forms of mass media (i.e.,
radio, television, film). By utilizing these methods, governments were able to rally their people behind a specific
cause during times of industrialization or war. Many of the posters featured in my book celebrated war, which was
considered by governments to be “beautiful because it initiates the dreamt-of metallization of the human body”
(Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, p. 19). Posters tapped into people’s repressed
desires, which then led the way for them to support dictatorships or battles.

I chose a layout where posters would be placed alongside text without having leading or sizing issues.
While propaganda posters are visually powerful by themselves, I made the decision to add text alongside the posters
to describe the historical settings and the techniques used. The typeface I chose was consistent throughout the text,
but the headers for the chapters were based on typefaces from actual propaganda posters. This allows the posters to
become immersive to the audience.

My goal is to inspire readers to examine propaganda throughout the twentieth century and allow them to
make connections to techniques used in mass media today. I hope to inspire readers to look through the contents of
the posters as I did, and make comments about what techniques changed or stayed the same. When they finish
reading, I want them to be able to be aware of how propaganda posters can be used today, whether it be for
advertising or for promoting a specific cause.

Bibliography
• Geppert, Melissa, Theories of Visual Culture: Encoding & Decoding Images. January 2019,
https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1323612/pages/theories-of-visual-culture-encoding-and-decoding-
images?module_item_id=12343096
• Geppert, Theories of Visual Culture: Mass Media, Persuasion, and Propaganda, February 2019,
https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1323612/pages/theories-of-visual-culture-mass-media-persuasion-and-
propaganda?module_item_id=12423717
• Benjamin, Walter, (1969 [1936]) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Schocken, New
York: Illuminitions
1
 2

1914-1918
WW1 PROPAGANDA

Propaganda posters originated in World

War One, where Germany and Great
Britain designed posters to rally support
for the war. Illustrated posters were a
popular form of mass communication,
and mechanized printing made it easy to
print and publish printed propaganda.

Alfred Leete, Lord Kirchener Wants You, 1914,

lithograph

One main purpose of the propaganda

posters was to encourage enlistment in
the military. They relied on simple text
and bold imagery to catch the attention
of viewers, and used emotional appeals
to get the viewers to head to the nearest
recruiting station. They also used figures
associated wih the artist’s home country,
such as Uncle Sam in American posters.

James Montgomery Flagg, I Want You For U.S.

Army, ca. 1917, lithograph

3

AGITORY POSTERS
Many posters from World War One were agitory, and were used to
stir the viewer into anger against the enemy troops. They contained
depictions of violence, and sometimes used civilian casualties to
provoke even someone who had second doubts about serving.

One technique that made agitory posters popular was depicting

enemy forces as monsters. Posters such as this Filipino war bonds
poster were used to stir anti-German sentiment, as they show a
horrific crime being committed by German troops.

Fernando Amorsolo, Your Liberty Bonds will help stop this, 1917, lithograph
 4

1917-1935
Propaganda
in the Soviet
Union
Agitprop
Following the October
Revolution in 1917, the
Soviet Union began to use
agitprop to stir viewers
into action. Many citizens
within the country were
illiterate, so posters with
visual codes were used.

Agitprop posters created

by the art group ROSTA
Windows used limited
text, avant-garde art, and
visual codes. In posters
such as this one, red was
used to help the viewer
positively associate the
workers in the poster with
the Soviet Union.

Vladimir Mayakovsky, If You

Want Something, Join Us, ROSTA

Window no. 867, 1920, stencil

 5

1935-1991
Socialist
Realism
Starting in the 1930s,
posters were created
in an art style called
Socialist Realism. This
style consisted of
photorealistic human
figures as opposed to
abstract shapes, it was
made to celebrate the
common worker.

This style was used to

give the impression
of a good life under
communist rule and
as a result, it was used
in other communist
countries, such as
Hungary, until the late
1980s.

Artist Unknown, Buy and read

books, 1949, lithograph

 6

1932-1945
Propaganda in Nazi Germany
Even before Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, the Nazi Party began to
create propaganda posters that used the same techniques as Britain’s
World War One posters: simple
text, bold imagery, and visual
codes.

Nazi propaganda posters were

designed to promote ideals to
the average German citizens,
and contained messages and
slogans that they would be
able to understand. The use
of Blackletter fonts made the
messages appealing, and the
use of caricatures helped Nazi
officials gain the support of
conservatives.

There are several visual codes

in this poster, with a well-fit
man representing the average
German, and the caricatures
reoresenting political foes. The
swastika is shown to represent
the Nazi party.

Artist Unknown, We Workers Have

Awakened, 1932, lithograph

7

1939-1945
WW2 Propaganda
Allied Propaganda
Propaganda posters were published
in Allied countries following the
outbreak of World War Two. These
posters combined imagery and text,
but focused less on recruitment and
more on conservation of resources
and self reliance.

Peter Fraser, Dig for Victory!, ca. 1939, lithograph

Artists, illustrators, and even animators

were commissioned by Allied governments
to design propaganda. In the United States
especially, cartoons were a popular form
of mass media that could be used for war.
Propaganda created for the government by
Walt Disney was used to encourage young
children to support the war via war bonds
and showing patriotism.

Walt Disney, Appreciate America, 1943, lithograph

 8

Axis Propaganda
Propaganda posters from the Axis Powers
utilized dramatic imagery and bold text
to catch the viewer’s attention. Much like
Allied posters, Axis posters encouraged
civilian involvement in the war effort. This
poster was printed for use at factories all
over Germany, but it contains techniques
found in other Nazi propaganda posters
such as a muscular figure and the use of
blackletter font.

Artist Unknown, You Are the Front, ca. 1941,

lithograph

Axis posters were also used to spread

information in countries occupied by their
forces. In occupied France, for example,
it was common to use figures like Joan of
Arc to encourage French citizens to villify
the Allied forces and support the Nazi war
effort.

Artist Unknown, The Assassins Always Return

to the Scene Of Their Crimes, 1944, lithograph

 9

PRESENT
Propaganda
Today
Following the end of World
War Two, propaganda posters
had slowly become replaced
due to the rise of television
and radio as forms of mass
media. Communist countries
had used them throughout the
Cold War, but that too ceased
with the fall of the Iron Curtain
in the late 1980s.

One country that currently

uses propaganda posters is
North Korea. They are made
in a Socialist Realist style, and
the information is then relayed
to citizens. Posters are vital
to many civilians within the
country, as they have little to
no access to phones, radios, or
computers. This poster uses
bright colors and long text to
promote forests.

Lee Byongzoon, Help to grow our country’s

forests!, 2000, lithograph

 10

Propaganda Posters and Advertising

Today, companies can create propaganda posters as part of any current
advertising campaigns. They use techniques found in old posters, such
as direct image and
limited text, but the
meaning is completely
altered in an effort to
persuade consumers
into buying a product.

This poster was one

of several that were
created by Mars Inc. as
part of an advertising
campaign for M&M’s. It
was heavily influenced
by Soviet agitprop as
shown by the use of
the color red, but it
borrows from Socialist
Realism with its use of
photorealistic figures.

Artist Unknown, The Redolution

Is Now, 2008, Digital media